You will arrive along the old road. It winds with a troubling, serpent-like suggestion through the corrupted countryside. Leading only, I fear, to ever more tenebrous places. There is a sickness in the ancient pitted cobbles of the old road and on its writhing path you will face viciousness, violence, and perhaps other damnably transcendent terrors. So steel yourself and remember: there can be no bravery without madness. The old road will take you to hell, but in that gaping abyss we will find our redemption.
The Ancestor – Darkest Dungeon
What an absolute banger of a passage. Truth be told, I wish I could write something that good, something that sets the mood so perfectly, that hints at larger and darker goings-on, that intrigues and unsettles at the same time… Damn.
That’s enough gushing, I think.
My laptop is only good for two things; writing books and weighting paper. It’s not necessarily a bad tool, but it’s old and its age is slowly getting the better of it. For all intents and purposes, gaming is out of the question. It ran Pillars of Eternity on the lowest settings possible for ten minutes before the fan came on (a record at the time). Still, I was at a loss as to what to play in my downtime and being restricted by the hardware available to me was frustrating. Thankfully, 2016 would be a turning point.
As if it was a secret that had gotten out, I heard about Darkest Dungeon through Wayne June’s narration work on YouTube; scores of comments complimenting him on his performance as The Ancestor in a new indie game. Having sussed the lie of the land for myself, I felt that it was worth a shot. Not an hour had passed before I had been fully immersed in Mr June’s dulcet tones and Darkest Dungeon’s oppressive, hero-management play-loop… My aching hands came free from the keyboard ten hours later.
Had it been a dream? Had I imagined the perfect game for my longing heart? No, it was only delirium setting in — I had answered my Ancestor’s letter and now, like him, I was part of that wretched place.
I could ramble at length about Darkest Dungeon, but on this occasion I’d like to float around its surface level, at least as a jumping-off point for future posts. Darkest Dungeon puts you in the shoes of the Lord of a crumbling Hamlet; The Ancestor serving as your guide through the world and the reason as to your tenure here. Some antediluvian evil has been unearthed under your family’s stately home and it’s up to you to hire a team of mercenaries to take back what’s rightfully yours; putting a grisly end to said evil should the mood (and road) take you.
However, it’s not just as simple as I’ve made it out to be. Only four mercenaries can come on a mission at any given time and each of those mercenaries has traits and quirks that affect their performance, they also have skills and equipment that must be upgraded before-hand and, if that wasn’t enough, they’ll need provisions to keep them alive — all of which costs gold as well as other currencies that can be obtained by completing missions. Did I mention that each mercenary has a stress meter that, if filled, results in them having a heart attack? They’ll also have their resolve tested to the point of breaking whereupon they’ll develop more negative traits or, conversely, they’ll emerge the other side emboldened, providing buffs to your entire party for the duration of the mission.
You’ve quite a bit to be keeping on top of because, if nothing else, Darkest Dungeon can be unforgiving. Firm but fair is a better phrase…
Once one of your mercenaries is slain, that’s it, they’ll not be coming back. This is Darkest Dungeon’s crux; it forces you to hire a fresh, new, under-leveled and under-equipped replacement. All that time, all the currencies, all the bonding you did with that mercenary can be snuffed out like a guttering candle — easily and without reprieve by the many nasties inhabiting your family home. My level 5 Graverobber, Audrey, who I’d invested a stupid amount of time and money had her life cut short in an apprentice dungeon — an apprentice dungeon — after we encountered a trio of spiders who’d been saving up crit hits for this very moment. She hit Death’s Door three times, but it was on the fourth that she was taken from me, just as the battle was about to end, no-less.
“More dust, more ashes, more disappointment,” boomed The Ancestor, his tone tinged with remorse. Five years on and I’m still not the better of poor Audrey…
I am in no way a game critic, but Darkest Dungeon struck so many chords with me that I consider it to be (and still be) my perfect game. The music, the play-loop, the narrative, the soundscape, the animations, the themes, the enemies, the settings, the fear, the horror, the obvious Eldritch overtones… Had a game been designed solely for me, I imagine it would’ve been a lot like Darkest Dungeon. Red Hook Studios, Wayne June and Stuart Chatwood, you’ve truly outdone yourselves — thank you for a great game.
It’ll be another while yet before I get my claws on Darkest Dungeon 2. Until then I’ll keep mourning the loss of Audrey by one-shotting spiders into oblivion with her sister, Audrey 2.
Auf Wiedersehen.
AJ Carney 