In this quick review, I am taking a look at the game Darkest Dungeon by Red Hook Studios.
From their website:
“Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. You will lead a band of heroes on a perilous side-scrolling descent, dealing with a prodigious number of threats to their bodily health, and worse, a relentless assault on their mental fortitude! Five hundred feet below the earth you will not only fight unimaginable foes, but famine, disease, and the stress of the ever-encroaching dark. Darkest Dungeon focuses on the humanity and psychological vulnerability of the heroes and asks: What emotional toll does a life of adventure take?”
I picked up this game really not knowing what is was on a recent Steam Sale and I have to admit I am happy that I did. The game is challenging. Any one of your heroes can get wiped out in many horrible ways and there is no coming back! That’s right, perma-death. This is not the first time I have played something like this (I have played Dark Souls and FTL) but I was taken a bit off guard with the quickness my first party was dispatched. Not only that, there is also sickness, quirks and even madness to affect your party! It’s something else to see a character that you have been working on (and maybe even got slightly attached to) go nuts and you lose them. After getting the hang of things, I found the game to be quite enjoyable (if not a tad stressful at times). The main thing for me was learning how to balance monies, resources and figure out my character’s strengths. As of this writing my two favorites to bring on any quest are the Bounty Hunter and Vestal.
As for the graphics and sound, I have found that they are appropriate for the Lovecraftian atmosphere the studio seems to be going for. It may be just me, but I think the narrator (voiced by Wayne June)kind of sounds like Morgan Freeman. At any moment, I am waiting on him to start talking about Andy and his time at Shawshank. I really don’t mind it at all though, who wouldn’t want that magic voice to narrate everything? The music is great! Normally I listen to music when I play most games to break up the sometimes monotonous loops. In this case, I find myself wanting to have it playing! Full props to Stuart Chatwood for nailing the score! The graphics are dark, gritty and really attribute to the sense of darkness. I really appreciate the hand drawn look and it just goes to show you graphics don’t have to be cutting (clipping?) edge to make a game enjoyable.
[yasr_overall_rating size=”medium”]
In this day and age of dumpy AAA game producers and half assed releases it’s nice to see such good work come out of a smaller independent studio. Larger studios, take note: this is how you make a fun and engaging game. It’s an added bonus that this actually got its start on Kickstarter!
Overall I think if you are a fan of this type of game or you would like a challenge with great atmosphere, you should definitely give it a try. I rate this a solid 4 madness inducing visions out of 5.
Images used with permission from Red Hook Studios Inc.
