Darkest Dungeon Review, Embrace the Madness

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to lead a group of unstable heroes through the depths of despair and darkness, well, then you're in for a treat. And possibly therapy.

Released by Red Hook Studios in 2016, "Darkest Dungeon" is a brutal roguelike and a masterclass in managing stress and despair.

Gameplay

At its core, "Darkest Dungeon" is about leading a team of four heroes through various procedurally generated dungeons. The objective varies from dungeon to dungeon but the gist is to kill bad guys, collect loot, and hopefully return to your sanctuary, the Hamlet. Simple enough, right? Well, not quite. Each step through the dungeon is like a walk through a nightmare guided by your worst fears. only instead of working through your issues, you're just accumulating more.

The heroes you bring have unique abilities and quirks. Quirks introduce both benefits and disadvantages, some are better and worse than others. For instance, your stalwart crusader might gain a quirk that makes him deal extra damage against undead enemies—a great bonus when facing skeleton hordes. However, he might also develop a fear of unholy creatures, causing him to stress out and perform poorly when encountering them. As your heroes venture deeper into the dungeons, they'll gain experience and level up, but they'll also accumulate stress, diseases, and a big array of quirks.

The combat is turn-based and highly strategic. Each hero occupies a specific position in the lineup, and their abilities are often dependent on where they're standing. For example, your crusader might be great at bashing skulls in the front row but utterly useless in the back. Positioning and team composition are key, and every battle is tense where a single misstep or a stroke of "bad luck" can lead to disaster. RNGesus is cursed just as often as praised, as the randomness of critical hits, dodges, and stress events can turn the tide of any battle in an instant.

One of the key systems in "Darkest Dungeon" is stress and affliction. As your heroes; reads the wrong books at the library, moonwalk through the dungeon, and witness horrible events, their stress level rise. If a hero accumulates too much stress they can develop afflictions, such as paranoia or masochism, which will hinder their performance. However, there is a small chance they achieve a heroic resolve, gaining temporary buffs and becoming chill under pressure.

Exploring the dungeons is done in real-time, where your party navigates through a interconnected maze of rooms and narrow corridors, filled with monsters, traps and curios. Curios are intractable objects which have different outcomes based on the items you use to interact with them. With a bit of luck, one of your heroes will scout the surrounding area and reveal encounters, traps and curios on the map. The light level plays an important role; depending on the current level, different modifiers will be applied, making both exploring and combat easier or harder.

Back in the hamlet, you'll manage resources to upgrade buildings, unlock new skills, weapons and armors, treat diseases, and reduce the stress levels of your heroes in various facilities. However, everything costs gold, and gold is always in short supply. The decision-making here is just as crucial as in the dungeons; do you spend your hard-earned gold on new weapons or on getting your best healer out of the sanitarium? It is also here where you prepare for future dungeon runs and choose equipment for the next dungeon.

Visuals

Darkest Dungeon has a dark fantasy style that seems heavily influenced by the work of Mike Mignola, an American comic book artist and writer best known for creating Hellboy. Characters and environments are rendered in a bold, hand-drawn style, with heavy lines and tons contrasts that give everything a gritty look. This visual approach not only sets the game apart from other titles but also enhances the feeling of dread and hopelessness that pervades every dungeon crawl.

It's impossible to overlook the influence of H.P. Lovecraft on "Darkest Dungeon." The game is teeming with eldritch monsters and Cthulhu-like creatures that look like they crawled straight out of Lovecraft's nightmares. These horrors pair perfectly with the unforgiving gameplay and dark aesthetic, creating an atmosphere that is as oppressive as it is captivating.

The game uses spine animations and tweening, a simple technique that proves to be extremely effective in bringing its grim, gothic world to life.

Sound And Music

The soundtrack, composed by Stuart Chatwood, is a perfect blend of eerie and epic. The music shifts seamlessly between ominous, tension-building tracks in the dungeons and more subdued, melancholic melodies in the hamlet. Each track is designed to heighten your emotional response, whether it’s the dread of exploring an unknown corridor or the brief respite of returning to town. The music doesn’t just play in the background; it wraps around you, pulling you deeper into the game's grim atmosphere.

The sound effects are sharp and visceral, making each battle feel intense and each exploration filled with impending doom. The ambient sounds are the unsung heroes of the game’s audio landscape. The distant wails, the unsettling whispers, and the, oppressive silence in certain moments all contribute to the feeling that you’re never truly safe.

Let’s not forget the voice acting. Wayne June’s narration is iconic, providing a gravelly, doom-laden commentary that perfectly matches the game’s tone. His voiceovers are both informative and foreboding, adding a layer of narrative depth and an extra chill to your adventures. Phrases like "Ruin has come to our family" and "Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer" are not just lines; they are warnings that resonate with the player, reinforcing the game's themes of despair and struggle.

Learning Curve

From the moment you start the game, you're thrust into a world where everything wants to kill you, and it probably will. The tutorial does a good job of introducing the basic mechanics, but it quickly becomes clear that there's a lot more to learn. However, you will learn a ton just by poking around in the user interface, but more on that later.

Learning how to effectively combine your heroes' skills is key to surviving the dungeons. Each hero class has unique abilities that can complement others in powerful ways. For example, the Plague Doctor's ability to stun enemies pairs well with the Highwayman's high-damage. Experimenting with different team compositions and skill combinations is essential. You'll quickly learn that having a balanced team with complementary skills is far more effective than just picking your four highest-level heroes.

Expect a lot of trial and error. It's part of the experience. You'll find that some missions are simply unwinnable due to bad luck or lack of preparation. Accepting that failure is a part of the learning process is essential. The game is designed to be punishing, but each failure teaches you something new. Maybe next time you'll remember to bring those anti-venoms or pay more attention to your heroes' quirks when planning a mission.

Replayability

Being a roguelike/roguelite, the replayability of "Darkest Dungeon" is fantastic. Not only will you start many playthroughs. But each one you start will take you into the dungeons numerous times, each bringing new challenges and surprises.

The game offers a diverse roster of heroes, each with their own unique skills. Experimenting with different team compositions and strategies is a big part of the fun, which you are forced to do due to the persistent stress damage and the randomness of the stage coach. Want to try an all-melee team? Go for it. How about a squad of stress healers to keep everyone's sanity in check? I say, Give it a shot. The possibilities are nearly endless, and each combination brings a new dynamic to the gameplay .Just be prepared for the inevitable meltdown when your perfect plan falls apart.

ven after completing the main story, "Darkest Dungeon" keeps you coming back for more with various endgame challenges, especially if you own the DLCs. These expansions introduce new heroes, enemies, systems, and areas to explore, adding fresh layers of depth and difficulty. There are harder difficulty levels, including the punishing "Stygian" mode, where enemies deal more damage and have increased hit points, just in case you thought the regular game was a bit too forgiving.

In addition to the built-in challenges, the game's modding community is highly active. Mods can range from quality-of-life improvements to new heroes for your roster, ensuring that there's always something new to try.

User Interface

"Darkest Dungeon" features a user interface that excels at displaying information without overwhelming the player.

In combat, the UI provides clear and concise information. Each hero's abilities are displayed with detailed tooltips, showing their effects and positional requirements. Hovering over an enemy with a ability selected will reveal crucial details such as damage range as well as the enemy stats, allowing you to see their health and resistances. This information is vital for planning your attacks and managing threats effectively. Knowing which enemies are most vulnerable to your heroes' abilities can make the difference between victory and a crushing defeat.

When you come across a curio, the UI provides information about which items have an effect on it and which don't based on your previous attempts.

Finally, the overall usability of the UI cannot be overstated. Navigation through different screens is intuitive and user-friendly, both in the heat of battle and as you are managing your hamlet. The UI’s design ensures that even complex mechanics are presented in a straightforward manner, making the game accessible without sacrificing depth.

Conclusion

In short, "Darkest Dungeon" isn't just a visual treat; it's a visual feast of darkness and despair. Red Hook Studios has created a world that not only looks distinct but feels consistently oppressive and immersive, ensuring that your journey through madness is as visually striking as it is mentally taxing.

the sound and music of "Darkest Dungeon" are integral to its identity. They work in harmony to create an experience that is as auditory as it is visual. The haunting music, visceral sound effects, powerful voice acting, and immersive ambient sounds all combine to draw you into the game's world of darkness and despair. It's a symphony of horror that will linger in your mind long after you've put down the controller.

"Darkest Dungeon" offers exceptional replayability. The combination of procedurally generated dungeons, diverse hero builds, challenging endgame content, and a thriving modding community ensures that each playthrough feels fresh and engaging. Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned veteran, there's always a new challenge waiting in the shadows.