Darkest Dungeon
Metacritic
IGDB
Players
Loading critic reviews...
Finding live streams...
About Darkest Dungeon
Red Hook Studios released Darkest Dungeon back in January 2016 as a punishing gothic roguelike turn-based RPG. You command a group of flawed heroes exploring a cursed manor while battling psychological trauma alongside physical monsters. The game landed on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Linux, Mac, iOS, and PlayStation Vita shortly after its PC debut. This is not a standard fantasy adventure where you save the world with a bright sword. It focuses on the grim reality of adventuring when hope fails. You manage a roster of broken individuals who break under pressure just as easily as they break enemies. The tone is heavy, the visuals are hand-drawn and detailed, and the difficulty spikes immediately if you lack preparation or luck.
Gameplay
Your typical session involves recruiting heroes with distinct quirks before sending them into dangerous dungeons to gather loot. You manage their stress levels and health in a turn-based tactical system where positioning matters more than raw damage numbers. Each combat round requires you to order attacks, skills, or defensive maneuvers while watching for enemy special abilities. If stress gets too high, your heroes develop crippling traits that can turn against you mid-fight. Between battles, you send them on expeditions that cost gold and time, risking permanent death if they fail. The game offers a single-player campaign with no online multiplayer components. You will spend hours optimizing party compositions and managing resources because one bad roll can end an entire run.
What Players Think
Critics and players have responded strongly to this title despite its harsh nature. Metacritic gave it an 84 out of 100 while IGDB shows an average score of 82.5 based on 434 ratings. The PlayPile community identifies the experience as story-driven with three votes for wholesome vibes and two for cozy or relaxing moods, though many find those labels ironic given the difficulty. Average playtime suggests players invest significant hours to master the systems. Only 19.6% of achievements unlock on average, highlighting how demanding the content remains. The rarest achievement "Be Still My Heart!" has a mere 0.40% unlock rate. Many users cite the strategic depth as the main reason for their engagement.
PlayPile's Take
This game suits players who enjoy high-stakes strategy and don't mind losing progress frequently. You will pay $3.74 at its historical low on Humble Store, which is a steal considering the 120 total achievements available. Most of those trophies are hard to get, but unlocking them proves your mastery. Do not pick this up if you want a casual time waster or a game where every hero survives to tell the tale. The psychological horror elements work well with the gameplay loop to create genuine tension. You will finish this title only after learning to accept failure as part of the process.
Game Modes
Single player
IGDB Rating
82.5
RAWG Rating
4.2
Deals
Finding deals...
Videos
2Trailer
Screenshots
5Community Moods
Achievements
Loading achievements...
Similar Games
Finding similar games...
Buzzing on Bluesky
Checking Bluesky...
