GamerTake
AI Powered Steam Review Summaries
Darkest Dungeon®
Indie
RPG
Strategy
Single-player
Steam Achievements
Steam Trading Cards
DualShock Controller Support
Partial Controller Support
Steam Cloud
Remote Play on Tablet
Family Sharing

Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Can you keep your heroes together when all hope is lost?

Developers: Red Hook Studios
Publishers: Red Hook Studios
Release Date: Jan 19, 2016
Price (USD): $3.74
Current Players: 6.5k

Links:  Steam Store  SteamDB

Very Positive(91%)
atmosphere
strategic depth
voice acting
combat mechanics
modding community
permadeath
difficulty
stress management
RNG reliance
excessive grind
minimal explanations
The general sentiment about Darkest Dungeon is a mix of enthusiasm for its unique atmosphere and strategic depth and frustration over its heavy reliance on RNG and grind. Many players appreciate the challenge and the rewarding feeling of overcoming hardships, yet they find the difficulty and the penalizing nature of RNG to be overbearing at times.

Positive Points

  • The game has a deeply engaging atmosphere with an art style and voice acting that effectively capture its cosmic-horror theme. The narration, particularly from Wayne June, adds significantly to the immersion.
  • Darkest Dungeon offers a challenging gameplay experience that rewards strategic planning, team composition, and management of resources such as stress and provisions.
  • The game's turn-based combat is praised for its depth, requiring players to consider positioning and synergy among hero classes. Successful battles feel rewarding and earned due to the game's difficulty.
  • The modding community is robust, providing players with opportunities to enhance or customize their experiences with new characters, mechanics, and quality-of-life improvements.

    • Negative Points

  • Many players find the game to be excessively reliant on RNG, leading to situations where even well-prepared strategies can fail due to bad luck.
  • The game can become excessively grindy, with repetitive missions and slow progression being necessary to recover from setbacks like losing a well-equipped party.
  • Starting out can be overwhelming due to minimal in-game explanation of its complex mechanics, leaving many players frustrated or confused without external guides.

    • Mixed Points

  • The permadeath feature and stress management system are divisive; they add tension and stakes, which some players love, while others find them frustrating as they can negate hours of progress.
  • The difficulty of the game is a point of contention. While some appreciate the challenge and the pressure it brings, others feel the difficulty spikes and reliance on RNG make it punishing rather than rewarding.

    • Common Themes

  • Players consistently mention the game's dark, Lovecraftian atmosphere as a major draw, alongside its strategic combat and resource management systems.
  • The community's support through modding is highlighted, enhancing the replayability of the game and tailoring the difficulty or content to individual preferences.
  • There are frequent mentions of the need for players to embrace loss and adapt to setbacks, resonating with the game's theme of managing a doomed adventure.
    • Updated 8/19/2026, 12:01:47 AM UTC
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