Game2023

Darkest Dungeon® II

IndieRPGStrategy

Developer Red Hook Studios

Darkest Dungeon II is a 2023 roguelike role-playing video game developed and published by Red Hook Studios as the sequel to Darkest Dungeon. The game was released in early access for Windows in October 2021. The full version of the game was released in May 2023. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

353 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Mastodon, Bluesky) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works

Audience score

60
Fresh

203 positive · 136 negative
95% range 55–65%

Source+−=
Steam reviews2031360
Mastodon *209
Bluesky *120

* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).

Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
10,144 of 13,413 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)

What players are saying

59% recommend · 158 yes, 111 no

Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 269 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (20,233 of 27,131 positive).

Some find the sequel lacks the charm and progression of the original. [1][2][3] Others appreciate it as a fresh take with strong combat and atmosphere. [4][5][6]

Liked
Disliked
Representative posts
  • [2]Steam user Steam user …3030Steam review · Apr 27, 2026 · Not recommended

    It has amazing graphics, but I feel like the soundtrack is slightly worse. The narration isn’t as clever or memorable either. The unlock system is completely annoying. Everything beyond the first boss run is nearly impossible if you don’t have all the stagecoach upgrades, which take about 20 hours to obtain. It then takes another 30 hours to gather enough candles to unlock the core combat items, trinkets, and inn …

  • [10]Steam user Steam user …8594Steam review · Dec 1, 2025 · Not recommended

    Coming from Darkest Dungeon 1, I was very excited to try out the sequel. I was optimistic about the game and cautiously aware of the fact that the core gameplay loop had changed in the sequel, so I tried to keep an open mind, but unfortunately all I can conclude after playing the game myself + reading more about it afterwards is: I don't find it fun. That doesn't mean it's a bad game, it's simply that I don't enjoy …

  • [13]Steam user Steam user …8480Steam review · Aug 23, 2026 · Recommended

    I don't know who funded a campaign to review bomb this delightfully stress inducing nightmare of a game but kudos, you're all ridiculous. Common complaints: It's a 3 act rogue like It's Slay the Spire in the DD universe I don't know what I'm doing and that sucks I don't like the meta-progression, I want my hamlet progression The reality: DD2 feels very similar to DD1, the game expands on the setting, stellar combat, …

  • [5]Steam user Steam user …7042Steam review · Jun 8, 2026 · Recommended

    Probably one of the most overhated games in recent time, Darkest Dungeon 2 is actually a really fun and interesting take on the mechanics the first game introduced. As someone who played the first game to death, despite the unfair and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ moments, this is a really solid sequel. This game gets a lot of flak for being different than the first one, and yeah, if you were expecting Darkest Dungeon again, you're …

  • [6]Steam user Steam user …6638Steam review · Mar 5, 2026 · Recommended

    The original Darkest Dungeon is one of the greatest games of the new 10s. A Lovecraftian dungeon-crawler that offered a beautiful blend of roguelike, tactical cRPG and strategy. To say the sequel was hotly anticipated would be a huge understatement. My personal expectations were quite high. Yet initial updates during its development left me apprehensive. The developer was planning significant departures from the …

Summarised from 34 of the 298 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made

RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account

59% of the 269 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Darkest Dungeon® II. The complaint that keeps coming up: too different from the first game. Deal-breaker or nitpick?

Critics, per Wikipedia

According to the review aggregator platform Metacritic, Darkest Dungeon II received "generally favorable reviews". 100,000 copies were sold on the day of the game's early access release. Red Hook announced that the game had sold more than 500,000 copies a week after it left early access.

From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.

Reactions

60 of 353 · most liked first
  • Steam user Steam user …3030Steam reviews · Apr 27, 2026 · 41 h played

    It has amazing graphics, but I feel like the soundtrack is slightly worse. The narration isn’t as clever or memorable either. The unlock system is completely annoying. Everything beyond the first boss run is nearly impossible if you don’t have all the stagecoach upgrades, which take about 20 hours to obtain. It then takes another 30 hours to gather enough candles to unlock the core combat items, trinkets, and inn items you need to have a reasonable chance past the second boss. The Confession…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6524Steam reviews · Jun 30, 2026 · 11 h played

    I never really leave reviews, but I really liked the first Darkest Dungeon and its core mechanics so here goes. I wrote this as I went along the hours I spent playing the game. Bad: - The game is now a Slay the Spire kind of game. - The game now only has 'expeditions' instead of dungeons. On the surface these are 'just' (very) long dungeons, but in reality these are vastly different. There is no more item collection because all your items are gone after an expedition, overall progression…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5182Steam reviews · Dec 17, 2025 · 15 h played

    As of 2025 Dec, after almost 4 years and countless updates. The game is still not good. A lot of classes/system/mechanics are still being reworked. Still feels like an Early Access game which needs a lot of polish. If you like Darkest Dungeon 1, this game is not the same genre. Wait for Darkest Dungeon 3 maybe. If you like roguelike game, this game is a roguelike game. But there are plenty of other roguelike games that are objectively way better than Darkest Dungeon 2. I like roguelike…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3756Steam reviews · Mar 19, 2026 · 16 h played

    It feels like the Devs decided to make the game as un-fun as possible. Anything that was viable in the last game does not work now. Stuns? Takes two stunning attacks, to actually stun the target. Healing is painful, you can only heal if the target is below a threshold of HP, and the heals are on cooldowns. Who needs properly balanced encounters when you just kneecap the players ability to sustain? Corpses spawn no matter how the enemy is killed, and even if you clear them those squishy…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8594Steam reviews · Dec 1, 2025 · 4 h played

    Coming from Darkest Dungeon 1, I was very excited to try out the sequel. I was optimistic about the game and cautiously aware of the fact that the core gameplay loop had changed in the sequel, so I tried to keep an open mind, but unfortunately all I can conclude after playing the game myself + reading more about it afterwards is: I don't find it fun. That doesn't mean it's a bad game, it's simply that I don't enjoy it coming from the original. This review is intended primarily for folks who…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8480Steam reviews · Aug 23, 2026 · 65 h played

    I don't know who funded a campaign to review bomb this delightfully stress inducing nightmare of a game but kudos, you're all ridiculous. Common complaints: It's a 3 act rogue like It's Slay the Spire in the DD universe I don't know what I'm doing and that sucks I don't like the meta-progression, I want my hamlet progression The reality: DD2 feels very similar to DD1, the game expands on the setting, stellar combat, and atmosphere DD2 has 2 game-modes, a long dungeon mode (confessions) and a…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7762Steam reviews · Jul 23, 2026 · 65 h played

    they made the best western RPG of the decade and then made the worst roguelike of 2023. i have too much respect for the devs to say this was a "bad game" because it wasnt. it was just a misstep in an otherwise amazing franchise. they realize that, that's why they're going back and adding the cool stuff they added in this game to their first game. it's not an admission of defeat, it was more of an unfortunate display of a lack of focus. whereas the first game was a hero/resource management…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5561Steam reviews · Aug 21, 2026 · 17 h played

    If Darkest Dungeon 1 is C&B torture, Darkest Dungeon 2 is C&B torture but the Mistress doesn't even pretend to like you.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3846Steam reviews · May 6, 2026 · 32 h played

    I hate driving the coach wagon, its just a time waster like so many other things in this game. The game isn't bad but its just too slow, make candle progression faster and make driving the wagon faster or just completely remove it.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2043Steam reviews · Aug 18, 2026 · 11 h played

    This game should be called as Darkest Road or samething. In this game you play as a horse(s) - who are dragging the stagecoach through the doomed road. From time to time you get random passengers who try to save the world and at the end - even if they save the world. You - the horse(s) are still doomed to repeat this damn thing... Atleast you get same cosmetic upgrades for you stagecoach, but no upgrades for horses who are most important thing in this whole game. Because: no horses > no…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1817Steam reviews · Oct 19, 2025 · 112 h played

    I've tried this game twice now, once at launch and just recently over about a week, and things just don't make sense. 1. Maths not mathing - a 50% damage reduction buff doesn't always reduce the incoming damage by 50%, it often reduces it by less. For example, I've seen 12 damage get cut to 8 but the 50% damage reduction buff is still used up. I assume this is because of how the damage equation is written but it feels like the game lying to me about what something does. 2. No respect for my…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4147Steam reviews · Sep 3, 2026 · 8 h played

    This is not as fun as the first game. Different scope with a similar feeling. They kept the enemies hard but removed reliable ways to mitigate (not eliminate!) the massive incoming damage and stress (because a small handful of people were min maxing specific setups to make infinite heal loops). Average players don't do that. I hate when devs overcorrect to punish a tiny minority. Let them break the game. They are only cheating themselves.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5373Steam reviews · Mar 14, 2026 · 106 h played

    First game was actually fairly difficult and challenging. This one's RNG is just built in to sometimes go apesh*t and ruin your run because it said so. Fake difficulty isn't fun...

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8027Steam reviews · May 13, 2026 · 1104 h played

    If its not obvious by my playtime and pfp, I adore this game unlike much else. This game is hard. Brutal. Unforgiving. And especially while you are new and currently unlocking things, it can feel frustrating. This game has LONG runs, like 2-3 hours long, and things can feel unfair before you start to truly understand what the game expects from you. Its very difficult to get into. Even someone that loves this game as much as me, it didn't "click" until I was already more than 100 hours in,…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5388Steam reviews · Jan 11, 2026 · 181 h played

    A fun game held back by some of the most frustrating mechanics implemented in games. There are such obvious fixes available for them but the devs refuse to do them. For example, the Confessions 5 gimmick of mirroring your heroes can be the most maddening thing to fight against, if the spawned copy is locked in an unreachable position. Just unbelievably infuriating. Other issues: quirks should be replaced in order of oldest to newest instead of random. Incredible annoying to watch the…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9264Steam reviews · Jan 30, 2026 · 18 h played

    Darkest Dungeon II wears the skin of its predecessor, but the soul is elsewhere. What was once a slow descent into ruin is now a carousel of repetition. Heroes are no longer lives to be preserved, but tokens to be cycled. The first game understood suffering. It made you invest, then punished you for caring. This "sequel" removes the oppressive weight of managing an estate, of watching your roster fracture under stress and desperation. All that remains is a road, and the boredom it brings.…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1167Steam reviews · Feb 21, 2026 · 22 h played

    The decisions in this game baffle me. Overall it feels disconnected and not nearly as free-flowing as the original, despite it being a direct sequel it feels like one of those modern reimagining of an old game that misses the point of the original game. I have no idea why they went with The carriage system of carrying you from one place to the next, it honestly makes it feel a bit like a mobile game and removes any continuity or sense of story from the adventure. Characters are no longer…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8948Steam reviews · Jan 19, 2026 · 380 h played

    I found myself alt tabbing out of this game all the damn time and I realize its because it is pretty brain dead when you figure it out. The game raises a lot of questions that have no good answer. Why do I have to grind to unlock items? Why are so many things percent based? Why are tokens so insane? Why do I have to grind for base stats on the characters? Why do I have to grind for skills? There is so much worthless padding in the game. The token system, altar of hope, and pitiful base ranges…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3199Steam reviews · Oct 12, 2025 · 10 h played

    Playing this game is more annoying than fun! I don't really understand what to love about this game. This game has so many weird, unnecessary and annoying gameplay mechanics. And those are my first impressions, which actually turns people away from this game I believe. 1. Right from the get go, why every time I have to start confessions with that stupid stagecoach intro? Why I can't Instantly pick my heroes and start the journey? It's just a time waste every single time! 2. Stagecoach riding…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6341Steam reviews · Aug 25, 2026 · 3 h played

    I cannot in good faith recommend this game, even if you somehow manage to forget that the first one exists. *The (little) good* - Art-wise, character design is excellent. It's good to see the familiar characters brought to life in 3D *The (sorta) mixed* - Soundtrack is good, but very sparse, repeating a lot between locations. You'll become sick and tired of hearing the same combat music - The narrator is still excellent as a VA, but his lines are much, much weaker than the ones from DD1 -…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5311Steam reviews · Jul 10, 2026 · 7 h played

    They should have just stuck with the formula from the first game. While the concept here is more rogue-like, it loses a ton of what made the first DD great. I don't recommend it for fans of the first game. It's just far too different.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4307Steam reviews · Apr 4, 2026 · 155 h played

    I've played this game a fair bit and I'm an avid fan of the first game, be it for the progression, for the combat, for the randomness that can occur at the worst time and end your party's journey even though you prepared well enough and last but not least, the artstyle, the soundtrack and the narrator voiced by the immensely talented Wayne Junes that unfortunately passed away. I've been playing the second game since it's full release on steam and even though the devs took a very different…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9892Steam reviews · Jul 24, 2026 · 103 h played

    "Predictable, repetitive, boring" DD1 was incredibly yolo-RNG and it could screw you over endlessly with misses, dodges and just poor RNG. Sometimes you had no say in what was going on. Initially, I thought DD2 was designed to get around that, with its token system and such. But I was so, so wrong. DD2 is a repetitive "Use this team setup or die" simulator. There are multiple points throughout the game where certain types of abilities are MANDATORY or you are relying entirely on luck. If you…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5270Steam reviews · Dec 19, 2025 · 99 h played

    I really want to enjoy this game like I did the first. And it's so frustrating that I'm so close to finishing the main game and not enjoying it. I think I'm doing this out of spite or some hope that it'll get better, but this game is too punishing. And that's coming from someone who THRIVED off the punishment and failure of the first game. I think it might also be the nostagia of how great the first game was that I keep coming back to get railed by this one. Please devs, I beg of you, if you…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2909Steam reviews · Oct 1, 2026 · 108 h played

    My main gripe with this games is that it doesn't respect you, the player, or your time. DD1 was hard, even unfair, had moments of "haha, x3 crit + bleed + gonorrhea" but it respected you. Let me put an example, you enter a boss for the first time? - It's the apprentice version, you can learn it's mechanics/gimmick. - Even if your party is nonoptimal against said boss, you'll win as long as you play decently and are prepared. - You didn't prepare or got unlucky in the run? It's fine, you can…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6739Steam reviews · Aug 20, 2026 · 158 h played

    This game got a good bit of hate for its differences from the first game. I don't see the differences as a bad thing; Darkest Dungeon II delivers a unique experience with recognizable mechanics and a fresh coat of paint. I'd rather have this than a nearly-identical game to the first. I can always go back and play the first game if I want to play it. All in all, I'm happy with this sequel.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1947Steam reviews · Nov 27, 2025 · 43 h played

    [quote=The Narrator]"Once again teetering on that terrible precipice..." DD2 is a schizophrenic sequel. The first game was released nine years ago but remains a must-play, a radical indie title with a killer artistic direction ([url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/stscylla/recommended/262060/]here's my review/introduction). After its critical and commercial success, Red Hook could have milked their playerbase and simply packaged some new content as a fully-priced sequel. It's pretty standard…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4042Steam reviews · Jul 14, 2026 · 19 h played

    If DD1 never existed and this game came out, it would be critically acclaimed and then DD 1 would be panned if it was the sequel. It's a good game, people just don't know how to handle change.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8039Steam reviews · Apr 2, 2026 · 284 h played

    TLDR: The game is NOT a sequel, despite what people say and is not good even when viewed separately from the first. This game does NOT feel like a sequel to the first. It feels more like a fan project that misunderstood what made the first game so good. Ironically enough there IS a fan project for the first game called Black Reliquary, which far exceeds this at the role of being a "Sequel". The positives of this game are the 3D graphics that translate the unique art style of the first game…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1524Steam reviews · Aug 30, 2026 · 26 h played

    Hello, indie game developer. In this "Saw Trap", there is a wheel in front of you. Your challenge is to leave the room without reinventing it. It works fine. It's a perfectly good wheel. The door is unlocked.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9703Steam reviews · Jun 3, 2026 · 104 h played

    This is a Slay-the-Spire-like with a Darkest Dungeon skin, but succeeds at being neither. Just play the first game. There is an amazing mod community who've made their own campaigns for it (eg. Black Reliquary) Instead of embracing all the creative risk-taking that made DD1 a unique and unforgettable experience, they replaced it with bland polish. DD2 is a waterdown deckbuilder a la Slay the Spire, instead of the Rogue-like dungeon crawler of the First. Instead of an enigmatic ancestor…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6028Steam reviews · Apr 13, 2026 · 51 h played

    Don’t trust the negative reviews that compare it strictly to the first game. The game is actually quite good. However, it is truly very different from the first one in terms of mechanics. When you buy it as a sequel, you naturally expect at least somewhat similar gameplay. But in reality, both the gameplay and core mechanics are quite different from the original. If it had been released under a different name instead of Darkest Dungeon 2, (like Darkest Dungeon Reborn) I think people wouldn’t…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4609Steam reviews · May 28, 2026 · 18 h played

    I made the strongest effort I've probably ever made to like this one. I waited for years after release to see if updates improved it. They did not. It's smooth but it's clunky. It's been flattened down into a very narrow balance, which makes the rng feel both boring and even more important than in one. Progression feels bad---you unlock endless rosters of things you don't want, and that are now in your runs. Characters have more diversity to their builds, but feel flatter than ever. The…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5962Steam reviews · Mar 21, 2026 · 9 h played

    Don't let those who complain that this game doesn't resemble DD1 stop you from trying it if you liked the first one; DD2 is simply different, with new mechanics to learn, and it will be challenging at first even for DD1 veterans or those who enjoy other turn-based games. DD2 is a great game and runs beautifully on the SteamDeck. "You were bold once. Be bold once more."

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0804Steam reviews · Mar 12, 2026 · 29 h played

    Losing is just a part of this game that you have to be ok with, but i'm a sore loser and I'm not having fun

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3787Steam reviews · Jun 13, 2026 · 46 h played

    If you are a fan of Darkest Dungeon 1, don't play this; they ruined Darkest Dungeon. Don't look for anything user friendly here, there is no quality of life and gameplay loop & meta progression are all over the place. Otherwise graphics and aesthetics are great.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9028Steam reviews · Oct 27, 2025 · 42 h played

    This is definitely not the DD1 experience. I was hoping for something similar, maybe even better than DD1 (my mistake, I know) — but this game just isn’t that. I’ve played for a while now, and at first I was impressed — but then the small details and minor gameplay issues broke my rose-colored glasses. It may still be a good game for some, but for those who fell in love with DD1, it will likely be a heartbreak in the end.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7042Steam reviews · Jun 8, 2026 · 162 h played

    Probably one of the most overhated games in recent time, Darkest Dungeon 2 is actually a really fun and interesting take on the mechanics the first game introduced. As someone who played the first game to death, despite the unfair and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ moments, this is a really solid sequel. This game gets a lot of flak for being different than the first one, and yeah, if you were expecting Darkest Dungeon again, you're gonna be disappointed. DD2 is a fun and fresh take on the original formula, it plays…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9756Steam reviews · May 18, 2026 · 8 h played

    I bought this game after enjoying trying the first game on a friends PC. What a disapointment. I wish I had invensted in the first game instead. The few choices that you're given don't seem to matter much. RNG pretty much makes or breaks your run. It decides if your adventurers hate each other and tank your whole run or if they get along. Upgrades and items that are supposed to help them get along seem to have little impact. RNG decides what traits your characters get, then you have to get…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6666Steam reviews · Jul 25, 2026 · 15 h played

    I keep bouncing off the game and I think I know why: It's just not fun. Of course the art & atmosphere are awesome. Red Hook has a stellar track record in that department. But the gameplay just has continuing underlying issues that frustrate me. It's not worth the continual pain to keep going.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4439Steam reviews · Jan 16, 2026 · 30 h played

    For years I believed the haters and didn't try this game, but after giving it a chance I'm finding it a lot of fun. I think a lot of the hate just comes from the fact that it's different to DD1 and people don't like change. The visuals and music are fantastic, and the gameplay is addictive and fun - if a little frustrating at times. Enemies seem to hit lucky 10% chances of resisting attack effects way more than 1/10 of the time. If I'm rolling a D10 and hitting a nat 1 on about half of my…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9900Steam reviews · Jul 16, 2026 · 214 h played

    DD2 is a game in a bit of a catch 22 situation imo. Its connection to the first game serves it plot-wise, but as a game to be played, expectations set by its predecessor have severely harmed it, and the ways in which it diverges are not easy to portray in trailers and screenshots. I would *highly* recommend watching a proper, updated review video so you can determine for yourself if this is your kind of game, regardless of your opinion on DD1. In fact, at least for me, it's hard to define much…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6210Steam reviews · Apr 13, 2026 · 10 h played

    So much meta progression grind needed to play this game it feels like a job. Why would you make a roguelite game and design it in a way that requires you to do runs for currency farming? Every run should be a valid attempt at a possible clear, but in this game you will have runs just to farm currency or it will take dozens of hours to unlock stuff that is mandatory if you want to progress. Gating progression with metaprogress stat upgrades instead of having a balanced game that can be…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6638Steam reviews · Mar 5, 2026 · 69 h played

    The original Darkest Dungeon is one of the greatest games of the new 10s. A Lovecraftian dungeon-crawler that offered a beautiful blend of roguelike, tactical cRPG and strategy. To say the sequel was hotly anticipated would be a huge understatement. My personal expectations were quite high. Yet initial updates during its development left me apprehensive. The developer was planning significant departures from the tried and tested formula of the original. As a huge fan of the first game that was…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7613Steam reviews · Jan 9, 2026 · 16 h played

    Having played the first game, I want to share my thoughts on DD2 as well. I prefer the first game, but I wouldn't say the second one is bad. While it was a fresh way of going into the enemy encounters and handling the crew, I still enjoyed it a lot. Gotta say the start had me hooked and got me tangled up for many hours until I reached a point where I needed a break, some fresh air, or whatever you may call it. You take your hero party on a journey to reach the mountain through various…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4840Steam reviews · Oct 20, 2025 · 74 h played

    This game gets alot of unfair criticism in my opinion. Many people seem to be angry that Darkest dungeon 2 is not Darkest dungeon 1.5, yet criticise the game for things that are also present in Darkest Dungeon 1. Namely being grindy, very RNG heavy at times and punishing players for not constantly having the wiki pulled up. These are game elements you simply have to take into account for buying a Darkest Dungeon game and i will not put too much attention on them. In my opinion people are just…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1008Steam reviews · Aug 28, 2026 · 110 h played

    A decent rogue-like with an excellent soundtrack, however a terrible sequel to it's (IMO) superior predecessor.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3429Steam reviews · Jun 29, 2026 · 611 h played

    It lacks the charm of the first one with its persistent home base aspect, while solving the first one's problem with a party wipe of your best characters snowballing into the run being a lost cause. I want the charm and continuity of the first one back and hope they try other ideas for how to solve the maintainability problem. But this has been a worthwhile sequel in terms of pure gameplay, even if I'm not a fan of the meta structure.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • GamingOnLinux 🐧🎮 @gamingonlinuxMastodon · Aug 22, 2023

    Darkest Dungeon II added full Steam Deck support https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/08/darkest-dungeon-ii-added-full-steam-deck-support/ #Linux #SteamDeck #DarkestDungeonII

    neutral · AI labelView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2341Steam reviews · May 30, 2026 · 148 h played

    As a big Darkest Dungeon fan (over 350+ hrs played), I've tried several times over a few years to get into this sequel and enjoy it for what it was. This sequel made several choices to evolve & differrentiate this from the original game. Nearly all of those choices not only fell flat but actually detracted from what fans loved about the original. What I miss the most is progressively building a town and crawling through actual dungeons. Instead, this sequel abandoned those aspects to…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8813Steam reviews · Feb 8, 2026 · 94 h played

    I think this game is criticized due to it being quite different from its predecessor and I'm quite lucky to have played this game first before getting to play the first Darkest Dungeon. With having played both, I think the criticism this game gets is valid as these problems do exist but the feelings behind them are exaggerated because of people's love for the first game. I hope for people to give it a try and to come in with the idea that this is not a sequel and is its own experience. Some…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9777Steam reviews · Jan 29, 2026 · 14 h played

    A pale imitation of the original makes for a thoroughly disappointing, often frustrating experience There are aspects of this game (like the caravan rides) that are absolutely empty, pure time sinks The party dynamics are hugely simplified, to the point where the game has lost a TON of tactical depth The individual runs are comparatively very long (and, again, filled with time wasters), with very little carrying between them Ultimately, if this is the direction that devs want to go with…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6055Steam reviews · Jul 16, 2026 · 23 h played

    most negative reviews come from people expecting the original game. This game is drastically different from the original, so be aware before buy. it changes and reworks a ton of mechanics from the original creating a completely new flavor of darkest dungeon. I personally found this one to be not as good as the original, but still very fun.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1983Steam reviews · May 21, 2026 · 154 h played

    I have tried time and time again to enjoy DD II out of my love for the first installment. I could overlook the subpar narration, confusing lore progression, lack of UI QoL and wonky wagon driving if it wasn't in its core such a frustrating coin toss simulator that confuses luck for difficulty. I am so tired of wasting hours just to lose because my Jester got critted through dodge then dot died despite 90% death resist. Mobs ignoring blind while for me it's pretty much guarantee miss. So while I…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3759Steam reviews · Jan 4, 2026 · 91 h played

    Initially I didn´t like this game because I prefer the gameplay and structure of DD1, however I grew to appreciate the game´s strenghts. I think DD1 is a better game overall, however DD2 does some things better, it has more complex combat and the it´s focus is more on creating a perfectly synergised team rather than working with the tools you have at the moment like in DD1. If DD2 was a stand alone title it would have overwhelmingly positive reviews.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1850Steam reviews · Aug 31, 2026 · 15 h played

    Beautiful and incredibly stylish game fundamentally broken in every gameplay aspect imaginable. A bleak, sad attempt at replicating the entirety of DD1 systems without ever understanding why and how they worked in the first place. Random rolls? Now they are everywhere, making any attempt at strategizing completely pointless. Just keep rolling until your party gets eliminated in one or two lucky sweeps. Perks and lasting effects on characters? Don't even think about them too much as every…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6029Steam reviews · Oct 13, 2025 · 79 h played

    Dont go looking for the same experience as DD1 and you will not be disappointed with this game.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6403Steam reviews · Dec 15, 2025 · 71 h played

    The game has positively surprised me in every aspect possible. The one place I thought I'd find myself enjoying the least - the story and narrative (of confessions) I ended up enjoying the most. Sanctuary, as fleeting as a Dying Star. RIP Wayne June

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4722Steam reviews · Jul 19, 2026 · 390 h played

    I've played both games and have 100% achievements in both games. Yea, they are different. But they are both good and challenging games. If you are expecting the same exact gameplay as DD1, then you might be a little disappointed. But I enjoyed the changes, and if if you are open to change, then you might too.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0570Steam reviews · Apr 3, 2026 · 43 h played

    I enjoyed the first game, but was never good at it (could never get my heroes beyond resolve 5 or whatever it was... maybe I didn't run away enough). This one, however, feels... I don't know if I'd say easier (cause I still lose a number of runs but I'm getting better)... however the progression seems more focused and less overwhelming. It's still a challenge and I've lost a lot of runs along the way, but I feel like it eases me into learning the game at an easier pace, even after the…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →

Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.

If you liked this

same genre, and people who posted about both