While you might not be able to become close with certain characters, one of the new features is the introduction of origin stories for each class that are an absolutely amazing addition. Immediately in DD2, you can feel a much higher level of refinement and polish with the most obvious being the visuals moving to 3D as well as the addition of intros, title cards, animations and a score that sets a much higher level of atmosphere and cinematic quality that Darkest Dungeon didn't have. There have been some tweaks to it but for the most part, the beloved but extremely difficult combat system remains firmly in place. The good news is that the main pillar of Darkest Dungeon 2 is the tried and true turn based combat mechanics that you remember from the first. Fixing or even removing this system would have drastically helped the pacing of the game, which can feel slower at times. Sadly, this is one of the least fun areas of the game as it feels sluggish to control and slows down the time between the fun parts of managing your party and slaying evil. You do this by basically traversing an interactive Slay the Spire style map.

The main journey is basically a much darker version of The Oregon Trail as you travel badlands trying to survive from one Inn to the next. If you die, which you will, often, you start back at the start, fully able to equip the same four classes again, if you choose to do so. Where you pick 4 of the familiar classes to form your party and venture out towards the mountain to defeat the main source of evil that is currently spreading. Getting the biggest gripe out of the way, you don’t form the same relationship with certain characters that you did in the original as Darkest Dungeon 2 is focused on a shorter run based gameplay loop. The sequel has made a number of changes that will likely alienate some, but will overall welcome more newcomers as well as bring back fans of the original to this little hamlet for a different experience.

It’s hard to be critical about a new game without referencing the previous work of the studio and it’s even more difficult to talk about Darkest Dungeon 2 without mentioning Darkest Dungeon.

Darkest dungeon ii review