![]() This is swinefolk country."Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. We've just entered The Sluice, some kind of uncharted sewer area that the locals said was a shortcut. They're not entirely positive-Audrey is a jealous lover, and can keep Barristan from guarding others sometimes. The bonuses of positive relationships are equally strong: Free healing from turn-to-turn, jumping in to back up on attacks, and cheering each other on for bonus damage. Audrey and Barristan are paramours, while Paracelsus and Hellion Boudica are inseparable companions and Boudica finds Audrey a friend in their hope for a brighter future. My latest run is going much better than the prior. The switch to a run-based format makes Darkest Dungeon 2 a bit more random, which means that sometimes you just get screwed and have to start over from scratch, maybe a few new character abilities richer, whereas in the original Darkest Dungeon you at least kept your various hamlet upgrades if your whole party got wrecked by a boss. Letting me choose when and how the game got more difficult and risky was fun, and I miss it this time around: Keeping your hope high is universally good, letting it get low is universally bad. If anything, the one mechanic I'm not sold on is that iconic flame-which is funny, since I loved the torch in the first game. Let the kind doctor solve the refugees' troubles and it'll stress her out, but your flame of hope will get brighter.Ĭan love bloom, even on a battlefield? (Image credit: Red Hook Studios) Encounters with groups of refugees, caches of supplies, or enemy outposts have different choices to make: Let the smart tactician lead an attack and you may get a first-round stealth bonus. They'll be cooped up in the carriage, too, and have opinions on where to go and what course to take when you meet others along the way. You can't just give a character some time off to recuperate anymore: Each of your four will be in every combat, every encounter, and every fight. It helps that the accuracy system has been removed: Attacks now automatically hit unless a debuff gives them a penalty to.Īt the same time, managing stress is more important than ever. ![]() Healing abilities typically can only be casted a few times during a battle before they're exhausted. The ability to quickly win combats without suffering too much damage is now key, tossing out many of the old, more defensive strategies that flourished in Darkest Dungeon. Gone are levels, instead you spend Mastery to improve individual character skills at the inns between new world regions. ![]() Combats along the road at blockades have time limits: You'll break through inevitably, but if you take more than five rounds to kill enemies you don't get loot or rewards, including precious new mastery points. There are plenty of new lessons to learn for success in Darkest Dungeon 2. They hate each other too much, and though I love how they look in action, they eventually lose their front line: In a burning city, Man-at-arms Barristan goes down under an onslaught of waxy, red-skinned monstrosities.Įnemies on the whole die harder than DD1, with many enemies triggering their own "Death's Door" condition. None of that luster helps Grave Robber Audrey and her party on the first run, though. Movements that looked jerky in the first game instead look cinematic, with dynamic lighting casting off models when pistol barrels flash or daggers clash. That's not to say there isn't plenty of beautiful 2D art, but the dynamism of the 3D models in combat removes all the stiffness from the animation. Red Hook has made the transition to 3D with aplomb, the thick-lined art style that defined the first game is beautiful, and the early modern flourishes of its setting are still a delight. You can't just give a character some time off to recuperate anymore.įor all that the world is broken, Darkest Dungeon 2's unique style is once again impeccable. There's something deeper going on, some deep tampering with space and time, though with only a dozen or so hours under my belt I've yet to dig very deeply into it. The world is coming unglued, the eldritch and cosmic enemy types only hinted at in the first game are winning, and their cult has grown powerful. Road trip ruinĭarkest Dungeon 2's structure of repeated runs isn't just a gimmick. Audrey eventually racked up so many hateful relationships that most turns were bad for her, leading to a spiral of new negative quirks-including a curious displacement in both space and time. When things are going badly it's not just a single character that suffers, it's the entire dynamic of your group. It's a whole new spiral of failure and misery for Darkest Dungeon. VIDEO: A 60-second summary of just how quickly things can go wrong.
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