Is Darkest Dungeon II worth it?

[IANcel]

I never bought the sequel due to the questionable choice of delayed exclusivity, but I noticed it's on Steam now and it doesn't seem like it'll have the same oomph as DD1. Any long time fans care to share their opinion?

[Bluemoon]

Its a different game, its pretty decent for what it does imo but its just not darkest dungeon. They really should not have named it 2 but just given it a different title to make it more obvious its a spin off.
Also from what I remember mods aren't really a thing because of how the game is made so its just kinda worse in that regard and mods are a huge deal for DD1.
I would say if it looks interesting to you its worth it but if you just want more DD1 get mods or get Black reliquary.

[buttawise]

I was on board to buy it until I saw it actually didn't have any dungeons in it. Then after watching streamers play it just looked too different from what I expected. There's enough content out there you can watch and decide for yourself but DD2 wasn't what I wanted from a sequel so I'll probably never get it.

[Mango Tree]

I'm gonna make it short, It's not worth it compared to many other indies you can play instead, Iratus is a better game if you wanna play some darkest dungeon kind of game.
Red Hook really dropped the ball with dd2.

[DesertLobster]

Personally I still enjoy DD2. As others have said it's a much different overall experience.

The combat is quite similar but feels deeper. The classes are more balanced and have more they can do thanks to paths. I enjoy the token system a lot.

The artstyle, writing, music, atmosphere, narration, etc are all top notch.

The overall game loop is not as well refined as the first game. Still enjoyable but much different. I think it's worth the money personally as long as you aren't expecting DD1 part 2.

[Arroba]

it´s best than DD 1 .

[RopeDrink]

Worth is subjective, so you must judge for yourself. I recommend starting with some gameplay footage and seeing if it resonates. I enjoy both games very much - but despite being the same franchise, I use each one to scratch very different itches.

Most of DD2's elements have been plucked straight from DD1 or its respective DLC, and either reshuffled or repurposed to facilitate a shorter but more replayable loop - akin to Slay the Spire - unlike DD1's more linear A-to-B once-off campaign.

Despite Red Hook wanting to shake things up and take a different approach with the sequel, there are more similarities to DD1 than there are differences - but it's not an all-out retread either, and that has disappointed a few people.

It's still a worthwhile purchase if you enjoy the art, music, narration, combat, themes, and overall gameplay style (stress, quirks, turn-based shenanigans, and everything in between) - but if you're looking for a literal DD1.5, check some gameplay first.

[No One]

Fun is more based on the player than the game.

What kind of things do you find fun?

[Zombie]

The biggest difference that I saw so far in playing is the token system.

In Darkest Dungeon 1, you can use an antiquarian to buff your heroes with +10 dodge, on top of their dodge stat they already have. You have to math this out in how many turns before you can build up to a significant number, as well as keep in mind the numbers on your trinkets.

In Darkest Dungeon 2, an evasion buff would give a character an ''Evasion Token" which is consumed when the hero is attacked(same for enemies and their respective tokens). This token gives a flat 50% chance to dodge the next attack. Whether the attack misses or not, the token is consumed.


This allows for less complex, less math-crunching, fights. But at the same time, the token system allows for far more stylish and meaningful combos and synergies. Many of the heroes skills have been rebalanced and buffed(sometimes nerfed) to involve this token system.

Jester for example has an attack that puts a ''combo'' token on the enemy he hits(lots of other heroes can do this in some way) and many heroes have skills that do special things if they're used on an enemy with a combo token.

Many strong enemies now have death blow resistance like the player does, but they changed it to make it less RNG. They will have a ''deathblow resist'' token and when brought to death, they will instead be brought to deaths door and consume the token, and they will also get a weak and vulnerable token which makes their next attack do half damage, and they take 50% more damage on the next hit.


While some of the underlying systems are far less complex, the system actually works quite nicely and makes team comps feel much more synergized with each other. The game is also much harder because you can't really stall much, enemies are far more merciless in the damage they do and death isn't as "permanent" as it is in the first game so enemies can typically get away with more ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ than they could in the first game.

[joyrider]

darkest dungeon 2 is a pure roguelike. unlike dd1, it's impossible to complete dd2 without dying many times before which is ass, also overcomplicated: many very specific IF status effects, trinkets, skills etc. i couldn't play sequel though i like dd1.

[RopeDrink]

Originally posted by Paperpack Rider:

darkest dungeon 2 is a pure roguelike. unlike dd1, it's impossible to complete dd2 without dying many times before which is ass, also overcomplicated: many very specific IF status effects, trinkets, skills etc. i couldn't play sequel though i like dd1.

It is 100% possible to start a new profile and beat the entire game in one fell swoop, thus, it is also possible to do so blindly (however unlikely that may be).

There is no need to 'die many times'. Like DD1, you are best served by knowledge more than anything else, hence most people fish for that achievement when they know what to expect.

If you think you need to die to get anywhere, you've much to learn, and that's the point of the formula. You can win (or lose), and simply restart with less concern over time/perma-loss until you achieve your goal(s). The more you know (and have unlocked), the easier it is.