Red Hook Studios has announced a February 2023 release window Dark Dungeon 2the sequel to the turn-based Roguelike Darkest Dungeon.
For those of you who have already played the game, you should know that the game is about to change, and the team has changed the update pipeline slightly.
The latest update to the Early Access game, Shroud of the Abyss, includes a slew of new content, mechanics, and quality of life improvements. The team is now ironing out some final bugs and plans to introduce final improvements.
In a development update, Red Hook Studios also announced that more frequent updates will be released in the form of smaller milestone releases.
The team also noted that there are three main areas of the game that require work and focus. These are progress, relationships, and drivers. The studio will allocate additional time and team members in these areas, which the studio believes are critical to creating great games.
As it progresses, the current system is being overhauled and will provide a “stronger and compelling link” between expeditions and focus on a hub through which you can improve your abilities and unlock new items.
Because the studio didn’t think the current relationship was as attractive as it should have been, the plan was to add some tension and surprise to the system, more meaningful choices, and to make both the pros and cons more aggressive and tactical.
Driving will also change, as teams feel the need for more tension, such as potentially tripping over traps, or getting jammed, or even ambushed. It also hopes to add new layers of decision-making to the driving sequence, which in turn will open up new avenues for enhanced trip readiness.
Since the studio will prioritize the above, it will no longer create new regions/factions. Instead of creating a new area of world content value, the studio focused the environment team on enriching the current area set with new attractions and route changes. This will make existing regions more interesting when running repeatedly.
Because they’re shifting the focus of character teams away from another region-specific faction, the move will move to new minibosses that can appear anywhere. The number of playable characters, final bosses, and overall character range and production remain the same.
The next milestone will be the Trinket overhaul, after which the studio will strengthen the Cultist faction with new units and a new home. After that, a progress overhaul will be rolled out.
Announced in 2019, the game will enter Early Access through the Epic Games Store in 2021.
Darkest Dungeon 2 will be released via the Epic Games Store and Steam, with consoles to follow. You can still enter Early Access for $26.99 if you want.