Darkest Dungeon, the challenging gothic rogue-like RPG, is getting a direct sequel, developer Red Hook Studios has announced.
The original game, which released in 2016, challenged players with leading a team of heroes through numerous dungeons, tackling the psychological stresses and other hurdles that the horrors of the dungeons present, such as stress, famine, and disease. The game received a very positive reaction, and eventually got two expansion packs named The Crimson Court and The Color of Madness.
Speaking to PC Gamer about the sequel, Red Hook kept their cards relatively close to their chests, but they did say that they wanted Darkest Dungeon 2 to “to be its own experience”, and that it will therefore have “its own creative and thematic identity.” The original games combat system will return, but it’s been given a “significant tune-up”, and they are working with a “completely different metagame structure.”
It sounds like the game is changing location, though, as Red Hook said they will be giving players “a glimpse of the supernatural apocalypse twisting and distorting the world beyond the estate.” Red Hook has also released a teaser trailer for the game that gives very little away, although it does seemingly point to the new location being an icy, mountainous region called “The Howling End”, as well as the return of the Highwayman, Hellion, Grave Robber, Leper, Man-at-Arms, and Plague Doctor classes.
There’s no release date yet, but Red Hook did indicate that Darkest Dungeon 2 will follow in its predecessors footsteps by releasing in Early Access. Speaking on the release plans, Red Hook said:
“It’s no secret that we are big fans of the Early Access model, but we also are advocates for only doing Early Access if it makes sense for the specific game. Although there are some massive differences in structure between DD1 and DD2, the sequel is still very appropriate for an Early Access type approach.”
As a side note, if you’re currently reading this and thinking “what the bloody hell is Darkest Dungeon?” and you’re suddenly interested in checking it out, it is currently available for just £4.74 on Steam, which represents a 75% discount.
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