Darkest Dungeon Reviews
Darkest Dungeon will kill your party, drive you insane, and leave you a gibbering mess at the Sanitarium. Yet it's so compelling and rewarding at the same time, you won't be able to resist diving back in for one more quest.
From the first time I saw the art style of Darkest Dungeon, I knew it was going to be something special. What I couldn't have known is just how bleak the game would be—or how cruel.
It's a shame that the console version of Darkest Dungeon couldn't have been a bit smarter with its controller layout, because the rest of the game shines in brilliant darkness as it did on PC; the 2D artwork is a great mix of hard lines and grotesque imagery, quite similar to Hellboy and other comics by Mike Mignola.
The narrative is drowned by mechanics
Darkest Dungeon still remains a fantastic, dark RPG on its move to the Switch, one that offers a challenge stacked with replayability.
I can’t recommend Darkest Dungeon enough. Its hallway crawling, madness suffering, darkness fighting, dungeon romping is some of the best RPG play I’ve had in recent years. The game shines on the Switch, despite a few minor setbacks in the font and controls. If you’re a veteran of the game or have never tried it, put it on your want list because Darkest Dungeon is very easily added to the Switch’s growing list of “Best Games”.
Darkest Dungeon is an easy game to recommend to the right gamer. It require patience, persistence and constant attention to detail. For all of the hours I have poured into the game, I'm still not even sure if I'm playing it right, but I think that's the point. We usually expect to (at some point) master the games that we play, but I'm not sure Darkest Dungeon is ever meant to be. Regardless, I can safely say that Darkest Dungeon is one of the best games to release in 2016 and is a testament to masterful game design and art direction. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks they are up to the challenge.
An engaging and atmospheric Lovecraftian adventure, as challenging as it is addictive. A must-play.
Obviously the audio is top notch as well, the background music is subtle and not repetitive and then there is the amazing narration that really makes Darkest Dungeon something really special.
The writing and narration combined with the beautiful hand drawn graphics unite to create a gaming experience that feels both literary and cartoonish. The player feels like her or she is fighting his or her way through a graphic novel which lends a feeling of whimsy that makes up for the sometimes frustrating gameplay. There is a lot of grinding involved in this game, but the grind is generally pretty fun. It is surprisingly addictive and great to play in the wee hours of the night.
Finally, a game gets Lovecraftian horror right.
Darkest Dungeon offers a robust and efficient experience that is not afraid to let the player truly go through the trials and errors that would come with such a mission.
If you're willing to take your time, make careful decisions regarding loot, party composition, and the best fate for your most loved characters, Darkest Dungeon will reward your efforts.
Darkest Dungeon ain’t for everyone. It’s complex, difficult, and appeals to a specific niche of horror fandom.
It's sadistic, mean-spirited and unfair. And it makes no pretense at being anything other than that.
Darkest Dungeon on the Switch is basically just that, Darkest Dungeon on the Switch. It's not the first portable version (that's the Vita), it's not the first touch screen version (that's iOS), and it has no exclusive features that make it worth more on the Switch than any other console, but it's still Darkest Dungeon. If you've never played the game before, or if you want to play it on the go and don't own an iPad or Vita, then the Switch version is likely your best choice.
Darkest Dungeon is a huge asshole of a game—in a good way. It's punishingly hard, and progress is made in small increments.
A dark and deep dungeon crawler with lots of difficult choices, great combat and cool stress mechanics. Does get a bit repetitive but overall a fantastic RPG for the tactically minded.
'Darkest Dungeon' is the rare game that gets my heart pumping while playing, not because it's scary (even though it is a little scary), but because the stakes are so high. One battle can make the difference between waltzing out flush with loot, and returning home defeated, with the party dead or completely insane. It will punish your mistakes and it will even punish your good fortune, on the rare occasion it happens. Despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, I cannot seem to stop playing 'Darkest Dungeon'.
Despite gameplay better suited for a mouse and keyboard, Darkest Dungeon transitions rather well from PC to Switch. The controls were always going to be convoluted when adapted to a controller, but it doesn't take too long to adjust, and the core gameplay loop is strong enough where overlooking that initial awkwardness is more than doable. The sheer challenge of the title will certainly overwhelm some, but there a plenty of workarounds between Radiant mode and the ability to toggle certain difficulty features off. The atmosphere, aesthetic, and music all lend themselves to an incredibly tense experience where every battle matters and constant management is necessary for survival. Darkest Dungeon is by no means for everyone, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth the stress.