When I was an over-anxious college student trying to get back into video games, my beloved 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. He knew mechanically that I had never encountered such a game before. Tonally he was aware that it was like fiction that I enjoyed consuming. It was visually striking. So he did what any well-meaning friend would do and recommend Darkest Dungeon to me. Little did he know that I would briefly hate him for it.
Why did I hate him? By then I had had enough of stress, juggling assignments, work-study, friendships, and the general chaos of early adulthood. And now, on top of everything else, he's introduced me to a dangerously addictive game built entirely on dread, suspense, and the slow decay of hope. Each expedition in Darkest Dungeon I felt like I'd voluntarily entered a panic attack wrapped in gothic horror, but somewhere between the stuffy atmosphere and the quiet poetry of despair, something shifted. Diego didn't curse me. Even if it seemed that way at first. He gave me one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've ever had: one that, years later, I still return to with the same mixture of awe, fear, and awe.
31 Best Mods for Darkest Dungeon
There are tons of mods that liven up Darkest Dungeon – some just for aesthetics and others to make the tough game easier.
I'm not the biggest fan of Roguelikes, but Darkest Dungeon checks all my boxes
As a GameRant writer and chronic gamer trying to spread my wings, I got to try games that I wouldn't normally reach for. Roguelikes fall into this category. In the process, I'm glad I found some games like Hades, Hades 2, TOPand even Balatro. But for every roguelike I enjoy, there's more to bounce back from. I can tolerate a very 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 makes me rage even in my old age.
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I prefer RPGs. It's the narrative driven games that draw me in for the characters and cinematic thrills. I love life sims where I'm in control. Despite all these reasons to dislike roguelikes, Darkest Dungeon is somehow able to swerve right into my heart.
- Aesthetics: Let's start with the superficial reasons. Honestly, it's a beautiful game with impeccable art direction that feels like a playable gothic etch. The heavily colored outlines, oppressive shadows, and creepy animations actively reinforce the horror the game wants players to feel.
- Hamlet: Oddly enough, building my Hamlet scratched the same itch as my early life obsessions. Between upgrading buildings, managing resources, and watching the city slowly evolve, there's a strange loop of comfort inside the desperation. It makes every failed quest meaningful because progress will still take place in some way.
- DLC: Crimson Court lives in my head rent-free. He 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 memorable. It's one of those DLCs that you forget isn't part of the base game.
Fans of Darkest Dungeon and Slay The Spire should not miss this upcoming deckbuilder
Steam has no shortage of Roguelikes or Deckbuilders, but Wondernaut Studio's upcoming combination of the two makes for a compelling package.
My favorite reason for liking Darkest Dungeon has nothing to do with video games
My connection with Darkest Dungeon it is not fully rooted in games. It's actually tied Dungeons & Dragons. Since 2018 I have played in different campaigns, so when Darkest Dungeon wasn't introduced to me until a year later, I couldn't help but tie it back to role playing with my friends at the table.
It might seem a little strange, but I immediately felt familiar with roster management just because of that D&D. There were discernible classes to latch onto. Some heroes suffered from game-changing issues – much like some of my favorites D&D campaigns where I actually mourned the characters my friends and I had come to know so intimately. So it was almost like I took on the role of Dungeon Master as I went through a few dungeons. As an overseer or DM, I had so much control that every success felt like a personal victory. Conversely, the total party is deleted Darkest Dungeon felt like a profound failure.
Darkest Dungeon is a game I wish I could play again for the first time
In my early twenties, I was trying to catch up on the games I missed in my teens and childhood. Assassin's Creed, Mass Effectand all that jazz. But Darkest Dungeon I felt different: it was a game I'd narrowly missed by a few years, and knowing about its dark magic made me feel like I knew about it for the first time in a long time. There are games I wish I could play again for the first time. Darkest Dungeon has to be at the very top of that list, just because I wish I could bring to life the version I have in mind.
2019. Friday evening. I just turned 21. It was very likely a rough day. My father's cancer diagnosis crushed every fragile part of me. My then-boyfriend-now-husband ordered a pizza. Some other friends rushed me to the apartment but brought beer and snacks to make up for the unannounced arrival. Rattles are flooding the corridor. Diego invites me to join him on the couch as he hands me the remote. Everything will be fine.
Darkest Dungeon
9/10
- Released
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January 19, 2016
- ESRB
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T for Teens due to alcohol, blood and gore, mild language, partial nudity, suggestive themes, violence
- Developers
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Red Hook Studios
- Publishers
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Red Hook Studios
