Darkest Dungeon Reviews

Darkest Dungeon is ranked in the 93rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
GameSkinny
Spatter
Top Critic
Jan 23, 2016

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.

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8 / 10
Jan 22, 2018

Another indie hit that has managed the transition very well to the Nintendo Switch. A good turn-based RPG that is not as easy to get into in the start but grows on you with time.

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Renan Fontes
Top Critic
8 / 10
Apr 11, 2018

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.

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Mar 22, 2017

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.

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8 / 10.0
Jan 28, 2018

In the end it’s the difficulty and unpredictability at the core of the game that will either make it incredibly appealing to you or rightfully scare you away. There’s no glory without challenge and sacrifice and when you manage even small victories in Darkest Dungeon they can feel terrific. Sadly, even when you carefully manage your resources and try to keep your accumulated rotation of characters in good shape you’ll need to accept that any happy thoughts and feelings are often fleeting. One particularly bad mission can cripple even your AAA team if enough manages to go wrong and while you can pay to remedy afflictions the cost will make you think it over very carefully. It’s both thrilling and depressing and captures the essence of what makes roguelikes so interesting all at once. If you’re a fan of this style of play it is an easy recommendation but if you’ve not dipped your toe in the pool yet this may be a bit deeper an end to jump into than most so you’ve been warned.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 6, 2018

Tough and unforgiving, yet keeps you coming back.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 30, 2018

Darkest Dungeon manages to make turn-based combat terrifying for entirely different reasons.

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7 / 10.0
Oct 11, 2016

Darkest Dungeon can be quite inventive and interesting at its best, but these highs aren't held for very long. Still, this is a solid turn-based RPG with a great gimmick.

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70 / 100
Oct 25, 2016

It's easy to get drawn into the deepest caverns of despair with Darkest Dungeon, but there is always a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

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7 / 10
Mar 17, 2016

The narrative is drowned by mechanics

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7 / 10
Nov 14, 2016

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.

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6 / 10.0
Dec 9, 2016

Darkest Dungeon is hard. Very, very hard. As someone who rarely plays dungeon crawling games, it was quite difficult for myself to find enjoyment out of this. While there is a great deal of satisfaction to be had in defeating some of the more grueling battles, the amount of frustration had in its grueling difficulty spikes and random encounters does make it a difficult title to recommend.

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Essential
Mar 9, 2018

Darkest Dungeon is a beautifully atmospheric side-on animated hack and slash, dungeon crawler that lets you assemble a party of four stalwart heroes. You begin your journey in a Hamlet that you can eventually restore and build-up to accommodate new buildings and new features to allow you to survive that much longer. Here you'll recruit your heroes from a roster in the Stage Coach, which initially starts out pretty thin with only a few members and low-rank heroes to choose from.

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Recommended
Jan 25, 2016

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

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Unscored
Jan 26, 2016

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

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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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Unscored
Jan 26, 2016
► WTF Is... - Darkest Dungeon ? video thumbnail
Unscored
Feb 29, 2016

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.

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Unscored
Feb 2, 2016

Darkest Dungeon is a huge asshole of a game—in a good way. It's punishingly hard, and progress is made in small increments.

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Unscored
Oct 12, 2016

Darkest Dungeon ain’t for everyone. It’s complex, difficult, and appeals to a specific niche of horror fandom.

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