Darkest Dungeon

I bought this game on 2018. It has taken me almost 7 years to finish it. The main game, at least. When I first played it, it had been on Radiant. I was Not Very Good at games, and the unforgiving nature of Darkest Dungeon and my lackluster gaming skills, even on Radiant, meant that opinion turned from 'Not Very Good' to 'Oh Girl, You Are So Much Worse At This Than I Realized.' It had ended with me throwing my hands up in surrender after suffering a team wipe twice, almost in a row, first from the Shambler, and then later to Vvulf. Despite that, I resolved to one day come back and finish this damn game.
And 7 years later, I come crawling back with gritted teeth and bloodied fingers, triumphantly better than ever before. My days of being 'Not Very Good' was over. I was now 'Eh, Acceptable.' And that was enough to fulfill a goal that was more than half a decade old by that point. On Default Difficulty, even!
(I will not try it in Higher Difficulties. I know my limits. Confidence is an insidious killer, and all that.)
Anyway, all that was to say, very dramatically, that I've finally finished it. Wonderful game. I absolutely love the sound effects and, of course, the narrator. It all really sets the Lovecraftian vibe the game was going for. While I was playfully complaining about the difficulty earlier, I didn't actually hate it. Struggling to be better, to improve, to overcome said difficulties made the victories all the more sweet. From what I understand, the game was purposely designed like that. It's supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be frustrating. And the challenge of it really elevated my experience playing the game.
I might one day return. I still haven't defeated one of the mini bosses that made me quit the game in the first place (I Am Coming For You, Shambler). Some achievements here and there that I want to get. And, of course, the DLCs that I've been hearing good things about.
Truly, one of the best games I've ever played. <3

This game is the absolute worst. It's unbelievably hard and unfair, after most of my missions my party needs like 2 weeks to recover because they're one inconvenience away from a heart attack, clinically depressed, and have the bubonic plague or some shit. I once had a whole party wipe due to 4 consecutive heart attacks.
10/10
I absolutely love this game.
This game does not love me, however.

Very hard game to review. It's pretty much the epitome of an abusive relationship.
It's a game that you'd beg your best friend to play but wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy.
It's a game that you'll love to hate and resent yourself for loving it.
It's a game where skill is mocked and luck is a bipolar parent.
And it's addictive as crack.
You've been warned.

this game makes me geniunely fucking stressed i cant reccomend it to any normal person, i feel that if i made my grandma play this game she'd die of cardiac arrest

but its like an abusive relationship i jjuust keep wanting more, yes one more dd1 run, just one more yeah dude yeah yeaha just onee more broooo just one moreeee fuckk my life FUCKKK WHY ARE YOU MISSING, STOP MISSING YOU PIECE OF SHIT LEPER FUCKING HIT THAT BITCH ALREADY

Iconic.
The world, the narration, the verbiage, the music, the intensity, the depth of mechanics, the constant weight always bearing down on the player... All executed in brilliant fashion. As you play the game, the Narrator makes remarks on your decisions. The remarks sometimes bolster your resolve; the remarks crush your spirit; the remarks teach you mindsets to use in the game, and they teach you a way of life.
If you love campaign strategy and have a taste for eldritch horrors, this game is a must-have. I cannot overstate the impact this game had on myself, and I still hear the Narrator guiding me to this day during my own hardships - "You will endure this loss. You will learn from it"

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☑ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10
---{ Author }---
☑

Is Darkest Dungeon immensely frustrating? Absolutely, without a doubt - I can't really think of a game that has elicited more resentment from me.
Is Darkest Dungeon one of my most favourite games of all time? Also yes - this game oozes style from every cracked dungeon tile, with the music, art and especially narration tailoring an entirely unique experience. There isn't anything else really like Darkest Dungeon - even its own sequel! Overall, a strong recommendation from me, a rogue-like that I return to and enjoy, time and time again.