Darkest Dungeon

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. IGN
    Sep 26, 2016
    91
    Darkest Dungeon is a grim and merciless tactical strategy game whose great tension comes from its many layers of complexity, unpredictable randomization, and willingness to put our fragile characters in mortal danger if we dare to venture into its depths in search of treasure and glory. Brilliant narration and stiff yet surprisingly expressive animation make it easy to be drawn into its vague but tantalizing world, though the end feels artificially out of reach.
  2. GameSpew
    Oct 30, 2016
    90
    Darkest Dungeon offers a robust and efficient experience that is not afraid to let the player truly go through the trials and errors that would come with such a mission.
  3. Everyeye.it
    Oct 17, 2016
    90
    Darkest Dungeon finally arrives on consoles. This sick and disturbing creature looks in fantastic shape, thanks to the relentless finishing work carried out by the team in all these months.
  5. NZGamer
    Oct 6, 2016
    90
    An engaging and atmospheric Lovecraftian adventure, as challenging as it is addictive. A must-play.
  6. 4P.de
    Sep 30, 2016
    90
    Compared to the PC version the controls are not as intuitive and sometimes even finicky. But once you get the hang of it you just can’t get away from this dark heavy metal ballad that combines dark fantasy with horror à la Lovecraft and a gorgeous art design.
  7. SpazioGames
    Oct 7, 2016
    85
    The console version of Darkest Dungeon retains all of the good that we experienced on PC months ago, while adapting the controls for the better without a mouse: the overall experience is probably still more intuitive on PC, but the bonus of cross buy and cross save make the Sony versions hard to not recommend.
  8. 3DJuegos
    Oct 6, 2016
    85
    Darkest Dungeon grabs you. It is not a game for everyone, but it is precisely what makes it so special.
  9. Multiplayer.it
    Oct 5, 2016
    85
    Darkest Dungeons retains its bad and fun style at the same time.
  10. TheSixthAxis
    Dec 6, 2016
    80
    An ungodly combination of Fire Emblem and Dark Souls, it delights in making you suffer, but every small step forwards feels like a massive achievement. It’s not for everyone, but if you enjoy the darkness and feel up to the challenge, you can’t do much better than enter the Darkest Dungeon. Just make sure that all your affairs are in order and that you have written a will, because once you’re in, you might not make it back out.
  11. ZTGD
    Nov 1, 2016
    80
    It is a very competent RPG with tons of upgrades and stat tracking. It really is a hardcore RPG fan’s dream.
  12. GameCritics
    Oct 17, 2016
    80
    While it was a long time coming, I’m quite glad that I waited for Darkest Dungeon. The learning curve is steep, the controls are a little fiddly and the difficulty is high, but it’s a superb port of a rich game that’s become part of my daily routine. Conquering these cosmic horrors and undoing my mad uncle’s actions may be a long, grueling process, but it’s a process I’ll see to the end.
  13. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Oct 3, 2016
    80
    Make no mistake; Darkest Dungeon will test your own resolve as much as it does your party. It’s unforgivably difficult by design, and it’s one that will keep you coming back again and again, as if you’ve developed your own masochistic negative quirk.
  14. Metro GameCentral
    Sep 27, 2016
    80
    A fantastically well designed and presented roguelike, that makes your heroes’ mental health just as important as their physical well-being.

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best PS4 Game of 2016
85
#85 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
92
#92 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 208 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 157 out of 208
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 208
  3. Negative: 24 out of 208
  1. MatheusOta
    Jan 21, 2017
    5
    Darkest Dungeon is a game that has two major flaw, its RNG factor and repetitive gameplay.
    I played 40 hours on my account and my experience    Darkest Dungeon is a game that has two major flaw, its RNG factor and repetitive gameplay.
    I played 40 hours on my account and my experience was at first impressive, the Mike Mignola style, the first boss, the first time i saw the dungeons, watching my roster of heroes getting diverse and bigger, while my decrepit hamlet became a Bastion of hope amongst the mud, all that joy vanished, once i sink my teeth on the core of the game i realized how much luck was involved in the overall experience, if i miss or hit, if it inflicts status effect, if your character dies, what town events you get, does your tank becames a masochist prick who wont accept healing, all that joyfully out of your control, yes you can try to play avoiding such situations, and in some cases i did found that feeling similar to beating a boss in Dark Souls to emerge as a made the best out of a bad situation, but the problem was that most times it was just out of my control, random encouters with a miniboss, getting ambushed after i camp, my party getting surprised, those bad situations dont feel like a punishment for careless action or sloppy plays, it often feels like the game is punishing you for playing it.
    The game quickly turns into a grindfest, to upgrade your heroes so they can venture out on the darkest level 5 and 6 dungeons, this process takes a lot o time, upgrading the buildings so they can upgrade your heroes, and then upgrading your heroes, managing 5 types of currency during the process, and grinding early areas for loot, and then getting a poetic team wipe at a level 5 dungeon because of consecutive enemy crits and consecutive misses from the poor legendary level fools you spent so much time investing.
    A lot of people like to compare this game to the souls series, and i can see why, similar aesthetics, odds stacked up against you, and in the case of Bloodborne the Lovecraftian theme, the major difference between those games is that the souls series manages to be unforgiving towards your mistakes while Darkest Dungeon is unforgiving towards you playing it.
    My final thoughts are that while this game manages to be engrossing in art and atmosphere it lacks in gameplay and game design, i do look forward to what Red Hook has in store for us in the future, but as it stands now Darkest Dungeon is to grindy and luck based for me to really want to delve deeper in its madness.    … Full Review »
  2. TheOmegaMale
    Sep 27, 2016
    8
    Darkest Dungeon is a game that has been on my radar since its release on PC, and now it's finally landed on PS4. The game is a 2D turn basedDarkest Dungeon is a game that has been on my radar since its release on PC, and now it's finally landed on PS4. The game is a 2D turn based RPG with a dark fantasy / horror storyline. The game has also picked up a reputation for being ruthlessly difficult.

    The core of the game revolves around you creating and managing a team of up to four active adventurers as they explore through the horror filled passages of your ancestral home. You engage in turn based combat with enemies and loot their corpses for rewards in order to upgrade your team. Pretty standard RPG stuff.

    However, the twist comes in exactly how important managing your team really is! That reputation for difficulty I mentioned is well earned. You can quite literally loose your entire team in one confrontation if they're not managed properly (and sometimes even if they are). Not only do you have to look after the team's health, but you must also manage their stress levels. Something that you will end up either loving or hating! Seriously, this will be the make or break of the game for many players.

    The stress mechanic has your team members becoming afflicted with unique behaviours as the stress level builds up. These behaviours are generally negative (but not always) and if you leave stress unchecked for to long, your character's can literally die of a heart attack! Yeah, I said a heart attack! Instant death regardless of health. And when a character is gone in this game, they're gone! Perma death is a thing.

    What really hurts is how difficult managing stress can be. Stress builds on characters so easily but it can be very difficult to counter. Especially when out on a mission. When you're back in the central hub you can remove stress by sending party members for a night of drinking in the inn, but this will then remove them from the active roster for at least another mission or two, forcing you to use less experienced backup characters to plug the gap. It's a balancing act that can feel extremely harsh at times.

    Visually the game is beautifully presented with excellent hand drawn characters and environments. The sound is great with dark brooding music and an awesome voice over that narrates your journey through the dungeons. However, I can't give any praise to the control system and user interface. This is quite possibly the weakest adaption of a mouse and keyboard setup to a controller that I have ever seen. It's horrible, and completely counter intuitive. The game also doesn't do a particularly good job of explaining how some important mechanics work. You end up learning by experience, but in a game this punishing it just doesn't feel fair.

    Overall, if you enjoy a challenge and have the patience, you'll get a lot from this game. It's not for the feint hearted or people looking for a quick action fix. A piece of advice, use a guide (at least just to understand the basic mechanics). No one will think less of you.

    9 0ut of 10 for the core game.

    -1 for a god awful control scheme and not explaining itself better.    … Full Review »
  3. Trevwin
    Apr 30, 2017
    3
    I so desperately wanted to like this, but to do so I'm afraid you must first inflict yourself with 'masochistic' (fnarr). A few tweaks couldI so desperately wanted to like this, but to do so I'm afraid you must first inflict yourself with 'masochistic' (fnarr). A few tweaks could make this wonderful... And it looks just gorgeous. But unfortunately they've missed the point of challenging gameplay. A coin toss is not 'challenging'. A dice roll is not 'tough'. If the constant threat of being but a bad roll (and believe me, it happens no matter your preparation) away from losing 20+ hours of work sounds fun, go for it. As it stands it's about us much fun as cancer, and requires as much skill as Russian roulette.… Full Review »
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