Darkest Dungeon

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 846 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 627 out of 846
  2. Mixed: 134 out of 846
  3. Negative: 85 out of 846

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  1. skohl
    Feb 4, 2016
    6
    This is a good game that I want to like more than I do. It was very fun when I was progressing and killing bosses. Now that I got to the "Darkest Dungeon" final levels, I have nothing left to do in the game except to level up another 12+ heroes to level 5 so I can actually run them. This is proving to be a huge task, and by my estimates I will need to play the game for another 20 hoursThis is a good game that I want to like more than I do. It was very fun when I was progressing and killing bosses. Now that I got to the "Darkest Dungeon" final levels, I have nothing left to do in the game except to level up another 12+ heroes to level 5 so I can actually run them. This is proving to be a huge task, and by my estimates I will need to play the game for another 20 hours before I reach that point.

    That is taking into account modest losses during the level-up process. The thing about this game is that no matter how well you prepare, you will lose heroes, due to the randomness inherent in the gameplay. Everything could be going very well and then you get ambushed once and suddenly you're in a life or death situation because the enemy shuffled your party and crit you once. The best you can do is swallow your pride and retreat, and abandon the mission if necessary, at the slightest hint of danger.

    However from my perspective that is only marginally better than a party member dying, because the surviving heroes will need disease cures, stress heals, and quirk adjustment, requiring them to sit on the sidelines for up to three missions. Either way, you will have to grind. It has become so repetitive that even the voice of the amazing narrator is beginning to grate on me, because I've heard everything he says 100 times.

    I could go on but I think people get the gist from these low score reviews. The game is insanely punishing, period. It doesn't get any easier as you progress, in fact it gets much harder and requires you to know the strengths and weaknesses for each boss and particular area inside and out. That is why everybody who plays it uses the wiki.    … Expand
  2. JustAPlayer1981
    Feb 8, 2016
    4
    The premise of replaceable heroes and deadly fights is promising and is working in the first two thirds of the game.
    BUT the big problem is the balancing of the ENDGAME, meaning when you enter the last four (darkest) dungeons:
    1) The game forces you to use four different heroes for each dungeon meaning 16 level 6 characters in sum, because once a hero has left a darkest dungeon he will    The premise of replaceable heroes and deadly fights is promising and is working in the first two thirds of the game.
    BUT the big problem is the balancing of the ENDGAME, meaning when you enter the last four (darkest) dungeons:

    1) The game forces you to use four different heroes for each dungeon meaning 16 level 6 characters in sum, because once a hero has left a darkest dungeon he will never go back. After more than 30-40 hours of gameplay you may have enough level 6 heroes (I had 20). But this design decision seems to be an artificial and unnecessary prolongation of the gameplay. This leads to point 2.

    2) To level up at least 16 level 6 characters you have to invest hundreds of thousands of gold, hundreds of resources (like the busts and portraits) and many hours of gameplay. But the gameplay itself gets tedious after 30+ hours of the same dungeons and same opponents. And it gets really annoying if too many heroes of a certain class die (for example healer) and you have to build up new heroes from the start. If you plan wisely you can avoid the latter to happen (luckily I had enough heroes but I can imagine there are folks who will find this mechanic too frustrating). If the gameplay wouldn't be so repetetive and would be more varied it would be more acceptable to spend so many hours.

    3) Of course dying of maxed characters is much more annoying than dying of level 1 characters so the game mechanic should provide some means to evaluate the last dungeons in a better way. Especially the SECOND AND THIRD "darkest dungeons" are so tough that it's almost certain some of your level 6-characters won't survive the first run. If you compare it to the gameplay before these two dungeons are way too difficult. If you do know what's the best way (at least the last four dungeons have no random rooms) you will still face numerous very tough opponents while your heroes can't get any better (the upgradeability of weapons and armor ends at level 4, only your resistances get slightly better). So you have to rely on trial and error and chance to find the right rooms and the rights heroes/attributes/skill/trinkets to beat the opponents in the endgame. This is, in my opinion, not acceptable with high level characters in whom you have invested so much time and credits. It has nothing to do with personal skill (I had no bigger problems with the game up to this point) but luck. Of course you may look at walkthroughs to see where certain rooms are, but if you want to beat the endgame yourself you have to be very restistant to frustration. In this case that's not a good kind of frustration because the payoff is not worth it.

    4) The FINAL fight is so ridiculously easy that it must have a mere symbolical meaning in the "story" of the game. The two PRECEDING dungeons are tougher than everything else in the game.

    All in all I think the developers should spent more time in variation and endgame-balancing. Or at least the character development should require less resources so you don't have to do the same repetitive tasks for 40 hours.    … Expand
  3. 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 your characters cannot be helped and only makes those final blows much more painful to witness. You cannot go wrong with Darkest Dungeon.

    ~~~~~ Gameplay: Darkest Dungeon gameplay is slow and methodical, but that does not make it stale. Oh no, the gameplay    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 your characters cannot be helped and only makes those final blows much more painful to witness. You cannot go wrong with Darkest Dungeon.

    ~~~~~

    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.

    ~~~~~

    Recommended: Yes, very.
    Rating: Currently 9.5/10 (rounded up) - This is not a game you want to miss

    ~~~~~

    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
  4. Szlomka
    Feb 3, 2015
    10
    An interesting idea and an equally interesting art style. It does have all the tell tale signs of an unfinished unpolished product, yet it still intrigues and pulls in. Sometimes corny sometimes dramatic, one feels the creators could have swerved more toward the comical satirical side.

    You never seem to run out of new heroes coming in, ready to step into the meat grinder. Slowly but    An interesting idea and an equally interesting art style. It does have all the tell tale signs of an unfinished unpolished product, yet it still intrigues and pulls in. Sometimes corny sometimes dramatic, one feels the creators could have swerved more toward the comical satirical side.

    You never seem to run out of new heroes coming in, ready to step into the meat grinder. Slowly but surely You start memorising their skills, quirks and synergies as decisions need to be made on saving the ones that Your playstyle prefers.

    The basics are well known, by now everyone has stumbled on one type of roguelike or another. By constantly staring a mission then winning, winning partially or not completely failing You gain resources used to gradually upgrade a base camp which allows for many flavours of developing Your hero stable which You then again throw against even harder missions. The gameplay itself could be called turn based, though out of combat there are elements that grant the illusion of real time.

    Well worthy of recommendation even in it's current state. It sadly requires the terrible Steam... so perhaps if You are patient... wait a half year and get it DRM - free somewhere...hopefully ironed out by then.    … Expand
  5. Nemesis7884
    Feb 3, 2015
    10
    This is a FANTASTIC game! At 20 bucks its highly recommended! The devs did a great job with the budget they had! The mechanics, the art style, the animations, the narration - its simply great! Possibly my GOTY 2015 if not a lot happens...its brutal, but brutally fun - highly recommended!
  6. CitySpellsword
    Aug 16, 2020
    3
    Darkest Dungeon is beautifully voiced, contains a great variety of units, and succeeds at almost all of the fine, little details of world-building. Unfortunately, the big-picture game design is absolutely terrible and fights against itself in every way. Intricate statuses and positioning that allow you to think and plan critically? Nope, it's a game of coin-flipping to land any attack. TheDarkest Dungeon is beautifully voiced, contains a great variety of units, and succeeds at almost all of the fine, little details of world-building. Unfortunately, the big-picture game design is absolutely terrible and fights against itself in every way. Intricate statuses and positioning that allow you to think and plan critically? Nope, it's a game of coin-flipping to land any attack. The RNG is so high you're just playing slots and hoping every little success is enough to keep progressing your hamlet. Also, it's a world of intrigue and exploration that literally punishes you for trying anything new. This is the kind of game design from 20 years ago built to sell overpriced game guides, but now that you can just google "What is this boss/curio?", you always will because the you'll spend double the hours getting punished and set back if you try anything other than the safest, most obvious approach.… Expand
  7. Wynkin_Gunn
    Sep 22, 2020
    6
    Progression can be slow for those unacquainted with RPG elements and RNG mitigation. Losses in later parts of the game can set progression back by quite a bit, which made me lose interest in the game. The strong modding community for this game, however, is a nice side bit.
  8. PutCashIn
    Feb 25, 2016
    6
    I am very much on the fence with regards to this game - some ideas are brilliant, once you get the hang of the characters abilities and upgrading the town the seemingly impossible game really does open up - however, there is one design decision which has left me unable to play this game with enjoyment.

    When your characters reach level 3 (and again at level 5) they are unable to entre    I am very much on the fence with regards to this game - some ideas are brilliant, once you get the hang of the characters abilities and upgrading the town the seemingly impossible game really does open up - however, there is one design decision which has left me unable to play this game with enjoyment.

    When your characters reach level 3 (and again at level 5) they are unable to entre level one (three) dungeons any more, this combined with the fact that the available dungeons are primarily based on the level of your rostered characters, leaves you an often untenable position where your level 1&2 characters are unable to complete the 'harder' types of level one dungeons, whereas your newly leveled 3 characters are not yet ready for the difficulty spike of level 3 dungeons.

    It is a bizarre decision, I guess it is designed to prevent 'farming' - which is odd ad that is essentially the core gameplay - finding and collecting items for use in your town.

    I simply cannot fathom this decision to split the character roster up based on level, why wouldn't the new character want to tag along with a more experienced character? But the characters can *learn* from experts within the town itself? Just ... bizarre.

    I would suggest even people who like rouge-likes to seriously consider before purchasing, this is a somewhat odd take on the theme, developing into games that either spiral into disaster or become repetitively easy. There really is no 'mid game' because of the level splitting in the roster.    … Expand
  9. 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% 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
  10. praisethesun11
    Jan 27, 2016
    5
    TLDR Pros and Cons will follow.
    I really really really wanted to absolutely love this game. It was exactly what I was looking for and in many ways it's the perfect pick up and play game. You can hop in and do 1 or 2 dungeons and be done in 30 minutes or less, or you can really grind out some new adventures and log 4+ hour runs. The game autosaves constantly (major props to all games that    TLDR Pros and Cons will follow.
    I really really really wanted to absolutely love this game. It was exactly what I was looking for and in many ways it's the perfect pick up and play game. You can hop in and do 1 or 2 dungeons and be done in 30 minutes or less, or you can really grind out some new adventures and log 4+ hour runs. The game autosaves constantly (major props to all games that do this) and forces you to live with your decisions. It encourages you to experiment with the wide variety of classes and skills that you have access to in order to come up with the perfect teams (yes, plural) that suit your vision. However, that's where creativity and player choice ends. Very quickly you realize that no matter how much thought you put into your team, the battle will be decided by RNG. I'm generally a huge fan of RNG. Praise be unto RNGesus! But in this case your perfect strategy can be completely ruined by bad luck. If I go into much detail it will just sound like complaining, but understand that this game is NOT fair. All of the mechanics of the game are stacked against you, and quick thinking and careful planning means nothing. As an XCOM, Dark Souls, and Fire Emblem veteran I expect to be challenged, but this game is cruel, in a bad way. Sometimes a Veteran-level dungeon is a breeze because everything swings your way, and sometimes an Apprentice-level dungeon is a sadistic nightmare in its first battle. To be quite honest, I think this game is exactly what the developers wanted to make and with a few tweeks it could be amazing, but at this time, for this review, it's not quite there.

    Pros:
    +Fantastic art direction, animation, and music that really sets the mood
    +The mood. Its dark, eerie, and perfect for dungeon crawling.
    +Diverse group of classes and enemies
    +Permadeath with no option to turn it off
    +Stress mechanic (also a negative)
    +The inability to grind lower-tier dungeons

    Cons:
    -Far too reliant on RNG (game-breaking)
    -No story
    -Very few areas
    -Uninteresting loot and level-up mechanics
    -Stress mechanic (also a positive)
    -Bugs abound (lost save files, crashes to desktop)*

    *playing on high-end PC    … Expand
  11. suneater
    Nov 17, 2016
    3
    Madness takes digital form in your quest to grind your brains out in Darkest Dungeon. On the surface, you will find elements of city management, a complex party system that requires you to balance not only classes but their post-spelunking ailments and illnesses, multiple tilesets with a variety of bosses that require different strategies, and a bevy of trinkets and baubles with equallyMadness takes digital form in your quest to grind your brains out in Darkest Dungeon. On the surface, you will find elements of city management, a complex party system that requires you to balance not only classes but their post-spelunking ailments and illnesses, multiple tilesets with a variety of bosses that require different strategies, and a bevy of trinkets and baubles with equally weighted good and bad stats. All these elements (despite the RNG) combine into an enjoyable experience for the first dozen or so hours.

    All this is fun and games until you clear the first boss for each dungeon and the problems with randomness and luck really show their ugly faces. RNG holds every gameplay aspect of DD in it's iron grip; from miserable combat accuracy (for both you and the enemy), interacting with curios, suffering from permanent debuffs, and even being able to run from battle are all randomized. I love board & card games so I'm used to rolling dice and suffering for it but when the entire game is determined by luck it gets infuriating. Imagine playing Monopoly: you land on an unowned property only to have to roll dice to determine if you can buy it, roll again to determine if you can put a house on it, and then your opponents get to roll when they land on it to determine if they have to pay you. Every step is a roll of the dice (not even counting traps) with your characters gaining stress randomly while walking and sometimes forcing you to interact with obviously bad curios because of a permanent trait they have.

    Of course, RNG can always be brute forced because this is a video game and anyone who has played an RPG before knows how to brute force any kind of difficulty: grinding. In order to beat anything above the first tier of bosses, you are expected to have the best gear possible on all your characters in order for them to survive. With a max roster size of 28, characters running away or suffering from multiple crippling ailments, and permadeath (because why not?), you're looking at spending several hours grinding "easy" dungeons in the hope of bringing back some cash without your party suffering from any more permanent debuffs or dying. Near the end of the game, losing a max level key party member can spell the end of your progression and send you back to the grind mines. Since launch, they added the ability to upgrade your recruiter to occasionally bring you higher level recruits, but this also requires grinding up multiple buildings just to have the chance at buying non-unleveled heroes.

    These are all complaints about how the game was "meant" to be playing though. Through the options menu you can choose to mitigate some of the RNG but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the miserable elements above aren't covered in the menu and removing & replacing them would completely change the game. I don't hate the individual elements that bring this game down but when combined it just feels like Darkest Dungeon despises the player and is actively trying to stop you from playing it. I'm sure the devs thought this was some kind of clever meta-torture based on the Lovecraftian horrors you run into but I didn't find it amusing. There will be a small, masochistic audience that will sink their teeth into this and grind it for hundreds of hours (only 1.3% of the people who have bought it on Steam have beaten it, including SAM users) but for the average person I would not recommend it.    … Expand
  12. h3xw0l7
    Oct 2, 2016
    1
    There's something here but I feel it's ruined since you're essentially just rolling the RNG. If you identify as masochistic than you might enjoy this, but otherwise if you want a game where you live and die by RNG and there's nothing you can do than go for it.

    Caught by surprise? Enjoy syphilis. Want to get attached to a character? He's going to develop kleptomania and ruin everything.    There's something here but I feel it's ruined since you're essentially just rolling the RNG. If you identify as masochistic than you might enjoy this, but otherwise if you want a game where you live and die by RNG and there's nothing you can do than go for it.

    Caught by surprise? Enjoy syphilis.
    Want to get attached to a character? He's going to develop kleptomania and ruin everything.
    Want a heal that can heal between 0-12? Enjoy your heal for zero and now you're bleeding. (it causes you to bleed)
    Whole team comes back stressed? Best to just let them go and hope the wagon brings usable classes because you're broke. (Quit **** bring me five arbalests, seriously wtf)
    Invest in your buildings to make stress treatments cheaper? Each time your character "ranks" up the bills go up too, yay perpetual debt!

    I cannot stress enough that you are literally battling Satan's RNG machine, if that sounds fun go for it, but I'm done, there's no enjoyment here to be had.    … Expand
  13. Dupa15
    Jun 11, 2017
    6
    Starts off good. The interface is not that intuitive, but manageable.
    The story - what story? there is no story to speak of.
    Graphics is what it is. Dark cartoony, but fluid and carefully done. There are a few annoyances (the game balance, grind, lack of proper rpg mechanics, grind, very high RNG importance and the grind. After a few hours the game gets repetitive. It wouldn't be    Starts off good. The interface is not that intuitive, but manageable.
    The story - what story? there is no story to speak of.

    Graphics is what it is. Dark cartoony, but fluid and carefully done.
    There are a few annoyances (the game balance, grind, lack of proper rpg mechanics, grind, very high RNG importance and the grind.

    After a few hours the game gets repetitive. It wouldn't be so bad, if not for the time padding elements:
    - lengthy animations,
    - same unsolicited dialogs stopping combat,
    - RNG as hell

    All in all I stopped playing after a few hours.    … Expand
  14. Leuko
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    Well delivered game, but lack depth to get me interested for prolonged period of time.

    Thanks to good atmosphere and instant access to many characters with varied skills it was possible for me to enjoy this game straight from the beginning. Unfortunately after a while exploration and combat gets repetitive. There is just not enough diversity in character progression and tactical    Well delivered game, but lack depth to get me interested for prolonged period of time.

    Thanks to good atmosphere and instant access to many characters with varied skills it was possible for me to enjoy this game straight from the beginning.

    Unfortunately after a while exploration and combat gets repetitive. There is just not enough diversity in character progression and tactical decisions during battles. Development of the base is linear too.    … Expand
  15. blade01
    Feb 1, 2016
    6
    Darkest Dungeon is finally out of ea!I played it during ea and it was horrible.It was not horrible because it was buggy or bad, it screwed you over big time and in a scummy way.Is this still true?Lets find out:

    Visuals:I like the artstyle.Really dark and everything blends together very nice.Its a cartoonlike look and i think even if you dont like that style in general in this game its    Darkest Dungeon is finally out of ea!I played it during ea and it was horrible.It was not horrible because it was buggy or bad, it screwed you over big time and in a scummy way.Is this still true?Lets find out:

    Visuals:I like the artstyle.Really dark and everything blends together very nice.Its a cartoonlike look and i think even if you dont like that style in general in this game its so fitting youll like it.Of course the game is no Far Cry when it comes to effects but that is not necessary.

    Sound:The voiceover is well done.You ancestor will speak about thinks, comment on things and most of the time it fits the situation very well.After some time it can be too much i think!

    Gameplay:Let me say it that way:If you like being screwed over constantly this game is your thing.I dont like that.I like hard games where you have to think.Darkest Dungeon can(and will) screw you over in the dirties ways.For example with crits from monsters.Maybe youll receive 4 crits in your first battle and the result will be so much stress that you might have trouble getting through the dungeon.Or youll receive a desease that lowers you stats so much that character becomes useless during that quest(and maybe even beyond the quest).So much stuff is super random, i dont like it.It might screw your hole playthrough if you run out of money after a bad quest.The gameplay itself is solid but not more.Everything is very basic and sometimes even shallow.There is no big story told.You make your own story.If you dont like it(like me) dont buy this game.

    Conclusion:If you like the concept of the game buy it!This is game is a 10/10 for the right taste.Its bugfree with good visuals and that rare these days.If you search for more(like me) story for example and a fair game dont buy Darkest Dungeon.I had some fun with it but i got bored after 12 hours because of the missing story so i can give this game a score of 6 which is an "okay-game".No masterpiece here but still a good game.    … Expand
  16. DeyvsonCaliman
    Jul 25, 2016
    3
    This game got my attention, it's dark style is very nice, and although it has simple graphics and mechanics, it could really get your attention. At the beginning the game is very fun, if you lose a character it's no big deal, you can easily develop another. But as you progress through the game it becomes harder and more repetitive.

    When we lose a character later on it can be a real pain    This game got my attention, it's dark style is very nice, and although it has simple graphics and mechanics, it could really get your attention. At the beginning the game is very fun, if you lose a character it's no big deal, you can easily develop another. But as you progress through the game it becomes harder and more repetitive.

    When we lose a character later on it can be a real pain to level up another, so the game can become really grindy. When we kill a boss and lose some characters it seem like a fair price to pay, but when I got a party wiped it made me almost give up on the game. At some point I would put my save games in another folder, so I wouldn't lose my characters, which really made me hate myself, for it's a kind of cheat.

    After we kill the bosses the first time we have to do it all over again, then again, and each time we bet far higher against an ever increasing difficulty. Finally when I got to the Darkest Dungeon, and beat it miraculously for the first time, was only to find out the characters I used couldn't be used there again. I just gave up, I couldn't bear the grind anymore. This game had a lot of potential, an incredibly nice scenario, but it just wear the player down until you start hating the game and regretting even having started it.    … Expand
  17. Walix1985
    Apr 8, 2016
    9
    I got pretty addicted to this game.

    The frightening voice of the narrator combined with the gritty art style creates an claustrophobic atmosphere when crawling through one of the four dungeon types. The charakters, for my oppinion are well balanced and useful each in there own way. What i personally like best are the hit-animations. They feel really heavy and give you an    I got pretty addicted to this game.

    The frightening voice of the narrator combined with the gritty art style creates an claustrophobic atmosphere when crawling through one of the four dungeon types.

    The charakters, for my oppinion are well balanced and useful each in there own way.

    What i personally like best are the hit-animations. They feel really heavy and give you an fantastic optical feedback.

    If you get easiely hooked by rouge-like rpg's, you should definitely check this one out, it's one of the best in the genre.    … Expand
  18. derpenstein
    Jan 28, 2016
    4
    Finished the game after about 22 hours of incredibly repetetive gameplay...
    I genuinely wonder how many of the reviewers actually made it through the game.
    The main Problem with Darkest Dungeon is that it is INCREDIBLY GRINDY and REPETETIVE. You encounter the same 10-20 types of enemies over and over again and even the bosses get recycled multiple times. All with improved stats.    Finished the game after about 22 hours of incredibly repetetive gameplay...
    I genuinely wonder how many of the reviewers actually made it through the game.

    The main Problem with Darkest Dungeon is that it is INCREDIBLY GRINDY and REPETETIVE.
    You encounter the same 10-20 types of enemies over and over again and even the bosses get recycled multiple times. All with improved stats.

    The reason why it takes forever to finish the game is because the game makes it almost impossible to beat dungeons lvl5+ without maxed out skills and gear - these require you to max out the blacksmit and guild upgrades and invest an absurd amount of money into maxing your characters (e.g. a max lvl skill upgrade alone costs about 1500 with even with the reduced cost upgrades. So basically 4 times 1500 for 1character and then * 4 again because you need a party of 4. Now consider that you get about 6000-7000 for a medium level medium length quest + 3000-4000 in loot but gearing up for a mission in turn costs about 2000.

    ^this should give you an appoximate idea why it takes forever to complete the game)

    If you dont bring maxed equiment and skills your characters are going to die! (miss, lack of damage, enemy attacks that take out entire lifebars)

    Funny enough - once you bring well equipped and maxed characters to a dungeon - the game is barely a challenge at all.

    ^So basically my main Problem with the game is that it was BORING more than anything else.

    Now on to some other things..
    The sound design is below average - as the rest of the game you will hear the same tunes over and over and hear the narrarator repeat the same 2 lines over and over again. Like goddamn was it too much to ask for to let the narrarator record a few more lines for the dungeons you will be running over and over again? Apparently so...

    The quirk system is disappointing and serves mostly as a number crunching +/-%dmg type thing.

    The drawings and overall graphic design is gorgeous though and the one thing in this game that really stands out as something positive.    … Expand
  19. iseeall
    Dec 21, 2017
    7
    It's an RPG with turn-based battles and a distinctive atmosphere. Its stellar class/ability system is ruined by extreme randomness, permadeath and hidden information.

    The good: - great art, music, narrator voice, the whole atmosphere of darkness, death and sorrow - you build a party of 4 characters of different classes, there are over a dozen classes, and each has 8 abilities (of    It's an RPG with turn-based battles and a distinctive atmosphere. Its stellar class/ability system is ruined by extreme randomness, permadeath and hidden information.

    The good:
    - great art, music, narrator voice, the whole atmosphere of darkness, death and sorrow
    - you build a party of 4 characters of different classes, there are over a dozen classes, and each has 8 abilities (of which, again, you can only pick 4 at a time). This all interacts in very interesting ways. Also, a lot depends on relative placement of characters because some abilities can only be used when the character stands, say, in the 3rd or the 4th row, but not in the 1st or the 2nd one. I can't immediately think of any similar games except from Disciples but still, here it's a lot more meat and tons of factors and strategies to consider.

    The so-so:
    - the design of dungeons is almost linear. Even in a cave you just move from left to right. It makes the game feel not even 2-dimensional but 1-dimensional. Almost like you just need to keep the character progression up with the increasing power of monster quads and that's it. There is no spatial component to it, and not much choice in where you go next. Which is probably ok for some people, but almost made me feel this game is intended for Flash or mobile (?) which however would be weird, given the high difficulty and the complex combat system.
    - GUI could be improved. E.g. you can't switch between characters easily while viewing buildings. This requires to close the character stats window, then right-click again on another character and so on. Management of things between battles just take too much time and hassle, and not because of the interesting decisions you have to make but because of struggling with the clumsy interface.

    The bad:
    - as other players said, the extreme randomness takes away much of the strategic feel. Crits, dodges, misses, resists - all this junk is from the RPG world, sure, but as a strategy games player (and I'm mostly fan of TBS games) this all feels like obligatory crap which designers never get tired of putting into games. In fact, when I played Disciples 2 back in 2000s, I opened gbattacks file in some hex editor and manually replaced all the chances to hit with 100% and instead reduced the damage proportionally. Believe me, after that the previously frustrating game (so many battles had to be replayed over and over with the same series of orders during battle, each time to get a different result) - turned into a thoughtful, tranquil TBS which wasn't easier, not at all! Simply by removing randomness here this game would be a lot more pleasing, at least to me.
    - permadeath, which may seem like a cool concept on paper (this game even says to you in the first dialog at game start that it's ok if your heroes die, and some battles can't be won etc). But in reality, in your first playthroughs you won't know what enemies do. So, say, you unexpectedly meet a strong boss which does something (some abilities, e.g. a murloc-type 2-tile boss endlessly spawning new mobs) which you don't know in advance. You face the boss, start losing, your healer dies. The fact that you couldn't know that new mobs are spawned endlessly makes you not feel like you made a mistake (and could correct it if you could re-load) but instead that the game itself makes no sense. Well, the game gives you a hint that ok, this battle can't be won, you must retreat. So, abandon the quest. And after that the dungeon will be unavailable, so no retries. And the killed heroes can't resurrected. And the save file has already been overwritten. Hmm.. This really makes no sense. You could just restart the whole game (as you would in ADOM, remember this 1994 game?) But this wouldn't bring anything because on your next attempt you will face another new monster which has unexpected tactics - and you will lose another party or at least a few heroes on that one, only to learn what that new monster does, and fail another dungeon. All this idiocy could be easily avoided if the authors made permadeath an option. Say, new players can re-load as much as they want, but veterans who have beaten the game and know all the rules and monsters could then try some extra challenge in iron man mode. At least that worked in Fallout 2 and I played it for months (at least 20 attempts) until I beat it in iron man (well, almost, didn't bother to do Navarro base). But that was after I knew the game inside out. Requiring a new player to restart the WHOLE Fallout 2 each time they saw a new monster for the first time or chose a wrong dialog branch would be pointless.
    - no tooltips or any other way to find out about abilities of monsters. Which means you can't really plan any tactics at the start of a battle and instead just apply something standard (which depends on your pre-designed party) and passively watch how enemies do damage to you, put dots or increase stress of your characters. No info => no meaningful strategy    … Expand
  20. ORukisan
    Mar 1, 2016
    3
    This is a game I wanted to love. Initially its different, graphics and voices are enjoyable for the first 30 minutes maybe even the first couple of hours. But then the its repetitive, over and over again to grind gold and other items to improve the town. Most importantly the combat engine is almost undecipherable. Random character sequencing in combat, I actually created a spreadsheetThis is a game I wanted to love. Initially its different, graphics and voices are enjoyable for the first 30 minutes maybe even the first couple of hours. But then the its repetitive, over and over again to grind gold and other items to improve the town. Most importantly the combat engine is almost undecipherable. Random character sequencing in combat, I actually created a spreadsheet where i tracked combat turns and all i can say it is very luck/game biased even on the easiest settings. I have played other games where grinding is part of the experience (i.e. original Lineage 2). i can click and move repetitively forever but winning in this game especially mid stage and beyond is based more on luck than understanding the game dynamics. I would still buy it, but enjoy it for the artistry, game breaking innovations than being able to engage the game with strategy and understanding.… Expand
  21. ShiArch
    Jan 30, 2016
    3
    Read the cons to understand why I gave it 3. Difficulty and Grinding are two different things.

    Pros - 1- Good atmosphere 2- Good artwork 3- Some very nice ideas (like Heroes stress) Cons - 1- Far too reliant on random numbers. Its like throwing dice every turn. 2- The stress system is poorly implemented. Let me explain : a) It takes 100 stress for your hero to become afflicted    Read the cons to understand why I gave it 3. Difficulty and Grinding are two different things.

    Pros -
    1- Good atmosphere
    2- Good artwork
    3- Some very nice ideas (like Heroes stress)

    Cons -
    1- Far too reliant on random numbers. Its like throwing dice every turn.
    2- The stress system is poorly implemented. Let me explain : a) It takes 100 stress for your hero to become afflicted with a psychosis b) There are around 7-15 battles in every dungeon c) Every battle will involve around 5-20 turns between heroes and enemies which mean enemy can attack 35 to 300 times in a single dungeon run. d) Now consider the fact that because of random numbers a enemy critical attack can deal 20-40 stress in a single attack easily.
    in short your team will get stress and psychosis no matter what you do and it depends entirely on random numbers.
    3- There is no such thing as progression in this game. High level heroes wont do low level dungeons so its always same stuff over and over again.
    4- The titular 'Darkest dungeon' is a level 5 dungeon requiring you to spend dozens of hours of grinding and grinding and.... only to find out that you have to beat it 3 times and the team you used can never be used again to raid 'Darkest dungeon' so basically you have to grind again and again and.... Its a total grindfest with random numbers and arbitrary level restrictions. Difficulty and Grinding are two entirely different things but many fail to understand that basic fact.    … Expand
  22. beefcake1
    Mar 9, 2016
    4
    Do you like endless grinding with the same sequence of attacks, and no depth in strategy or monster variety???

    If so, then Darkest Dungeon is the game for you!! I gave this game alot of play, gave it second chances, third chances, but in the end it just showed tself more for what it really is: a shallow dungeon grind. Once you figure out the optimum way to use the limited characters    Do you like endless grinding with the same sequence of attacks, and no depth in strategy or monster variety???

    If so, then Darkest Dungeon is the game for you!!

    I gave this game alot of play, gave it second chances, third chances, but in the end it just showed tself more for what it really is: a shallow dungeon grind. Once you figure out the optimum way to use the limited characters and items {you only get to use two items per character} to beat each dungeon / boss, the game goes from being semi-strategic to completely formulaic and dull.

    This game is not an RpG at all, dont believe the rubbish that you read. The ONLY variation in the game comes from critical hits, which more often that not end up with your team being punished. Don't believe those who says "well this game is meant to be tough". That's rubbish too.

    I would have more fun rolling a 20-sided dice repeatedly and eating a chocolate bar when I get a 1.

    And to think I spent 26$ of my hard-earned on this dirge. Darkest dirge.

    Dont believe the hype.    … Expand
  23. TemplarGR
    Sep 9, 2016
    3
    Horribly overrated indie grind. Bad game design, and cheap difficulty. I am all for stylized dungeon crawlers, they are among my favourite games, but this isn't worth your time. I don't understand, with all the Souls series popularity and all, why the modern gaming community thinks difficulty means bad design. Avoid.
  24. Sirik_Matak
    Mar 28, 2016
    1
    The game drives on nice art design and va. Other than that, it fools people who can't into 1+1 mathematics that it's a deep and hard piece of gaming.
    Max out your dps, ignore everything else (9/10 classes and skills).
    Win.
    Delete.
  25. Frank70
    Feb 12, 2016
    0
    It's a great game ...At the beginning. Then it become a tedious, monotonous , boring grinding. You go ahead for all the time you have invested with but you feel too often bored, cheated, annoyed with the classic headache of boring and repetitive games . An hero you have growth for 12 hours can die in 2 seconds and that would be acceptable if playing the game was actually funny. It's not,It's a great game ...At the beginning. Then it become a tedious, monotonous , boring grinding. You go ahead for all the time you have invested with but you feel too often bored, cheated, annoyed with the classic headache of boring and repetitive games . An hero you have growth for 12 hours can die in 2 seconds and that would be acceptable if playing the game was actually funny. It's not, its just repeating the same actions thousand times to get 999 easy victories and 1 defeat that delete all of them . Then you start ask yourself "im getting fun" and the answer is "no" .… Expand
  26. MrSubjective
    Jan 25, 2016
    3
    Pray for random chance, have no skill or strategy.
    What an awesome art masterpiece ruined by RND (0-100).

    Skip 10/10 reviews, that's just first 30 minutes overhype. The game is way too far from ideal.
  27. Wulfrune
    Mar 29, 2016
    5
    I really wanted to like this game and for a short while I did. However, to sum up this game in a nutshell, all you're going to get is variations on the theme and duplications of what fast becomes irreverence. Once you've completed one mission, you've basically completed them all, this coupled with the unforgiving nature of the game makes it a "play once for a short while, then confine toI really wanted to like this game and for a short while I did. However, to sum up this game in a nutshell, all you're going to get is variations on the theme and duplications of what fast becomes irreverence. Once you've completed one mission, you've basically completed them all, this coupled with the unforgiving nature of the game makes it a "play once for a short while, then confine to background and ignore". If this game is your bag, fair play to you, enjoy, but as an old gamer, this game does nothing to want you to keep playing it, therefore I cannot recommend it.… Expand
  28. danstew
    Mar 16, 2016
    8
    I'll start with a warning: If you dislike RNG and it making a big difference, you might wanna skip this game. Even with the right tactics, some well-geared characters and a lot of experience, some encounters might still get your favorite adventurers killed. You should be aware of this, and if you hate having some very unhappy rolls on attacks, then this might be very frustrating.

    Now...    I'll start with a warning: If you dislike RNG and it making a big difference, you might wanna skip this game. Even with the right tactics, some well-geared characters and a lot of experience, some encounters might still get your favorite adventurers killed. You should be aware of this, and if you hate having some very unhappy rolls on attacks, then this might be very frustrating.

    Now... I at first wasn't very interest in DD, but a review and stream by TB made me change my mind and try it. And I was captivated quickly. The game is a LOT of fun.
    The graphics and animations are very simple, but also, very stylish, so they have character and are nice to look at.
    The atmosphere is great. There is a certain Lovecraftian vibe to things (not only because madness can become a real problem for your adventurers), and the narrator does SUCH a great job (BTW, check out his readings of HPL-stories, such a cool experience).

    Even with a lot of training, these dungeons will be risky for your guys. Bad RNG on heals (instead of, say, 8 points, you get 0 or 1 points, which means you kinda lost a turn) or damage (sometimes, you are THAT close to killing a mob, but then, 2-3 of your guys actually MISS, and you actually end up losing), debuffs like selfishness (your character might snag loot for himself), or paranoia (he or she might actually REFUSE to be healed) etc.

    So, you may ask, why do people play this? Are we all out for punishment? No! The game is just very addictive in that "Come on, just one more quick dungeon before I head to bed... whoops, it's 3 AM?!?!" way.
    It is challenging, it will often feel unfair, but boy, winning battles and completing dungeons feels so very satisfying. You start to care about your chars (and there is an achievement about beating the final boss with the chars you get at the beginning of the game), especially if you name them yourself.

    A guide might help you get started, as money will be an issue (supplies are expensive, so you wanna pick carefully what to take along), but even if you just dive in and go trial and error, you will learn what to do.
    It's a great, tactical game, some fights will have you bite your nails, sometimes you will feel disappointed, especially when losing a character you leveled up. The game will eventually become kinda grindy, but at that point, you could just play it casually, like doing half an hour or so and then returning later.

    Pros:
    - Atmospheric
    - Simple, but unique graphics and animations
    - Great narrator voice
    - Challenging
    - You get to choose your ability-loadout
    - Very satisfying when you beat a boss or dungeon...

    CONS
    ...and very frustrating when they beat YOU
    - Expensive supplies
    - Expensive treatment to get rid of debuffs and stuff
    - Can get grindy
    - Not recommended if you hate losing RNG rolls even when your characters are leveled and equipped with good gear
    - Can feel a bit repetitive

    Great game... watch some playthroughs and maybe a guide, and then decide for yourself. I thoroughly enjoy the game!    … Expand
  29. Lowell
    Mar 11, 2016
    9
    The game punishes you like the filthy beggar you are, and once the quest has ended, you will go back asking to be punished again. The perfect game for masochistic slaves like me.
  30. MadGav
    Apr 4, 2016
    8
    Not since Cannon Fodder have I felt so miserable when one of my characters finally died. Admittedly, she was by this point so paranoid she refused all assistance from the rest of the party, but damn, I'd grown attached. And that is the essence of this game's appeal, the characters, while straight from central casting, still feel like individuals.

    The game is tough, but polished and,    Not since Cannon Fodder have I felt so miserable when one of my characters finally died. Admittedly, she was by this point so paranoid she refused all assistance from the rest of the party, but damn, I'd grown attached. And that is the essence of this game's appeal, the characters, while straight from central casting, still feel like individuals.

    The game is tough, but polished and, while maddening at times, has never pushed me into a rage (despair yes, but rage no). The art is functional but definitely fits with the theme and, while more than a little cheesy, I did enjoy the narration.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best PC Game of 2015
25
#25 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
26
#26 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 56
  3. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. KeenGamer
    Aug 12, 2020
    80
    There is a good reason that Darkest Dungeon won a ton of awards and sold over 2 million copies - in portraying the dark underbelly of fantasy adventuring it touched on subjects rarely addressed in games before it. Its amazing sound, comic-like graphics, and intense, perpetual Ironman difficulty create a title that was addictive to those wanting Lovecraftian horror with a side of near Dark Souls difficulty. If you have never experienced it before, now is a great time to make its acquaintance, to be prepared for the release of Darkest Dungeon 2. And, if you were a previous visitor, make sure you take another look to experience the new DLC that has been added since your departure. Hours of broken peripherals and rage quits await.
    Read full review
  2. High-Def Digest
    Apr 10, 2016
    90
    Darkest Dungeon is the rare game that gets my heart pumping while playing, not because it’s scary (even though it is a little scary), but because the stakes are so high.
    Read full review
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 31, 2016
    88
    Darkest Dungeon is a masterpiece of emergent storytelling. [March 2016]
See all critic reviews »