Darkest Dungeon Reviews

Darkest Dungeon is ranked in the 93rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Recommended
Jan 25, 2016

Punishing and beautifully crafted, Darkest Dungeon is cruelty at its classiest.

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88 / 100
Jan 26, 2016

A wonderfully executed, brilliantly stressful reinvention of party-based dungeon-crawling, Darkest Dungeon is great fun, even when it's cruel.

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Dan Stapleton
Top Critic
9.1 / 10.0
Jan 26, 2016

Darkest Dungeon is a grim and merciless tactical strategy game whose great tension comes from its many layers of complexity, unpredictable randomization, and willingness to put our fragile characters in mortal danger if we dare to venture into its depths in search of treasure and glory. Brilliant narration and stiff yet surprisingly expressive animation make it easy to be drawn into its vague but tantalizing world, though the end feels artificially out of reach.

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8 / 10
Jan 21, 2016

A fantastically well designed and presented roguelike, that makes your heroes' mental health just as important as their physical well-being.

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9.3 / 10.0
Jan 18, 2016

While the game can feel grindy at times and losing a critical team permanently is soul crushing, taking down big bosses, collecting treasure, and restoring the fallen hamlet to glory is challenging and fun

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8 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2016

In its best moments, Darkest Dungeon makes me feel crazy and hopeless. There's something I can't say for most games: The times when I most felt that I had irrevocably fucked up were also the times when the game was at its strongest. Though some of Darkest Dungeon's more annoying design concessions detract from the overall experience, I'd be foolish not to recommend such a singular experience.

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9 / 10
Feb 9, 2016

A richly satisfying and wonderfully executed masterpiece.

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Unscored
Jan 26, 2016

Being a hero has consequences, and Darkest Dungeon lays them bare.

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USgamer
Top Critic
Jan 20, 2016

I can't say enough nice things about Darkest Dungeon. Its presentation is brilliant, its systems are smart and well-constructed, and it does a lot to subvert what we should expect from the average dungeon crawler. For a game built around slowly grinding up multiple parties of adventurers, it's remarkable how fresh it can feel even after more than 50 hours. It's only January, but Darkest Dungeon is already one of my favorite games of the year.

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8 / 10.0
Jan 27, 2016

Despite the grind, despite the perhaps undue commitment to brutality, and despite what I feel is a joke at the player's expense at the end, Darkest Dungeon still manages to be one of the most engaging and intriguing roguelikes I've ever played and I'll probably still be diving dungeons and trying new party compositions weeks from now. After all, it would be madness to stop at this point.

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TheSixthAxis
Steve C
Top Critic
8 / 10
Dec 6, 2016

Darkest Dungeon has found itself high up in my games of the year list, and I'll be playing it for a long time to come.

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9 / 10
Jan 22, 2016

Darkest Dungeon takes the staples of roguelikes and adds the atmosphere and themes of Lovecraftian Horror and does so with incredible success. The game captures the feeling of battling an unending wave of nightmarish abominations with little to no chance of hope. But when you do succeed you feel like a million bucks. The difficulty may deter many people from trying this game out, but if you are brave enough you will be rewarded with a rich experience.

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8.7 / 10.0
Jan 22, 2018

An awesome port that may not be easy for newcomers but offers an interesting and deep gameplay proposal that can drow you into its world almost forever.

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VG247
Top Critic
Jan 20, 2016

I can't say enough nice things about Darkest Dungeon. Its presentation is brilliant, its systems are smart and well-constructed, and it does a lot to subvert what we should expect from the average dungeon crawler. For a game built around slowly grinding up multiple parties of adventurers, it's remarkable how fresh it can feel even after more than 50 hours. It's only January, but Darkest Dungeon is already one of my favorite games of the year.

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Jan 21, 2016

Darkest Dungeon will push even the most hardcore gamers to their breaking points, but those who are brave enough to take it on are in for a dastardly roguelike rivaled by few others.

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9 / 10.0
Feb 9, 2016

Darkest Dungeon is one of the most atmospheric games I've played in a very long time, it nails its core concept and delivers an exceptionally well-crafted and interesting dungeon crawler that will take you hundreds of terrifying hours to see through to its ludicrous ending.

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Unscored
Jan 25, 2016

You'll cry. And cry and cry and cry. But I think you'll love it.

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9 / 10.0
Jan 26, 2016

Hours and hours of content await for players who need a time sink. I'll confess I'm still battling my way through it, though I've sunk many slogging hours into the thing – plenty to have a good rounded view of the experience. There's so much to chew through, and so many tasks to complete, that you'll find yourself more than satisfied if you're a content hound.

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Unscored
Jan 26, 2016
► WTF Is... - Darkest Dungeon ? video thumbnail
Jan 24, 2016

A Kickstarter campaign from two years ago has led to the long-awaited release of Darkest Dungeon, one of the best roguelike RPG titles we've ever played.

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