Darkest Dungeon 2 Worth it ?

[xRevo]

Hey!
Is Darkest Dungeon 2 worth it ?
Also, DD1 has more players than 2 is that because of the mods or something ?

What is your opinion ?

Thanks! 

[Valmar]

No, its just trash. Keep playing DD1, mods, whatever.
DD1 got more players and its way way older. Thats all you need to know.

DD2 is fine... for people that didnt like DD1. And still... its not a good game. Its other different genre, and badly done as that. There are other better, while DD1 is a masterpiece its own.

ALso, main combat is combat, its very boring, slow, 100% predictable, trash, garbage, and you wont be tested as a skillful player like in DD1. And, yeah I said, its slow as... It like all the fun action is removed. You end a game, and you dont want to play again, like in DD1. You will be 50% uninstall, 50% go back to play DD1, the real game.


TLDR: if you like DD1, dont even try DD2. If you dont like DD1 though, maybe watch some videos, but I recommend other games anyway. DD2 is a disgrace of a game. Check user reviews here (91% vs 75%), metacritic (8.0 vs 6.1), whereever. Its just a random game that has the name darkest dungeon on it for sales. If named otherwise, would not even pass the 50% and had no sales at all. It has his fans, but is an awful game, even more if you compare it with this masterpiece.

And yeah Im not saying this cause I confused genres or so. I really like roguelikes/roguelites also, but the ones properly done. If you really want to play one, you can play amazing games like FTL, Monster Train, Slay the Spire, whatever, a real good one. Dont lose your money (and most important, your time) with DD2.

[Tackle]

Its kinda fun if you play in a group and take turns. But DD1 is way more polished and also fun alone

[Ghoul Hunter]

No idea. Only played this one.

[RopeDrink]

Worth is entirely subjective.

When it comes to general mechanics, DD2 is objectively superior in most respects, and while looks are subjective, few can deny the transition from 2D is a net positive.

Thanks to animations - characters, enemies, and the world itself - everything has a lot more personality (eg. Jester dancing and prancing through the ranks while the bells on his hat jingle all over the place, or the sheer impact of a Leper or Man-at-Arms smashing their weapons through an opponent into the ground, shaking the arena while sparks fly).

Combat is much more streamlined, using a token system - discarding a hefty majority of RNG, along with various other past issues (like stun abuse). Now, there is gods-honest tanking and more individual hero flex, with all heroes carrying an additional skill-slot, usable combat items, coupled with build or run-affecting trinkets (instead of the usual 'stat-sticks'), build paths, coach upgrades, memories, and all manner of tweaks that spice up combat on a per-run basis compared to the first.

In fact, almost every element of DD2 has been plucked straight out of DD1 and its DLC, albeit reshuffled or repurposed into a different format, and thus, the main point of contention is that DD2 is not DD1.5 - instead, choosing to do something different with most of the building blocks.

You do not build another town. You do not build a barracks full of heroes. You are not on a linear A-to-B campaign trying to go from Old Road tutorial to the Darkest Dungeon finale. Instead, it's more akin to Slay the Spire, picking your heroes, basic starting elements, basic difficulty modifiers, and progress a story which is practically an excuse to unlock the other heroes, their skills, trinkets, features, and all the things that shake up future runs, while putting all the lore-pieces together over multiple trips.

Personally, I love both games for very different reasons. When I want a more bite-sized run, smashing things up with more in-depth comps and much more fluid combat, I'll go play DD2 for its intricacies. If I want the more linear A-to-B progression with a bit of grinding, I'll go build another Hamlet in DD1.

DD2 is a good game. It's just not a carbon copy of DD1, which is what most people wanted or expected. If you are of the same mind, then do a bit of research first, as it's intentionally the "same but very different".

[gonzo]

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

When it comes to general mechanics, DD2 is objectively superior in most respects,

lol

[MadMan]

I'd say it is.

[Skinny Pete]

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

Combat is much more streamlined, using a token system - discarding a hefty majority of RNG, along with various other past issues (like stun abuse).

If I wanted little to no RNG I'd play platformers or something.

[RopeDrink]

Originally posted by Skinny Pete:

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

Combat is much more streamlined, using a token system - discarding a hefty majority of RNG, along with various other past issues (like stun abuse).

If I wanted little to no RNG I'd play platformers or something.

And yet, people still complain about it, so if it makes you feel better, take 50/50 or 25/75 chances along RNG paths with RNG node (curio) interactions with your RNG drops, RNG relationships, etc, while dealing with randomized layouts and encounters amongst (insert other random elements here). Less dice rolls doesn't mean RNG is on vacation.

Ultimately, combat - which most of the game is built around - is far less RNG-reliant. No more needing hero levels, 1-2 stat injections (trinkets), camping, buffs, quirks, etc, to dilute statistical disparities within an inverted curve, where two stats reign supreme because they deal with hidden mechanics, causing some people to take forever to learn the power of accurate initiative, no matter how many times inaccurate snails "miss all the time" or eat "quintillions of crits in a row".

Given the majority of DD2's elements were plucked straight out of DD1 and its DLC, there are far more similarities than unique differences. Various fundamental problems were sorted, but considering tokens, additional skills, combat items, class-based or build/team-altering trinkets, 4x paths per hero, pets and coach upgrades, torches, alter progress - and more - there are still similar quibbles and balancing woes, though it's still varied and smooth - outside of being able to cobble together teams on a 'per-dungeon' basis, as opposed to a 'per-campaign' basis.

It's still about compositions, still building a proverbial Hamlet, still peddles most of the old Hamlet services, still has a similar dungeon system (minus backtracking and one less direction), gimmicky bosses and knowledge-based battles, same art, narrative, and music style, most of the old cast doing much the same things - albeit broadly expanded and with a new spin on afflictions - and plenty more blatantly Darkest Dungeon things.

Its biggest crime is not being DD1.5 or DD1(3D).

Regardless, anyone thinking of buying 'any' game should do research and see for themselves, which is wildly superior to publicly asking for largely subjective takes that may not apply to people, such as "You can't enjoy both" (ala first reply), or confusing quality for player count (within single-player titles with divided platform figures), and other go-to negative angles, some of which hark back to the days of anti-EGS.

Personally, I enjoy both for different reasons and look forward to the upcoming Kingdoms.

[Daniel Burgermeister]

DD2 is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bad.

I literally cannot explain why, but everything feels so bad. I got it on sale and am still sad I could never refund it.

Darkest Wagon.

[FredDie]

No, they really messed up sadly...not sure what went wrong, but DD1 is 10x better.

[sidewinder_G]

It's a different game. The aesthetics are different, the vibe is different, the overall package feels different.

Check a review or two on YT because the users on these forums are heavily biased towards the first entry, myself included.

[BrannFox]

DD2 is extremely polished and well made. The set pieces are well done, the atmosphere is well done, the rogue-like nature is well done, the combat is top notch. DD2 respects your time more than DD1 does and DD1 is still an excellent game. DD2 get's you into the core of the gameplay more than DD1 does which is turn based combat. Anyone calling the game trash is but-hurt that it's not DD1 with better graphics, DD2 is a well crafted video game.

[Narrowmind]

What BrannFox said is basically true. I didn't even like 2 immediately, but you're also asking on the wrong forum. The people here are the ones who will by default generally champion the first one. If you want reviews for DD2, there is a page for that. Here it's more biased, the same as the DD2 forum is biased - but them, probably less so.

The central element that splits the Darkest Dungeon community is that 2 is a different game in a way that a sequel usually is not. They don't have much in common to many of us.

That doesn't exactly make 2 a bad game. Just a different one, and perhaps not "Darkest Dungeon" as it was originally defined.

[Bay Harbor Butcher]

Darkest dungeon 2 is good, the games combat feels much more dynamic compared to this games buff stacking and stun meta and modding supports been around for just a little bit so theres not that much mods. The artstyle and musics a massive stepup from the original but I still prefer some parts of the original with the themeing being more nihilistic and body horror focused while the enemies in darkest dungeon 2 are more fantasy esc. Both games are worth trying out.

[C-zom]

The original has better writing, atmosphere, pacing, branching meta game and sense of discovery. The second has more interesting (better is subjective here) combat that gets away from stun lock carnivals, but sadly relies on alpha striking too much in the current rework. It also looks, and sounds, so much better. I truly love all the designs and aesthetic, from environments to characters. The vibe rules.

I think it's worth buying on sale if you know what you're getting going in. Think Slay the Spire/Inscryption but DD themed.