The creaking of stagecoach wheels rumbled along the dimly lit road as we sat quietly contemplating our bold decisions to venture towards the eldritch unknown. Some were swapping stories, others were stewing in their resentment about our current predicament. One thing was certain: we need to ready ourselves for the dangerous expedition ahead as we face the uncompromising retribution of the Darkest Dungeon II. Serving as less “sequel” and more “refresh” of the 2015 original title, Darkest Dungeon II is a bold step in a different direction that offers plenty of similarity to its first installment while introducing refreshing new ideas. For the newer victims adventurers seeking to test their mettle: Darkest Dungeon asks us to assume the role of an occult researcher who contracts explorers to search for answers to the mysteries of the dark. With the first installment asking you to play as the lord of a manor and all its subsidiary outposts, this sequel asks you to leave the aristocracy behind for more academic pursuits. The most immediate difference seen in gameplay is that our heroes no longer walk through maps, but instead a stagecoach is controlled that works its way through different areas. Still as punishing as ever, it’s no secret this roguelike dungeon crawler forces players to learn from their mistakes and relish in the learning that comes along with it. Bringing upgraded visuals to its iconic style, Darkest Dungeon II is the most gorgeous the series has looked yet. New mechanics introduce more robust synergy than seen before while elevating roleplaying elements for additional character depth. Where combos in the previous game felt like small buffs for other heroes, this title maximizes the way our heroes can work together to deliver devastating blows. This Darkest Dungeon reworks previous mechanics to make them feel more powerful and effective. Darkest Dungeon II provides more sustainability through reworked hero skills and class combinations as well, but also comes with imbalances because of this. As we make our way, we can see where there’s forgiveness in gameplay, but other areas feel unnecessarily punishing to offset this. Overall Darkest Dungeon II is a labor of love with its updated aesthetics, gameplay and lore but could benefit from some gameplay balances for a better experience. With a lot of familiarity and new additions, let’s hit the road to see why Darkest Dungeon II still offers the masochistic enjoyment its series is known for.
It’s time to pack up the essentials and prepare for a treacherous journey into the domineering mountains. Through tedious research and evening-long lectures with your mentor (whom also serves as the grim narrator), it’s discovered eldritch secrets may be coalescing in the dark of the mountain. Yet having to travel through three different zones can prove hazardous. After signing your name on the expedition contract, you stop at the crossroads to collect the crew. Once again you must choose four souls to make up our party. To begin, you’ve only got the “usual four” heroes to choose from. Veteran players may remember the Grave Robber, the Plague Doctor, the Man-at-Arms and Highwayman as some of the staples from the first title. Here they serve as players' tutorial group until enough currencies are acquired for unlocks. These are just four characters that represent the balance needed for success. With each class having its own range and specializations, it becomes important to find a group balance of support, damage and range. As you play, each expedition yields currency in the form of candles that can be used to purchase hero upgrades and unlocks. Darkest Dungeon II does a fantastic job of cleaning up its UI and resources where its predecessor asked players to manage five different currencies for all kinds of things, you now thankfully only have to work with four. You also no longer need to worry about exchanging currencies for others – which turned into another tedious resource management task. Where players would lose out on all manner of resources previously in the first installment, Darkest Dungeon II is more respectful of players' time and now rewards players with candles at the end of each run – whether or not it ends in failure. These candles can be used as we approach the Alter of Hope at the start of a new expedition. This alter takes you to the revamped city management that has been, again, thankfully streamlined. The first Darkest Dungeon had an extra layer of city management that greatly affected battle, resources and other mechanics, while this sequel approach utilizes candles in these buildings to unlock new heroes and upgrades. Through these locations within the Alter of Hope, you’re able to unlock new abilities and specializations for the party. Cosmetic items and stagecoach upgrades can also be had through the Alter as well. Receiving candles by the end of every run creates more accessible progress even when a run goes poorly. In true fashion, sometimes you must fail to obtain candles so that heroes can be given new upgrades. The Alter serves as a hub where many of the hard-earned lessons can be imparted. The other currencies received can be used to buy supplies and trinkets along the route, or upgrade heroes with points at the Inn as you make our way closer to the end. As you travel in the stagecoach, you’re given choices of routes (similarly to the first game) where you may have the opportunity to stop at locations that yield boons and resources. The Inn marks the end of the current leg of the overall journey, but between each one you may find field hospitals for healing, merchants for resupply and unfortunate denizens who may need assistance in return for rewards. It’s up to you whether you want to get involved or not.
Party make-up is also still as important as ever, as different abilities and character ranges can make a huge difference in progress. The first game had you churning out heroes like a meat grinder as you threw them into dungeons and hoped they would live long enough to level up and grow. This hero progression was left greatly up to players' success, as heroes who died or left early weren’t rewarded and the ones who lived were just thrown onto a pile of traumatized guinea pigs. There was little interaction with heroes and they felt detached from the overall lore. Darkest Dungeon II introduces us to more robust character lore where each hero now has the chance for story progression if you stop at a Hero Shrine along our way. It’s a treat to get fully-fleshed backstory for characters we’ve known for years now, and some chapters may even treat you to more roleplaying gameplay. You can fight as the Highwayman during his desperate escape from prison, you can see how the Leper contracted his illness through goodwill, or you can even see the backstory for the newest addition: the Runaway. These stories not only add extra flavor, but will yield unlockable skills that allow heroes' kits for battle to be changed. These hero memories also provide story progression if your overall expeditions are stagnant and create various angle of gameplay. Through these unlocks and upgrades, the roleplay carries over into hero loadout as you can now change their specializations to different sub-classes for varied strategies. Heroes no longer feel one-dimensional and are now static characters rather than dungeon fodder. Because of this, there’s also more of an emphasis on the stress mechanic as it makes its return. A new affinity mechanic means that heroes are more interactive with one another and have more of an influence on each others' state of mind. Stress can be accumulated through difficult situations, tough battles and even teammate outlook. It feels that affinity is an important mechanic, however, as NPCs can now create affinity bonds that can help or hinder their abilities.
It’s difficult to quantify how these bonds are formed, as the most unlikely characters can end up in a friendship or in a hatred. This feels removed from the first game where stress was immediately added to a party before expedition if two heroes of differing values joined each other. For example: the Abomination (whom you don’t see in this game for now) and any hero of zealous faith would rub against each other poorly. The removal of this parameter frees up party make-up to be anything desired without disadvantage, but now it’s difficult to tell how negative relationships are formed. This feels imbalanced especially when negative relationships can also give a negative element to basic skills. Not only do heroes feel stress if they aren’t recipients of certain spells or buffs, but the use of a skill now provides debuffs to characters with negative affinity until the next Inn. Now you have to pick and choose which skills to use in battle out of caution to avoid stress levels from rising. There’s a chance a hero can pull through their trigger and act heroically in the face of hopelessness – allotting them and the party relief while also healing the hero to full health. But if a hero were to have a breakdown, their health drops low and they affect the entire team’s stress. This was something to keep tabs on in the first installment, but feels excessively off balanced in this game. While the positive affinity influences are amazing, trying to balance affinities so everyone likes each other for the sake of success feels exhausting. Choices made about what paths to take and who to help can influence stress and affinity. Sometimes this means you may not go the route you want because you need to go down the safer option for the sake of everyone’s feelings. And like its predecessor before it, some of the most satisfying trinkets and rewards come from the most dangerous routes. But the synergy between characters is a welcome change since it no longer feels like individuals in a party, but now they can form bonds for more robust gameplay. Previously, characters would be influenced by one another but it would feel more like a hindrance than anything else without many positives outside of inspiring the team.
The synergy between characters also translates well in combat, as combos take center stage. Heroes now have more skills that play off each other, and almost every hero has a way to set up a combo. Certain skills put combo tokens on enemies that set up another hero for a big play. Extra elements may be added if a combo token is on an enemy, or perhaps your character will deal even higher damage. Whatever the combination, Darkest Dungeon II provides gameplay as a domino effect of deadly effects wipes out enemies one by one. From stacking DoTs (Damage over Time) to providing strategic cover, the title continues to deliver its brand of eldritch action. With revamped skills and trinkets, there are many combat combinations at your disposal. Most heroes now have some form of sustain so you no longer need to worry about only relying on one party member for healing. This is one of the more forgiving elements added in Darkest Dungeon II that also has balance. While heroes may be able to heal themselves or others, there are usually certain conditions that must be met (hero must be below a certain percentage of health, for example).
It’s a theme that’s seen throughout: some elements are more forgiving than their predecessors, but also have restrictions or conditions. This makes sense for some gameplay mechanics like healing resources, trinkets and the affinity system, but feels unbalanced when applied to combat. Through hours of gameplay and many failed attempts, successful expeditions are the ones that maximize the use of combos. A party that does not combo is not a party that wins often. While there are many benefits to working off one another in a team, it also means we are somewhat restricted in the way you can play. Upon making my way to the difficult chapter one boss, it became evident that I could not win without a better combo team (or picking up more combo skills for my heroes). Combos are an amazing mechanic and are so satisfying, but it can spell doom for a player that doesn’t consider party layout. Yet even when everything goes well, Darkest Dungeon II reminds us that the journey itself can take its toll through blockades, stagecoach breakdowns and other events. Veteran players know how inviting and cruel the dungeon can be.
Closing Comments:
Darkest Dungeon II brings fresh ideas to an already stellar series. Red Hook Studio should be praised for continuing to strive for better mechanics and overall gameplay experience. Fresh UIs and the pairing down of excessive elements makes this installment a prettier version alongside gorgeous, macabre visuals. City management as we knew it has been streamlined and contained into one hub, which makes for an easier management of upgrades and unlocks. You still get the experience of “dungeon” crawling by stagecoach as you navigate through procedurally-generated maps. With various shrines and combat engagements along the way, just making it to the end of the expedition is its own reward. With newly-added affinity systems and revamped combat combos, heroes feel unique and more robust. The upgraded synergy of party members is a double-edged blade, though. It’s difficult to tell what helps or hinders party relations and players just need to deal with it until the next area – after resting at an Inn and hoping better relationships form. You’re able to influence heroes' affinity for each other on the road as well, but it seems impossible to reverse bad-blood once its there. The affinity system feels imbalanced because basic skills can be the cause of stress – and stress (or lack thereof) is an important factor to success. This becomes difficult when hero skills are needed for combos, or are needed for support, and now you must attempt to avoid any meltdowns in the party. It’s possible for one party member to spiral so badly that they take everyone else down with them. Darkest Dungeon II builds upon great features seen in the series, while also providing new opportunities for growth. Combat can be rewarding when you make the most of a bad situation, and failure doesn’t feel like the end. Instead of having to manage an estate that can takes hundreds of days, you now have a small expedition to manage that only takes a few days. The turnover rate may be high, but it feels easy to jump back into a run after failure. Experimenting with party loadouts and hero specializations provides robust gameplay and is just as addicting as its predecessor. While Darkest Dungeon II has some balance issues, it’s a title that takes risks. And as we all know: taking risks is the only way to dive into the abyss of the Darkest Dungeon.
Darkest Dungeon II
Darkest Dungeon 2 continues the brutal tactical RPG from Red Hook Studios. This time, you’re preventing the apocalypse, and you must manage your party’s wellbeing to ensure that happens.
