“The way is lit. We require only the strength to follow it”: Darkest Dungeon II’s bigger, badder apocalypse

The world is coming to a swift end. The flames engulf cities as the citizens purge all libraries of their contents. Undead soldiers wallow in the trenches of a war that was never fought. Tales of misery and ruin serve as the backdrop for the heroes under our command.   

Darkest Dungeon II does an incredible job presenting the story of each of these characters and their flaws, to make them human. The first game was about the tragedy of a single man, the second one is about those who will put an end to it. Originally situated around a haphazard hamlet, in hopes of dealing with the spreading corruption of the region, but now the entire world is in need.  

Everything in this game demonstrates its quality as an exercise in raising the stakes. The scale of every unique location topples the claustrophobic feeling that the rooms in Darkest Dungeon had. Mazes of hallways turn into endless roads, leading the party of heroes ever closer to the Mountain, the final refuge where they will fight one of five final bosses.   

Visually, it looks fantastic. It jumps flawlessly from the 2D graphic style of the first into the third dimension, without sacrificing its eye for detail and sense of “appealing disgust”, with enemies constructed carefully through copious amounts of body horror. Loving the game’s visuals is a must, but in return, Darkest Dungeon II delivers in spades. This creeping feeling permeates also the sound design and into arguably one of the first title’s defining features, Wayne June’s narrating voice, his discourse verbose and omnipotent.    

In its newfound simplicity and revivified looks, the game has refined its original formula for combat into something noteworthy.  

The combat system works in turns, with heroes selecting specific abilities to affect certain enemy positions. It allows for many options in strategy, which is impressive considering the amount of fluff it cut from the earlier game. Most conditions to consider are represented by simple tokens, which turn these deep and complex fights into an action-driven approach. I am typically at odds with turn-based combat of this type, but the spectacle and chains of events in constant succession keep me on the edge of my seat at all times until the fight is over. 

Like its protagonists, the game is not without flaws. A single attempt to win can take upwards of 2 hours, which is too long for those who, like me, need to get the entire thing done in one go. It’s the main reason I don’t play this game that often. Darkest Dungeon II is also an incredibly challenging game. It can swing from being incredibly unforgiving of any mistake on your part as a player to sometimes feeling outright unfair. But the greatest virtue it’ll provide you in turn is persistence.   

My main recommendation for anyone second-guessing themselves about buying Darkest Dungeon II after loving the first one would be: if you like the city management, the rotation of the hero roster, or the difficulty for difficulty’s sake that the original offers, I recommend you stick to the first one. For anyone new but already invested, I would suggest trying this one first. 

 

Darkest Dungeon II Basic Info 

Publisher/Developer: Red Hook Studios  

Platforms: Xbox One, Play Station 4, Windows  

Release Date: May 2023 

Genres: Roguelite, Turn-Based Tactics, Dark Fantasy 

PEGI: 12 (Violence, Bad Language) 

Photos: Promo pictures from the game Darkest Dungeon II (Red Hook Studios, 2023)  https://store.steampowered.com/app/1940340/Darkest_Dungeon_II/   

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