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There are over 14 different classes of heroes and naturally they have unique skills and abilities to bring to the fight. Turn-based enemy encounters are the main course in Darkest Dungeon, and they are in one sense, totally as expected, with each character electing to use his or her turn to fight, heal, or use healing or buffing items on themselves or the party. After starting the game, it’s only a matter of moments before your four-member party is plunged into a dungeon crawl. While the story is paper thin, it’s narrated with appropriate gravitas throughout, and that includes the ongoing narrative “color commentary” during the battles.
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If you’re wary of the genre, at least take heart that in Darkest Dungeon, the combat is thoughtful and turn-based and there is some chance that careful preparation and savvy character management will see you through.įirst impressions are important, and thanks to its excellent voice over narration, evocative music, and dark, 2D gothic graphic novel art style Darkest Dungeon makes a great one, intriguing and grabbing the new player immediately.
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Kudos to Red Hook Studios for layering their game with subtlety and depth in a way that isn’t opaque or confusing, instead being a great lesson on how to balance accessibility and complexity.ĭarkest Dungeon is a roguelike, heavily invested in what have become the fundamental tenets of the genre: character permadeath and procedurally generated levels that are just as likely to present a major foe in the second room as the twentieth. N ow in final release after over a year in Early Access, Darkest Dungeon might just be one of the simplest yet simultaneously nuanced games you’ll play. And this ragtag quartet has only reached the third room of the dungeon. The healer does her best until she falls victim, forever, to a combination of hysteria and slow-acting poison, and the mage casts her magic, but she’s in a poor position and falls victim to a barrage of arrows and a fear-indiced heart attack. Another member of the party is suddenly gripped with existential dread and is frozen with fear. When the going gets tough, the Crusader gets off, wildly swinging his broadsword in masochistic glee.
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