Darkest Dungeon 2 Review

Darkest Dungeon 2is coming to consoles. The sequel to one of the most influential indie titles of the last decade is finally coming to our consoles. After a stint in Early Access on PC and its subsequent full release, this adventure is making the big leap to controls. Developed by Red Hook Studioswe are faced with a second part quite different from what was seen in the original work. However, it continues to maintain some of the bases of the first game. Where It can be highlighted that there is a stifling difficulty and that inventory and character management are ultimately crucial.. It all culminated in an artistic section of pure dark fantasy.

Now, how did this sequel come to Xbox? Is it worth it? We will tell you in the following analysis.

On the road to despair

Darkest Dungeon 2invites us to fight against a world plunged into chaos and darkness. All this while we carry the flame of hope in our carriage. Here we will not enter with our characters into dark dungeons, but rather we will have to choose which path to take while driving the aforementioned car.. In this sequel, the roguelike component is much purer than in the original work. This means that once we take control of it, we will begin a race that will end with a fight against a powerful final boss. Likewise, if we fail, we will lose all progress and will only keep one resource; the candles. With this object, before starting the next round, we can improve the conditions of the game.

Of course, as we have already said, decisions must be made. The path will always be completely random and will be strewn with events that could be positive or negative for our team. Before starting our adventure, we will have to form our team of adventurers, which will be made up of four characters. Each of them has a specific set of skills, so getting the perfect combination will be essential to succeed throughout the journey.

Once our team is selected, we will have to choose a trip. These routes will be unlocked as we progress through the game, making the adventure much more complex each time.

Heroes with personality

Unlike the first game where you could recruit multiple characters of the same class, here, our team will only be composed of four different heroes. Similarly, this sequel explored this area, give more importance to the personality and history of each hero

. In fact, to unlock the abilities of our characters, we will have to know their background thanks to a chapel that we will find during our adventure. Here, we will learn part of its history before being adventurers.

Likewise, the relationships between our characters become very important, being a mechanic that has a great impact on the journey. Depending on the situations our team experiences, as well as their personality traits, small quarrels may arise between them. Which can lead one character to stab another during combat, poison him or perform similar actions. Something that we certainly do not want. On the contrary, if we make them agree, we can achieve powerful effects. In itself, I found the idea very interesting, the problem is that its operation is not entirely clear. In several games I found myself with my group face to face despite sharing positive moments both in the tavern and in the adventure.

to the adventure

That said, the game in Darkest Dungeon 2 Its main objective is to reach a Mountain where we will fight against a powerful boss. To get there, we will have to cross different regions with our carriage. At the end of each region, we can rest in an inn, where we can equip ourselves, rest and continue our adventure.

In these inns we can buy items that will help us in the next region, in addition to trying to improve the relationships between our heroes.

That aside, the combat system of this sequel remains very firm compared to what we saw in the first part. A turn-based fight where modified effects are the order of the day and where the positions of our heroes and ours will be crucial for the future of the battle. In this sense, The game runs like clockwork, just like its predecessor. However, at the controls, it can be very tediousmainly due to the movement in the game menus, in addition to the fact that the game does not clearly explain what each modified state means, you have to open a new menu to be able to access this information, which slows down the action considerably.

Much like the combat system, the vast majority of actions are very cumbersome to perform with the controller. Driving the cart, opening the inventory or simply equipping items can be an odyssey on many occasions.

One step closer

Despite this, the game continues to maintain the tension that worked so well in its first installment. Not knowing which path to take, whether to use that item you just got to cure the bleeding of one character or another, can generate very interesting situations. The game continues to maintain this feeling of constant danger, this feeling of loss with our characters that makes the player think carefully about every action.

However, the fact that their races are so long (they can reach 3 hours) makes this formula a bit diluting. On several occasions I wanted to avoid some inconsequential fights like those that take place in the so-called Valley, a tutorial that must be completed in each game. Even so, It is possible to quit the game at any time, although we have encountered several save issues which we hope will be resolved as soon as possible.. While preparing this review, we experienced 3 of the aforementioned save errors, losing several hours of gameplay.

One of the fundamental points in which it has evolved Darkest Dungeon 2is in its graphics section. The dark art that gave personality to the first opus has taken a step forward in this sequel, now offering a graphic quality that is more than remarkable. The character models, as well as the different abilities, have been treated with much more care. Likewise, its soundtrack is masterful and accompanies perfectly throughout the adventure.

Eventually Darkest Dungeon 2…

Darkest Dungeon 2is a fairly different sequel to the original work. This isn’t a bad thing, however, I think it lost a bit of the essence of the first game. Mainly by having races too long This can saturate the player. On the other hand, Many additions represent a step forward. His character system is much more interesting in this work, with heroes with much more personality. In the same form, The console transition for this title was quite bumpy, with multiple bugs and control issues.

However, even if it does not reach the excellence shown by the first game, we are facing an addictive and challenging title that will keep the player trapped for hours. If you liked this analysis, do not forget that you have many more here.