Abandon all hope ye who enter here…
Some key points that this game offers:
- Difficulty, a challenging experience awaits you.
- Gothic Roguelike Turn-based combat.
- Hand drawn Gothic crowquill art style.
- Narration system; a perfect add on to this masterpiece.
- The Affliction System, there are more than just monsters to battle against.
- Sixteen playable Hero classes to make use of.
Gameplay & Controls:
Darkest Dungeon can be enjoyed with controller or keyboard, it merely comes down to personal preference here. There is partial controller support for the game, however, this does not diminish the level of play whatsoever. When playing with the keyboard and mouse you have access to more shortcut keys to make your gameplay easier but the mouse can be used for the entire game if you want to. The game has been beautifully optimized in this regard.
You start the game with a beautiful introduction intro that captivates you immediately. A story of how your ancestor wasted the last of the family fortune in search of some hidden secrets beneath the estate and what he found was nothing anyone could have prepared for. shortly thereafter you start your first battle towards retaking the Hamlet… The gameplay itself is all in masterfully drawn 2D style. Traveling from left to right you explore hallways and corridors disarming traps, fighting off monsters and looting treasures that got left behind. At the end of each corridor you enter a room that leads to the next corridor or hallway. This playstyle is called an expedition and to successfully complete it you have to complete the condition of said expedition such as explore 90% of the room or collect three specific resource items or slay a boss among others that await you.
The game offers a unique management system when you are not out on an expedition. You have various buildings that can all be upgraded to make life a bit easier for you. As your Hero’s gain resolve (XP) they level up and you can upgrade their skills and armour by spending some gold on them. The games affliction system contains a whole bag of frustration, you will not only battle monsters, but combat stress, a wide range of diseases and numerous Afflictions like Paranoia. These afflictions all have an impact on your Hero’s, but all is not lost, numerous positive quirks can be obtained while out on expedition which enhances your Hero’s.
To combat some of these negative afflictions you make use of the Hamlet’s building such as the Tavern which help reduce stress, the Sanitarium is where you can cure diseases and quirks. Several other buildings all offer their own versions of support for your Hero’s as you quest to retake the Hamlet.
A bit more regarding expeditions, you choose your four Hero’s to venture out on said expedition, buying provisions for the journey, provisions such as Torches, Holy Water, Antivenom and other items. There are five regions that you can venture out on, and as you complete expeditions in a region you slowly clear a path to the boss and when the path has been cleared you get the quest to slay that boss. Upon slaying him you will gain one mastery in that region and start working on slaying the next boss.
The goal here is to enter the Darkest Dungeon and complete the quests there, however the best of the best is needed to survive there, Hero’s will have to be at their maximum level, fully upgraded and equipped with the best trinkets to ensure success and then with a lot of luck you might just survive the Darkest Dungeon…
Graphics:
The graphics are marvelously done, the art and style have been perfectly implemented into the core of the game, not only giving us something pretty to enjoy but setting the atmosphere and tone of the game. We have a Horror Survival RPG after all here and the Gothic style fits in perfectly.
Every one of our Hero’s has been drawn to represent a unique and lifelike version of the said class, clad in their own unique armour and equipped with their own weapon variants. We have some colour choices for each Hero to give us some more creative choice here. Each Hero has been drawn uniquely to set them apart from every other class right down to their features and scars.
The same treatment was given to the wide variety of monsters and other dark creatures we face off against. Each created uniquely and marvelously offering us a vivid and horrendous view of what we face off against. The buildings that we have access to all look unique in nature and as they get upgraded, they start looking the part too giving us that feeling of accomplishment when they are at max level.
We have a few graphics options under the hood, but that is about it, the game runs and handles very smoothly even on older systems.
Sounds:
To say that the sounds and music for Darkest Dungeon are stunningly done would be an understatement.
Every tone, track and sound has been carefully chosen to ensure that they fit perfectly with the game’s surroundings and happenings. Hearing the screams in the distance as your expedition treks through dangerous terrain. Combat sounds as you attack and get attacked adds a very realistic flair to each combat scene.
The background music sets the pace for every expedition, it soothes the mind as you wade through dangerous waters, when the scenery changes and you think there is hope left the sounds come right up from behind without a warning to remind you of just how little hope there really is… It is amazing how well the two come together.
Last but not least is the narration, the voice actor for this task has been perfectly chosen, playing the game and hearing his comments as you play the game pretty much makes everything worthwhile. I cannot imagine Darkest Dungeon without the narrator and his commentary, it truly adds a unique experience to the game.
Replayability:
Darkest Dungeon offers more than one difficulty, difficulties change the way the game is played not just in terms of difficulty but time to complete the game.
Upgrading every building in the Hamlet and securing every unique trinket will require playing quite a bit of extra expeditions and then there is tracking down every Boss and slaying them to complete the Caretakers goal list.
The game has numerous achievements that requires quite a bit of work and grind to complete.
MGR Gaming’s Conclusions:
Spoilers ahead:
When it comes down to the numbers the Darkest Dungeon is the perfect blend of RPG, Survival Horror and Dungeon Management, all in a difficult setting that will test your mettle and limitations.
The game is difficult, you will struggle and you will fail, more than once, and at times it will seem impossible, but that is part of the games charm, with the right Hero’s that difficult boss is killable. Unlike other crawlers where you would venture forth and decimate enemies, Darkest Dungeons requires a bit of strategic thinking and planning. Failure to do so will result in dire penalties.
The game has an excellent story line that is captivating from the first spoken words, as you venture out on expeditions you find lost journal pages adding to the lore of the game. The game is full of these tiny add ons enhancing the overall quality of the game.
To combat the difficulty of the game other mechanics are in place for you to make use of. Numerous items can be bought to take into an expedition to help maintain your Hero’s life, items can be found in expeditions and in some cases, they turn the tide. Longer expeditions have the camping system, where you can use the firewood, camping allows your Hero’s to recuperate some health and combat some of the stress and other ailments you have received during the adventure.
The perfect blend for any Dungeon Crawler fan looking for challenge.
Additional info:
Platforms: PC: Mac: Linux: PlayStation 4: PlayStation Vita: IOS: Nintendo Switch: Xbox One
Genre: Turn Based Combat: Dark Fantasy: Gothic
Censor Rating: Mature: Dark
Age Rating: 16
Developer: Red Hook Studios
Publisher: Red Hook Studios
Release Date: 19 January 2016
MGR Gaming Steam Curator:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32364038/
