Darkest Dungeon

1. joebomb10

   Feb 3, 2015

   10

   Darkest Dungeon is at it’s heart more than just a rogue-like RPG. It’s a tale, a story, an epic if you will. Becoming attached to yourDarkest Dungeon is at it’s heart more than just a rogue-like RPG. It’s a tale, a story, an epic if you will. Becoming attached to your characters cannot be helped and only makes those final blows much more painful to witness. You cannot go wrong with Darkest Dungeon.
   
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   Gameplay: Darkest Dungeon gameplay is slow and methodical, but that does not make it stale. Oh no, the gameplay is as staunch as the droves of monsters you’ll slay. To rush your decisions will lead your party to suffer both mentally and physically. It’s unforgiving, and you’ll probably throw a few cusses at the screen but it’s part of the experience. This is a turned-based strategy gem, and you’ll see that the moment you step into the abyss.
   
   Mechanics: Controls are simple, actions are responsive. It’s a very well designed UI with enough depth to achieve what you want without feeling overwhelmed by navigation. You can literally play the entire game with just a mouse, unless you wish to name your characters after family members (not recommended).
   
   Graphics: Amazing enough to warrant the purchase of an art book. It’s orginal, somber, but warm enough to set it apart from other dreary titles. It takes you back, draws you in, and provides more than enough character and emotion while remaining true to the art direction. Nothing seems out of place, and at the same time everything feels otherworldly.
   
   Story: A solid foundation for a rogue-like game, and more than enough narration and backstory to keep you invested. The story is not the focus, but will provide you with everything you need to understand the world and characters.
   
   Replayability: Very high. There’s tons of upgrades (both town and character) and lots of trinkets to be found, if you stay alive long enough to make use of them. On top of that, there are currently three distinct areas with different enemies and randomized dungeons.
   
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   Recommended: Yes, very.
   Rating: Currently 9.5/10 (rounded up) - This is not a game you want to miss
   
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   Darkest Dungeon is the most original and deadly combination of genres to date. No area of the game is left unpolished, which says a lot for an Early Access title. I will continue to enjoy this game for an endless amount of time as it offers both an immense amount of replayability, depth, and challenge.… Expand

   • 34 of 70 users found this helpful
2. MissBeth

   May 25, 2016

   10

   Rouge like Rpg Dice Game brilliant Artwork very hard to Master its like
   Legends of Grimmrock meets Gothic meets Warhammer , easy theRouge like Rpg Dice Game brilliant Artwork very hard to Master its like
   Legends of Grimmrock meets Gothic meets Warhammer , easy the inovative an beste RPG Hardcore Crawler out there.
   
   that game is pure Dope !… Expand

   • 2 of 3 users found this helpful
4. Skulb

   Jan 25, 2016

   9

   To keep this short I think it would be best to explain why this wonderful game is not a perfect ten, rather than repeat the positives.To keep this short I think it would be best to explain why this wonderful game is not a perfect ten, rather than repeat the positives. Obviously Darkest Dungeon is frustrating but that's not it. The problem is the way the intended difficulty level and frustration level gets slightly sabotaged by gear, leveling and upgrades in general. It is hard at level 0, normal at 1, easy at 2. Then it gets really hard at 3, slightly difficult at 4 before finishing out at amazingly hard and frustrating at level 5 and (very) hard at level 6. Every time you level up, find gear, buy weapons or train skills it makes the game easier and easier until it suddenly ramps up when you move on to the next tier of dungeons. As a result of this dynamic there is no progressive escalation of difficulty, but rather a series of quite steep plateaus you need to overcome before you can coast a bit. And it does manage to be almost at its most difficult right at the start, when all your level 0 heroes are incredibly feeble and incompetent and capable of being oneshotted by all sorts of things. Obviously you haven't invested a thing in them at this point, and you can replace them immediately at no cost, so it hardly matters. It still feels weird though. Then again, this is basically exactly how Baldur's Gate felt. I don't know how many times I got a level one character killed by the bear outside Candle Keep.
   But I digress...
   The second slight issue for me is that the resources you need; gold and heirlooms; become more and more redundant. The heirlooms are worthless after you have fully built the hamlet and gold becomes slightly worthless once your heroes are fully leveled and geared. Additionally the trinkets your heroes can wear also become somewhat redundant after a while. This all leads to more or less everything becoming inventory trash, and the inventory is ridiculously small to make matters worse. This further fules the sense one gets that the game is far harder to deal with early on when everything is scarce and you have to constantly make difficult choices between mending stressed out or afflicted heroes, buying skills, weapons and armor with buildings in various states of disrepair. A particular favorite is the tendency early on of the Caretaker is drinking in the only slot in the bar and your healer is a tippler who will only relax by drinking. Whichever stress heal you need for a particular character with a negative quirk restricting the choice, the Caretaker will be there to frustrate you!
   Anyway, once the hamlet is done and everyone is leveled and healthy the latter parts of the game can seem both trivial (at times) and slightly tedious. The final result is an endgame that can feel like a bit of a grindy slog because you never really find anything interesting or useful after a certain point, while your microscopic inventory fills up within twenty seconds of every single dungeon.
   Apart from these persistent problems that have been around all the way during early access, this is a great game; distinct visually, great sound, music and game design and some absolutely awesome concepts. I swear the Plague Doctor skin has been ripped off from an amazing old cartoon called Canardo by Belgian cartoonist Benoit Sokal, and I don't even care. That's how coherent and impressive the design is. The negatives are very much negligible and most people will have gotten their money's worth long before they even notice them. But they must be mentioned. Good as it is, Darkest Dungeon feels oddly unbalanced at a fundamental level, which gets more and more apparent the further you advance. And that is why it has been so hard to adjust the meta game all this time. After following the game for a year and a half in EA I am now convinced that these balancing issues can't be fixed without redesigning the game from scratch. They are built in and as hard to root out as a fungal infection.
   But it also demonstrates a classic trap when developing RPGs; leveling and finding gear makes things easier unless you compensate with more numerous or more powerful monsters. This is precisely how AD&D's rule book got developed in the first place. Once you get down to the fundamental level, balancing RPGs is damn hard.
   Having said all this: buy the game anyway. It is well worth the low asking price. In fact it is well worth twice the asking price; so buy two and have one copy mounted on your wall. Red Hook deserves the support (and success) far more than most game developers.
   
   PS: Also, to the people writing reviews a year before release; tsk tsk. Keep it in your pants until the game gets done.… Expand

   • 9 of 17 users found this helpful
5. Instinctz

   Feb 14, 2017

   8

   For those that seek a challenging game as far as strategic, tactics and resource management go, darkest dungeon is a game you will enjoy.For those that seek a challenging game as far as strategic, tactics and resource management go, darkest dungeon is a game you will enjoy. Generally a well made game, a good idea and a really nice environment. However the game has flaws in it. There are some stupid restrictions involved (like the abomination can't be in the same team with a holy char), some chars are completely useless and well the game is not noob friendly at all, which for an indie game in my honest opinion is not that good especially considering the fact that this particular flame gets boring after you put a certain amount of hours in it.
   
   RNG factor can be used in your favor but also destroy you. Most people don't like it but it is what makes the game so fun and challenging.
   
   Heroes:
   
   Each hero you hire has some abilities which not only affect the course of the battles but also other things like for example the camping which is vital for their sustain. Now their ability system is really meh for the one and only reason that some abilities are completely damn useless(they are like water guns).
   
   Stress /Diseases
   
   The heroes have some stress bars that need heavy management as they are really vital for their psychological state. You can cure them by sending them to certain places, like for example the tavern. There are also diseases and other things involved that once occured you have to cure them also by sending them to the right place. I pretty much like it as the whole thing needs good management and planning, which is what describes those kind of games.
   
   Diversity:
   
   Here is where our problem lies. There is no diversity in the game at all. It is the same dungeon paths over and over again, same enemies but different bosses. If you dislike grinding you will get bored pretty easily whereas if you like it you won't bother by it.
   
   TLDR: I put 8/10 because it is worth its price 100% even though the gameplay and the content it has (in terms of keeping you without getting bored) is just a little bit above average. The game being unique is another reason why I put such a good(at least for me) grade.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
6. BananaBucket

   Mar 1, 2016

   8

   I've been playing this game for a long time. The reason people may be frustrated is that it is not like any other game I've ever played. YouI've been playing this game for a long time. The reason people may be frustrated is that it is not like any other game I've ever played. You have to treat your characters like daipers. When they get all grimy and icky with diseases, madness and other dungeon muck, you just throw them away. The real progression in the game is in upgrading your town, nothing else matters. So harden your heart, extinguish the torch, never remember your character's names and never, ever think that leveling up your beloved little squishies matters. You have to be as cruel and twisted as the game system. Then it's great fun!… Expand

   • 3 of 6 users found this helpful
7. Someonon

   Jan 31, 2016

   5

   The positives : Dark atmosphere,
   Nice rpg elements,
   Unique classes, The negatives: RNG is ridiculously fake and unfair (i'd say 90%The positives : Dark atmosphere,
   Nice rpg elements,
   Unique classes,
   
   The negatives: RNG is ridiculously fake and unfair (i'd say 90% chance equals around 60%),
   Repetitive,
   Buggy (... yes, even after final release).
   
   If you like Roguelike rpgs and don't mind the RNG fest pick it up… Expand

   • 11 of 15 users found this helpful
8. themechanicalma

   Jan 19, 2017

   0

   Mac crashed while playing this game, restarted computer and found saved game is now gone.
   
   Might as well, ~20 hours in and the game becomesMac crashed while playing this game, restarted computer and found saved game is now gone.
   
   Might as well, ~20 hours in and the game becomes seriously repetitive where players would explore similar dungeons, fight similar enemies, and make similar tradeoffs. The game mechanics is interesting and the dungeons fun... for a time, but the once the abilities of each class is understood and the enemies of the dungeons known, then it begins to feel as if the game length is artificially stretched to justify the asking price.
   
   To devs: if you want to only allow 1 single save for each gameplay, then you better make sure the save file is properly backed up before overwriting to it. ♥♥♥♥ing amateurs.… Expand

   • 1 of 11 users found this helpful

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