I posted back in March about Darkest Dungeon and while still in ‘early access’ for a few more days, it’s ready to go I tell you, it’s ready to fucking go. After playing a bunch in Spring, I got a bit bored with it, I just couldn’t get very far. I beat one of the bosses and kept losing parties and having people go insane. The recent ‘patch’ apparently made the game much harder, so I had to go and try it again over the Xmas break and yeah, it’s a fantastic game and has really come together in the last 5 months.
BUT– it’s not a normal RPG, and it doesn’t say this to you on the box so you have to figure it out on your own (or by reading this more). While you do have a bunch of characters that have skills and weapons to upgrade and the like, these guys are not something to get attached to– in Darkest Dungeon, they are fucking tools. In Torchlight, I get attached to my toons, in games like Dragon Age or Pillars of Eternity you are bound to get attached to your party and really love some of them for kicking ass or being cool. Leave all that behind when you start Darkest Dungeon– all of it because every single character you get in the game is expendable, even your best guys with your best stuff– they will die or go totally insane soon and… you get new ones.
What’s the fun in that you say? Think of it as a sports team management game. You recruit players, they do well for a few seasons and some start to age or get injuries and you have to bench them and then cut them or play them in worthless games. Some just don’t work out in the positions that they have been assigned an they have to be moved or cut. Your goal is to win the games and have a successful season, and if you are playing a soccer club sim, to make a bunch of money too so you can get your bird’s feedbags to the size she wants.
This video is a lie.
You do this by constantly recruiting. You need to keep the poor murderhobos coming into your town as much as possible to get ground up in the dungeons. While your overall goal may be heroic or noble (who can tell?), your means to get there– duping saps to come and explore the ruins, is all but. As long as you have enough saps spilling in and you can keep your money above about 1500 gold, you are good to keep going!
Here are some tips:
- I like VESTAL > HELLION > HELLION > HELLION a lot.
- I like Bounty Hunters a lot
- Moving and stunning is more important than doing damage most of the time
- You can die from wounds and you can die from stress
- Some heroes are trash before you even hire them– read their skills/insanities first.
- You can do runs in total darkness. Try it
- Even if all your heroes die and you run out of money, you still don’t need to start over.
So go get it so we can cry together about it.