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Red Hook Studios’ punishing dungeon exploration RPG Darkest Dungeon II has finally entered early access, but when will the full version release?
According to an announcement that was made in October 2020, Darkest Dungeon II is scheduled for an early launch release this year. Save for some interviews and FAQs coinciding with the announcement, it’s been pretty quiet on the Red Hook homefront regarding progress on the fan-favorite roguelike dungeon delver.
The first Darkest Dungeon was immensely popular thanks to its Lovecraftian horror aesthetic and tough-as-nails difficulty coupled with high-stakes exploration. Players must make do with the heroes that they have in less-than-ideal circumstances to explore the dungeon, often pushing too hard and facing the permadeath of a party member or worse, a total party kill. The challenge only makes for the game’s victories to feel all the more rewarding, and it’s that same level of collateral damage and close shaves that many are expecting from the second game.
Darkest Dungeon II: A Trailer Analysis
The trailer opens to the shambling bodies of what seems to be a new form of enemy, clad in wrought-iron armor and cultish veils covering what looks like melting flesh. The party is shown fending off the undead, teasing the game’s new look, including what seems to be more realistic proportions for the team as well.
The most immediate and notable change that fans of the original Darkest Dungeon would notice is the game’s shift into 3D. While keeping to the original’s stylized art direction of solid dark shadows and blood-red highlights, the shift into 3D could mean a whole new dynamic in the way battles are fought, as positioning on a single plane was key to picking out your party members prior to a dungeon delve in the first game.
A Man-at-Arms, Plague Doctor, Highwayman, Grave Robber and Occultist are featured in the trailer as well, so it’s safe to assume that these heroes would be in the initial lineup of available heroes as Darkest Dungeon 2 launches. The trailer ends with the game’s new title logo looming over a townscape on fire – seemingly suffering the same terrible fate as the locale where the heroes are doing battle, implying that the chaos is now on a grander scale beyond just the manor and hamlet from the first game.
The Darkest Dungeon II Story Details and Notes
The original Darkest Dungeon was highly celebrated and critically acclaimed for being a punishing dungeon delve that featured flawed would-be heroes in an environment of madness, corruption and decay. Its combat system was unique in that a player’s four heroes lined up against the same four-slot lineup for the enemy, all the while keeping positioning integral as some abilities can only be performed in key positions, and can only target specific positions in the enemy’s line as well.
With the jump to 3D fans are curious whether combat will change drastically, but in the Darkest Dungeon 2 FAQ on the game’s Steam page Red Hook says they’re “preserving the classic DD combat presentation,” crediting the game’s combat as a successful foundation to build upon. The wide cast of unorthodox heroes will certainly be something to look forward to as well, as the original had over a dozen classes to recruit, with additional ones added in with subsequent DLCs.
According to a recent issue of PC Gamer, Darkest Dungeon 2 is taking a departure from the initial game’s premise of sating a maddening curiosity as to the untold horrors down the depth’s of the original Manor setting and is instead switching to an escape adventure. It’s Darkest Dungeon meets Oregon Trail, with players taking control of their party as they traverse the corrupted hellscape of a dying world from one location to the next.
The afflictions mechanic gained from stress from the first game is out as well, this time replaced by an affinity system wherein players are able to build on the party’s relationships amongst each other through various downtime activities at Inns (replacing the camp feature). Relationships factor into play in various ways. Maybe an Occultist takes a bullet for a Plague Doctor. Or two characters tag team on an enemy.
Darkest Dungeon 2 was announced to release in early access sometime this year on Epic Games, but the release was ultimately delayed. The game did become available for Early Access on October 26 via Epic Games Store at a cost of $29.99. However, at the time of this writing, the full release has yet to be announced.
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