Darkest Dungeon 2 is the sequel to the original Darkest Dungeon game, released back in 2016. Both of these games were developed and published by Red Hook Studios. These games are turn-based role-playing games that also feature many rogue-like elements. Players will need to manage a group of several characters, each with their own unique abilities, to overcome many enemies along their journey.
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Characters will accrue stress along the way, which can have dire consequences for the player while they play. Strategy is key to completing the game, and being ill-prepared means certain failure and having to start the journey over. This is thenature of Roguelikes, and a failed run is just a learning opportunity.
10Divinity: Original Sin 2
Taking things to a more tactical playing field, Divinity: Original Sin 2 used to be the closest thing to playing Dungeons & Dragons as a video game until Buldars Gate 3 came into the limelight. Both of these games come from Larian Studios and are both outstanding tactical gaming experiences.
Players will manage a group of adventures, each bringing their own pros and cons to the party composition. Players will need to form a solid balance of performance by using all of their characters to navigate the incredibly long story.
9Baldur’s Gate 3
The second and final tactical entry on this list. Baldur’s Gate 3 is set in the granddaddy of Role-playing universes, Dungeons and Dragons. This game is by Larian Studios, the creators of the previous entry on this list.
They have taken everything they have learned from past games to pursue this ambitious project with a very big heritage to live up to. Baldur’s Gate has a much darker undertone to the Divinity Games and can feel a tad bleak and overwhelming at times.
8Battle Chasers: Nightwar
Battle Chasers: Nightwar came out in 2017, a year when there may have been a lot of good tactical and strategy games, but not one for classic turn-based RPGs.
Battle Chasers was developed by Airship Syndicate and went on to release 2 additional groundbreaking titles, including Darkseiders Genesis and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. Battle Chasers has a memorable cast, a dark world setting, and lots of exploration to be had on the overworld map. The harder difficulty comes with better loot.
7Darkest Dungeon
The Sequel has changed a lot from the original formula. For one, you can no longer have multiple members who are all in the same class when setting out on your adventure. This was to give each character in your party a unique feel and emphasize their role.
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The original served to have more of a direct dungeon-crawling experience, where players would slay monsters and raid loot. While Darkest Dungeons 2 goes for a larger “epic journey” to finally vanquish the evils that plague the lands.
Warsaw is a very refreshing change of pace for the games trying to be like Darkest Dungeon. It swaps out the Dark Fantasy aesthetic of Darkest Dungeon 2 and replaces it with a World War 2 aesthetic.
The gameplay has some noticeable changes when compared to Darkest Dungeon, such as a different placement grid, taking cover to avoid damage, and flanking. You will need to manage resources and ammunition, as both of these are scarce, and you will need to know when to go all in and when to be conservative.
5Vambrace: Cold Soul
Vambrace: Cold Soul will see you trudging along with your group of adventurers, only to be hindered by various ghoulish apparitions and mighty foes. You will need to utilize the different abilities of your different party members in a frozen hellscape to complete your crusade.
This game might not seem as polished as others, but that actually works surprisingly well in its favor. This lack of polish compliments the dismal and bleak sense of dread that players will experience as they make their way through the game.
This game takes everything about Darkest Dungeon and makes it a little bit brighter. The art style is worth noting, with objects standing out more than those in Darkest Dungeon, and the inclusion of detailed and slightly colorful anime-style characters adds some charm and memorability to each of them.
The abilities also add a sense of power to using them, such as a charged dash that sends the user off the screen as the weight of the attack follows afterward. This game does feature its own version of a Doomsday Clock that counts down to run ending short. Be prepared; thedifficulty of this onecan be pretty brutal.
Just like Darkest Dungeons 2, this is a dark fantasy-themed game that uses a turn-based RPG style of gameplay while incorporating roguelike elements into it. Delving into dungeons, not knowing what unspeakableWitcher-levelhorrors will come your way, is very adrenaline-pumping and anxiety-inducing.
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The monsters you will encounter will have so many tricks and mechanics up their sleeves that other games just don’t supply their enemies with. Some games may have you just breeze past the same groups of enemies, but the same kind of group you have encountered dozens of times can really catch you off guard at times.
2Iratus: Lord Of The Dead
This game really pushes for a more engaging story as you take control of the title character, Iratus. You will take the reins as a powerful necromancer raising forth an army of corpses to do your bidding.
These corpses are not just lying around, but rather, they come from your fallen enemies. It draws a lot of inspiration from Darkest Dungeon but creates such an engaging experience that it creates a much greater sense of reward the closer you get to Victor.
1Deep Sky Derelicts
Deep Sky Derelicts was developed by Snowhound Games and was first released back in 2018. Deep Sky Derelicts is to Darkest Dungeon what Warhammer Fantasy is to Warhammer 40K. It takes everything you know and loves about the bleak and dismal world of Darkest Dungeon and sends it across the stars.
The gameplay is very similar, as is the art style. This may be the closest thing you will play to Darkest Dungeons 2, other than the original Darkest Dungeons game.
