10 Years and One Sequel Later, This Dark Fantasy Roguelike RPG Is Still A Stressful, Anxiety-Inducing Masterpiece That I’ll Never Put Down
Back when I was an overly anxious college junior trying to get back into video games, my beloved college roommate Diego gave me a suggestion I’ll never forget. This friend knows me like the back of his hand, so he was sure it was right up my alley. Mechanically, he knew I had never encountered a game like this. Tonally, he was aware it was like the fiction I enjoyed consuming. Visually, it was striking. So he did what any well-meaning friend would do and recommended Darkest Dungeon to me. Little did he know that I would briefly hate him for it.
Why did I hate him? At the time, I already had enough stress juggling assignments, work-study, friendships, and the general chaos of early adulthood. And now, on top of everything else, he had introduced me to a dangerously addictive game built entirely on dread, tension, and the slow unraveling of hope. Every expedition in Darkest Dungeon felt like I was willingly walking into a panic attack wrapped in gothic horror, but somewhere between the suffocating atmosphere and the quiet poetry of despair, something shifted. Diego didn’t curse me. Even if it felt that way at first. He handed me one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences I’ve ever had: one I still return to, years later, with the same mix of reverence, fear, and awe.
31 Best Mods for Darkest Dungeon
There are plenty of mods out there to liven up Darkest Dungeon – some just for aesthetics, and others to make a hard game just a tad easier.
I’m Not the Biggest Fan of Roguelikes, But Darkest Dungeon Checks All My Boxes
As a writer for GameRant and chronic player trying to spread her wings, I’ve had to try my hand at games that aren’t what I would typically reach for. Roguelikes fall into this category. In the process, I’m glad to have found some games like Hades, Hades 2, PEAK, and even Balatro. But for every roguelike I enjoy, there are more I bounce off of. I can tolerate a highly difficult experience—Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 are some of my favorite titles. But roguelikes offer a flavor of unpredictability, luck, and permadeath that make me rage-quit even at my big age.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)
I favor RPGs. They’re narrative-driven games that have me hooked on characters and a cinematic thrill. I adore life-sims where I have control. Despite all these reasons not to like roguelikes, Darkest Dungeon is somehow able to swerve right into my heart.
- The Aesthetics: Let’s start with the shallow reasons. Frankly, this is a beautiful game to look at with impeccable art direction that feels like a playable gothic etching. The heavily inked outlines, oppressive shadows, and haunting animations actively reinforce the dread the game wants players to feel.
- The Hamlet: Strangely enough, building up my Hamlet scratched the same itch as my early life-sim obsessions. Between upgrading buildings, managing resources, and watching the town slowly evolve, there’s a strange comfort loop hiding inside the despair. It gives every failed expedition meaning because progress will still, somehow, linger.
- The DLC: Crimson Court lives rent-free in my head. It can stay there. It’s the kind of expansion that deepens the game’s identity by layering new horrors and systems that feel punishing and unforgettable. It is one of those DLCs that you forget aren’t part of the base game.
Fans of Darkest Dungeon and Slay The Spire Shouldn’t Miss This Upcoming Deckbuilder
Steam has no shortage of Roguelikes or Deckbuilders, but Wondernaut Studio’s upcoming combination of the two presents a compelling package.
My Favorite Reason Why I Like Darkest Dungeon Has Nothing to Do With Video Games
My connection to Darkest Dungeon isn’t fully rooted in gaming. It’s actually tied to Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve played in various campaigns since 2018, so when Darkest Dungeon was presented to me only a year later, I couldn’t help but tie it back to my time roleplaying with my friends at the tabletop.
It might seem a bit strange, but the roster management was immediately familiar to me only because of D&D. There were recognizable classes to latch onto. Some heroes suffered from game-altering afflictions—much like some of my favorite D&D campaigns where I have actually mourned the characters my friends and I grew to know so intimately. So it was almost as if I had assumed the role of a Dungeon Master as I played through the multiple dungeons. As an overseer or DM, I held so much control that every success felt like a personal victory. Conversely, total party wipes in Darkest Dungeon felt like a profound failure.
Darkest Dungeon Is a Game I Wish I Could Play for the First Time Again
In my early twenties, I was trying to catch up on games I had missed in my adolescence and childhood. Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, and all that jazz. But Darkest Dungeon felt different: it was a game that I had only narrowly missed by a few years, and knowing about its dark magic made me feel like I was “in the know” for the first time in a long time. There are games I wish I could play for the first time again. Darkest Dungeon has to be at the very top of that list, only because I wish I could revive the version I have of it in my mind.
2019. Friday night. I’d just turned 21. It was, very likely, a hard day. My dad’s cancer diagnosis ground every fragile piece of me raw. My then-boyfriend-now-husband ordered pizza. Some other friends beat me to the apartment, but they brought beer and snacks to make up for their unannounced arrival. Cackles flood the hallway. Diego is inviting me to join him on the couch while handing me the controller. Everything will be okay.
Darkest Dungeon
9/10
- Released
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January 19, 2016
- ESRB
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T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Red Hook Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Red Hook Studios