Darkest Dungeon 2 is a schizophrenic sequel

The first Darkest Dungeon was released in 2016 but remains a must-play, a radical indie title with a killer artistic direction. It's a game that I wholeheartly recommend to anyone with any interest in tactical turn-based gameplay and/or Lovecraftian horror. But let's talk about its sequel.

After its critical and commercial success, Red Hook could have milked their playerbase and simply packaged some new content as a fully-priced sequel. It's a pretty standard practice and would have been an easy sell to players who wanted more of the same. But these devs don't settle for easy. For the record the final expansion of DD1 added an unexpected PvP mode - for free.

With DD2 they decided to:

• redo all visuals in 3D
• update the combat system
• break down the progression structure and build two roguelite modes

The new 3D visuals retain the gorgeous art style of the original game and fix its issues: body proportions are much healthier, depth feels better and animation transition make it all look smooth.

The updated combat system has dropped traditional stats such as Accuracy and Armor, which were responsible for weird RNG spikes like failing three consecutive attacks at 90% accuracy. DD2's battle flow revolves around positive and negative tokens, such as Blind and Guard, which are applied or cancelled by combat actions. The result feels less random and more predictable, which is helpful in a tactical game, but harder to pick up: new players must first learn all tokens. Fortunately there's a quick reference guide available in the options.
Veterans will also note that stress no longer acts as a second health pool, but impacts a number of other mechanics such as relationships.

Ditching the permanent progression of the original game, DD2 introduces two roguelite game modes: Confessions and Kingdoms.

1. Confessions are gauntlet runs with multiple regions to cross and a different final boss in each of the five difficulty levels. You need to carefully build a party of 4 heroes as opportunities to replace any casualty are very limited. Progression between runs is made of permanent unlocks of skills, paths (subclasses) and trinkets (gear), which open up new synergies and tactics. If you want to turn your Leper into a killing machine, equip the Goading Gargoyle trinket and choose between the Monarch and the Tempest paths. If you need him to tank, go down the path of the Poet and make sure to take the Withstand and Solemnity skill upgrades.
2. Kingdoms offer longer runs against one of three factions: the beast clan, the witch coven and the cursed courtiers. Rather than a party of four, you control the full roster of heroes spread on a world map. The goal is to simultaneously defend local inns and keep a mobile task force to complete a series of quests.

Both modes benefit from mod support and a range of settings to tailor the experience to your liking. As much as I enjoy upgrading my heroes and inns in Kingdoms, I find runs in this mode to feel rather long and repetitive. Confessions have a narrower focus but get to the point.

In any case DD2 is a poison I prefer taking in small doses, since it's equally intoxicating and deadly. The challenge posed by the final bosses is honestly beyond my current skill... but I'll keep trying.

In 2025 DD2 received a burst of updates: the Kingdoms mode and its three factions (all free), the Abomination hero and the Catacombs (paid content), and a bunch of class balancing and interface polishing patches. It's in a pretty good spot at the moment with enough content and quality of life to keep me entertained for a while. The 2025 roadmap is complete and I'm not sure if more is planned or if the team will move on... and break the mold again.

The roguelite design has pissed off a lot of fans from the first game who expected a more traditional sequel. I get their point, and I think it's important to know that DD2 is much more than "the first game but in 3D". If the new formula isn't to your taste, it's completely fine to stick with the timeless masterpiece that is DD1.

Have you played any of them? What's your take?