Darkest Dungeon is one of the best games I have ever played and I would recommend it as a 'must own'. There are many great things about this game but I found the top 3 reasons that make that give the game a unique and enjoyable experience are the story, the narration, and the atmosphere.

1. Story

The story of DD will definitely throw you for a loop. For most of the game you will think that you are trying to conquer the evil in the depths of the estate but once you start your first DD mission you will realize something quite different is going on. The story fits in very well with the atmosphere of hopelessness and dread the creators create in you the entire game. The only downside is that the game is really long and grueling so many players may give up before they reach the end. You really need to see it through for it to come full circle.

2. Narration

The narrator has the best voice you will ever hear - hands down. Think about how often you skip cut scenes in games. There are very few of them in Darkest Dungeon but the first one you encounter "The Old Road" is so good you will listen to the whole thing every time. He commentates on every battle and it really helps to bring out the excitement when you are ahead or terror when you on the verge of defeat.

3. Atmosphere

A fundamental aspect of this game is the feelings that the creators try to instill in the player. You will feel extreme hopelessness. You will feel absolute terror. You will be completely on edge in every DD run. Unlike most games there is a main character or hero that is important. In DD, everyone is expendable and its very easy to die. Characters have randomly generated traits and can either turn out to be a hero or turn out to be just another sacrifice on the road to victory. These traits can be either beneficial or detrimental, bringing out the characters' humanity. In tandem with the traits is the stress mechanic, where characters experience strong emotions as the result of becoming heavily stressed. These emotions impact their ability to perform in battle in either a positive or negative way; though generally negative. On top of these layers of humanity is a basic character leveling system. There are only 6 character levels in DD but its very difficult to have a character live that long. The challenge to raise a character causes you to develop a strong attachment to your powerful characters only to have them struck down, leaving you feeling hopeless. Some players may experience this as frustration but your experience of failure is a critical part of the game's atmosphere and story. One of the game mechanics that really helps with this on edge experience is "Death's Door" where your characters must have their HP set to 0 before they can be killed. While your character is on Death's Door they are significantly handicapped but they also have the chance to survive additional attacks against them while on Death's Door. This is a high risk and reward mechanic as the probability to survive is in the player's favor and sometimes you are just 1 or 2 rounds away from victory. Seeing your powerful characters on the brink of defeat gets your blood pumping in a way that it would not without this important game mechanic.