Face the darkness within and without in Darkest Dungeon II

Darkest Dungeon II is a fantasy roleplaying game in which you lead a party of adventurers to confront an ancient evil. Along the way, you’ll have to contend not only with monsters and other enemies but with your party’s internal disputes. Managing your characters’ stress and their relationships with one another is vital to success.

Like the original Darkest Dungeon, this sequel combines roguelike gameplay with turn-based combat. There are some differences between Darkest Dungeon II and its predecessor, but most core elements are recognizable. The iconic character designs and dark, moody fantasy aesthetic will remind players of games like Urtuk: the Desolation.

A battle for survival

Like its predecessor, Darkest Dungeon II is a challenging game; early attempts are unlikely to succeed. However, each attempt to beat the game, even if it fails, unlocks new characters and items for future playthroughs. Success comes from combining different characters’ abilities to create winning strategies. You’ll also need to deploy characters in the correct positions in your battle line.

Despite your characters’ powers, they’re still vulnerable human beings. As they encounter frightening or stressful experiences, they will gain stress levels. Too much stress will cause the character to melt down, upsetting or even harming other party members. As characters begin to dislike each other, they’ll work less well together. Managing stress levels and relationships can be as challenging as combat.

More dark roguelike RPG adventure

Darkest Dungeon II has a lot to attract fans of the original game, but the sequel focuses more on the stories of individual characters and their relationships. Players who value the large-scale team management of the original game may be disappointed. The individual campaigns are also much shorter than the original’s, although multiple campaigns are possible.