Darkest Dungeon II

Dear Developer,
Please rename the game to Darkest Road, and the Steam rating will go up. The game is fun, but it's just very different from its predecessor.
Warmest regards 🤍

YES, IT IS NOT DARKEST DUNGEON 1!
However, this game deserves a way higher rating. It is fun, it is well made, it is unique experience.
Unfortunately its main game loop takes away several aspects that Darkest Dungeon 1 players enjoy so much.
This explains the sour ratings for an otherwise highly enjoyable game.
What is different:
Instead of slowly restoring your hamlet, your heroes travel the landscape with a stagecoach.
The expeditions are long and follow a roguelike gameloop. You can choose which regions to travel to and, like in many other roguelike/roguelite titles, select the next waypoint from a choice of 2 or 3 options.
Positives:
1. First off.. the greatest thing about it.. THE SOUNDTRACK.
Stuart Chatwood filled this game with a bunch of absolute bangers: Sprawl Battle, Traverse the Mountain and Battle of the Mountain - these songs will put you on edge in epic decisive battles, where small mistakes will be even more punished than in the first iteration of the game. Sprawl Battle became my personal most heard song on Spotify.
2. The graphics are great. The pre-move animations add a lot of life and dynamic action in comparison to the more static first Darkest Dungeon. The winddown animations are just beautiful too.
3. The relationships between characters are a fantastic addition. Unluckily, it became a bit too easy to always get good relationships, which often makes the game a lot easier. Unluckily the powered up moves are random and sometimes just useless.
4. The boss fights can be hard if you bring the wrong team comp. To me, these harder fights are very enjoyable. Beating the boss with one man standing basically in the last swing was a very amazing and memorable experience.
5. The token system adds a bit more consistency in your battle plan. For most players, this might be an improvement. I personally enjoyed the randomness of the first part a little more.
6. The reflection shrines tell the stories of the heroes and are really cool.
7. The narrator (June Wayne) delivers once again and the lines slap hard. Yet, most lines feel less iconic than the first part.
8. Less micromanagement.
Negatives:
1. There is no gravitas when failing a run or when a characters dies. You don't lose them. You can just select them again in your next run. This bitter aspect of the first Darkest Dungeon is what made it so thrilling. Here you can basically end a run early with little consequences. Sometimes it is the best course of action to abandon midway and cut your losses.
2. Good team comps are limited. You can't play some goofy stuff anymore like 4 Lepers.
3. Decisions along the way have no impact. You decide on whatever resource you need most in the moment.
4. Many beloved characters are missing in the base game and are trickling in with DLCs. As things are progressing right now, getting the full DD1 roster in the future might cost you another 50-100 bucks.
5. Camping is replaced by the inn, which is less immersive. The fear of ambushes and the little moments of respite inside the dungeons was a great touch.
6. Spending a few hours just to get smacked by a boss or miniboss is pretty bitter. Yes, you can upgrade a bunch of stuff and it was not completely for naught. But the upgrades are whatever.
7. Many paths of the heroes are inferior to other paths and for me there is no reason to play semi-useless builds.
8. Some characters are strong and they play nicely (e.g. Highwayman and Man-At-Arms). Some characters are quite weak like the Runaway.
Conclusion:
It is not Darkest Dungeon 1. It is still a fantastic game. Some gameplay mechanics are better, some are worse.
The DLC money-squeeze is a bit of a turn-off. Especially hiding already designed characters behind a paywall is a huge no-no.
Addendum:
Redhooks EULA agreement is pretty dank:
This is a singleplayer game. I am not speedrunning. Why do you want to monitor my RAM?

After spending over 900 hours immersed in Darkest Dungeon 2, I can confidently say it is a challenging yet rewarding masterpiece. The game strikes a balance between punishing difficulty and the exhilaration that comes with overcoming it. If you're looking for a game that demands strategic thinking, and rewards adaptability, this is it.
Initially, I found the level of randomization in the game—particularly at launch—to be overwhelming. Too often, failure felt like the result of bad luck rather than poor decision-making. However, the developers have worked to address this issue through a series of updates and balance changes, creating an experience where every loss feels like an opportunity to learn and grow. Today, success in Darkest Dungeon 2 is far more about your strategic choices, your understanding of the game mechanics, and your knowledge of enemy behavior. This shift has made victories feel even more gratifying and defeats less frustrating - most of the time :)
One of the most impressive aspects of the game is how it encourages experimentation.  Every team composition is now viable—a huge improvement from the early days when certain combinations felt sub-optimal. With a bit of understanding of game mechanics and enemy abilities, you can succeed with any group of characters, which has transformed Darkest Dungeon 2 into a sandbox of tactical possibilities.
The journey itself—navigating the game’s haunting, beautifully rendered landscapes—is unforgettable. Every step feels consequential, and every decision matters. Whether you’re managing your team’s stress levels, deciding which encounters to tackle, or weighing the risks of pushing your luck for better rewards, the game constantly challenges your ability to think ahead and adapt on the fly. The tension is relentless, but it’s this very pressure that makes every small victory feel monumental.
Another standout feature of Darkest Dungeon 2 is its community. The game’s fans are incredibly supportive, and the tight-knit nature of the player base fosters a sense of camaraderie that’s rare in today’s gaming landscape. Whether you’re looking for tips, sharing war stories, or just enjoying the creativity of small but dedicated content creators, there’s always something to engage with. The content creators, in particular, deserve praise for consistently producing entertaining and insightful material that enhances the overall experience.
In its current state, Darkest Dungeon 2 has become everything I hoped it would be and more. It’s a game that demands your respect, tests your resolve, and rewards your persistence. While it’s not for the faint of heart, for those willing to embrace its challenges, the payoff is unparalleled. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer, this is a journey worth taking—a journey into madness, perseverance, and triumph. Darkest Dungeon 2 isn’t just a game; it’s an experience, one I’m thrilled to recommend to anyone who dares to face its horrors.

Of course, of course, this isn’t DD1.
The first game had a brutally high entry threshold: it punished you over and over while you desperately tried to save as many of your characters as possible through dark, convoluted mechanics and merciless RNG. Over time, you’d study the system, upgrade your recovery spots and gear so your people could survive longer and be better prepared. You’d start to understand the quirks and weaknesses of every party member. And after weeks... months... years, maybe, just maybe, you would finally beat the game.
In the second game? None of that.
Now DD2 is a pretty standard roguelike across three maps, where the main idea is to throw yourself forward and experiment aggressively. Made it to the furthest inn you could reach? Wrap up the run, gather your candles for meta-progression, and get ready for the next go.
The pros: the game is faster, more accessible, has gorgeous visuals, a genuinely interesting story, and some pretty unique mechanics for its genre.
The cons: well, the pros are also the cons. Now when you lose or someone dies — nothing bad really happens. Just pick that hero again on your next run. There's none of that soul-crushing bitterness from the first game.
Also, forget about fun meme-squads like four Lepers — freedom of choice is officially dead.
Ironically, they put way more effort into fleshing out each "character" this time around than they did in DD1. Which honestly feels pointless, because characters die and respawn endlessly, with only the tiniest shred of permanence.
You're not investing in a hero, no matter what the game tries to tell you — you're investing in a class. The individuality of any given character doesn’t really matter.
Still though — it’s a damn good game. Some mechanics got better, some got worse.
...but after almost 300 hours, I still have one question:
Where the hell are the dungeons?

This is one of my favourite games, but it did not click at first. I came from the DD1 and expected a more-of-the-same-experience. DD2 does quite a few things different than the first part, which some people seem to dislike, especially the driving around with a cart thing. If you look deeper, the things it does different, it does so for a reason, most are improving the gameplay experience:
- The token system is overwhelming at first, but it drastically reduces RNG. It takes some time to get used to the token icons though.
- The removal of permadeath decreases frustration and encourages trying out new builds.
- The character builds (paths) increase depth instead of minmaxing in DD1.
- It is waaaaaay less grindy than DD1.

The art style is one of the best I could even imagine, the music is great as well.

I put off buying this after hearing some negative reviews from DD1 players. I have to say I like it _more_ than DD1 -- to this not-too-serious gamer it's been a bit easier for me to get a handle on, advance with, and enjoy. The (not entirely, but more) linear paths make it easier for me to parse what decisions to make, I find combat a bit easier (madness seems to accumulate more reasonably) and on the whole, as a casual gamer that doesn't want to explode my brain every time I fire up a game to relax -- it's a good fit for me.

combat is much more fun than the first game, requires much more thinking, less randomness, in the first game you'll just randomly miss an attack with a 85% chance to hit and screw you over, in the second game when you hit normally it will 100% hit, if enemies have dodge or you have blind you know exactly what you're in for when you decide to attack, the atmosphere in my opinion is weaker compare to the 1st game, the storytelling is also a little worse, but still an extremely fun game thanks to the much improved combat