While technically a sequel, Darkest Dungeon 2 offers a completely different vibe of gameplay, tone and combat than the first game. All while still keeping the harsh yet fair gameplay I love. Now, if you wanted a sequel that does what the first game did, I wouldn’t bother with this. Rather than having percentage stats with hit chance, damage and so on, this game has a token system. Block tokens make it so you take 50% less damage. Dodge tokens give you a 50% to dodge an enemies attack. Debuff tokens such as damage and hit chance work the same as well. Meaning heroes like Grave Robber, who in the first had a high dodge chance, won’t dodge at all without a dodge token. If you want to win, you need tokens and you’ll need to lessen the effects of debuff tokens. It’s a fun system and the UI in combat is less cluttered than the first.
The returning 12 heroes (Crusader is a DLC) now have 11 skills, can equip 5 skills and 3 hero paths which change how you play them. Vestal and Plague Doctor, who were purely for support in the first game, can now be decent damage dealers. Highwayman, can have support moves like removing enemy tokens. Now, in order to get all these moves you need to complete a heroes memories at shrines you find. Some of these memories are interactive, but most are just narration. I’m fine with that, but some visual aid would be nice. And while all hero paths are viable, some are better than others. Thankfully Red Hook has recently tweeked Grave Robber and Highwayman to be more balanced, and hopefully in future will see more changes like this. I say this cause this game rewards damage focused teams over buffing and defensive teams. Healing in this game is much more limited and for some reason certain attacks cause status effects which were weirdly the thing that ruined some of my runs.
While I prefer the first, I’m glad this game took a more different approach. It offers a new experience while still keeping core aspects of the first. I still think some balances are needed, and a new area would be nice. But overall all, I highly recommend it.
The returning 12 heroes (Crusader is a DLC) now have 11 skills, can equip 5 skills and 3 hero paths which change how you play them. Vestal and Plague Doctor, who were purely for support in the first game, can now be decent damage dealers. Highwayman, can have support moves like removing enemy tokens. Now, in order to get all these moves you need to complete a heroes memories at shrines you find. Some of these memories are interactive, but most are just narration. I’m fine with that, but some visual aid would be nice. And while all hero paths are viable, some are better than others. Thankfully Red Hook has recently tweeked Grave Robber and Highwayman to be more balanced, and hopefully in future will see more changes like this. I say this cause this game rewards damage focused teams over buffing and defensive teams. Healing in this game is much more limited and for some reason certain attacks cause status effects which were weirdly the thing that ruined some of my runs.
While I prefer the first, I’m glad this game took a more different approach. It offers a new experience while still keeping core aspects of the first. I still think some balances are needed, and a new area would be nice. But overall all, I highly recommend it.