Darkest Dungeon was generally well-received when it came out two years ago. Ancestral Edition comes with the Crimson Court, District, Flagellant, Shieldbreaker and [with the latest patch update] Color of Madness and the Musketeer DLC. Free sweet DLC, folks. Anyone who played this on other platforms will find more or less of the same game.
Now for the benefit of those who have not known yet I hope that this review will help those who are planning to get in on the Nintendo Switch. So, what is Darkest Dungeon?
Story. Your wealthy and influential ancestor had uncovered an ancient and malignant place underneath his manor. When your ancestor committed suicide, it is up to you[the Heir] to set things right.
Story is barebones though as the game is more focused towards the gameplay rather than story. Although, I could say that the story and gameplay are interwoven with each other. Story is told by bits and pieces. It is dark and gloomy. As they would like to say in this day and age, like Dark Souls. The more you progress, the more you will uncover your ancestor's past and the estate's ill begotten fate.
Gameplay. It is a game of management. Of losses and gains. Of progress and setbacks. This is no walk in the park. While anyone can still afford to be lenient, proper management is still the preferable way of doing business...
Darkest Dungeon is a turn-based dungeon crawler. To put it simply, you got your Hamlet[HQ] where you upgrade and manage stuff. Then you got multiple dungeons/locations to choose where your 4-man expedition team can explore - with each having its own theme and unique dangers to encounter.
There are 18 classes or heroes[if we include the DLC classes] to choose from and with this sizable roster comes a lot of ways to tinker with party synergy. Even if most of them play the stereotype rpg roles, they still differentiate from each other thanks to how the skill system works. Each has their own selection of combat and camping skills with most heroes only able to use four at a time. You can still freely switch available skills out of combat though. Even if the skill selection is somewhat limited they can make it up by having multiple effects. In return, this makes most skills useful and removes the need for a lot of filler skills.
Combat and exploration is done in a side-scrolling fashion. You will advance in hallways from left to right until you get in a room. From there, paths can diverge into north, south, east, and/or west hallways. During combat, there are four positions that your heroes can occupy with the one nearest the center part of the screen being the front row. The concept is like what we see in 2d fighting games only that the gameplay is turn-based. While combat skills can be use without limits, positioning is really important here as skills can only be use in specific positions. Making foes move out of their advantageous position usually entails into depriving them of their most debilitating skills. The gesture can be returned in kind too. Both victory and demise don't rely on force alone but also with guile and diseases. During exploration, prepare to meet a slow death or contract persistent diseases such as rabies and syphilis. I am not jesting. This made the gameplay more interesting and the dungeons will really test your party's survivability. The problem is that the game does not really explain to you if whether a skill is a single-target or a party-wide attack.
But what Darkest Dungeon has truly to offer and effectively differentiate it from other games of its genre is the inclusion of the human psyche as a gameplay mechanic. Whereas most games will have characters whose personalities and backgrounds only affect the story/dialouge, here, your hero's quirks affects the gameplay. Although in Darkest Dungeon, this is focused more towards the gameplay rather than character development[for the sake of the plot]. There are far too few games of this kind. The closest game that I could compare this to is Valkyria Chronicles. It makes all similar heroes not just mere carbon copies of each other as each of them has their own set of quirks to begin with. In time, they will develop new positive and negative quirks. These quirks can affect both hamlet and dungeon activities.
And as if it was never enough, you have to contend with your heroes' stress levels. They are exploring the dankest dungeons after all so the stress mechanic is a unique addition to the game. There are many factors that can alleviate or increase stress and managing them is of the utmost importance. Once your hero reaches the maximum stress threshold, they will come to a breaking point. They either lose their wits or find virtue in fear - the latter is a boon but it is not oftenly experienced. Losing their wits makes them fearful, masochistic or whatever mental illness the game can conjure. When they break, they can bring the whole team down with them. Misery loves company after all. Broken souls can act on their own and will even refuse to obey orders and in a game where every misstep slowly edge your heroes towards death's door, it is a dangerous situation to be in.
Especially if you have permadeath just waiting to claim a soul. The dead stays in their grave for good. No restart chapter here like the ones found in Fire Emblem. Not even closing the software or turning off the system will do you good here. The game auto-save mechanic ensures it so. Most of the time, you pick-up exactly right where you left off so there is so much stake at hand. While successfully completing a task is the best-case scenario sometimes tactical or forced retreats are a possibility alongside deaths and dismissals. At times, you have to make these kind of decisions.
The game deviates from the standard healing system you will mostly find in RPGs. There's no healing outside combat[with the exception of camping]. It never did felt unfair and it is for a good reason. It was designed to be so as to add deliberateness in making decisions during combat. Besides, stalling is a viable method although the method itself can have consequences. One other thing, as your heroes gain experience they will increase their resolve. Resolve is sort of like levels in this game. Not only does it increases their stats but also offer some resistance to stress while in a dungeon. Resolve also ties weapon, armor, and skill upgrades. When a hero gain specific levels of resolve they will gain veterancy. They will only participate in quests that are even or higher than their ranks. It is as if it was never enough that you contend with your heroes mental well-being. Now you have to contend with their arrogance. In terms of gameplay, it makes sense as it keeps the playing field even. This is specially important during boss-slaying quests. It prevents your most resolute heroes to curbstomp them.
With these in mind, the game really intends to give anyone a challenge. It is hard but never borderline impossible. It only ask you to tread with patience and caution. Anyone who have played games such as Etrian Odyssey[or any challenging dungeon-crawler] will find themselves on familiar ground with this one as the concept is the same. Once you get past the slow crawl of the early weeks[in-game], you'll soon find a sense of progress. The pace will gradually quicken as you get better "Quality of Life" upgrades[especially the game-breaking Red Hook district]. Of course, the game never lets up. As you delve deeper into the dungeons, adversity becomes nastier. This is what the game is made of and it is engaging.
Presentation. The bgms and sound effects are okay. Nothing remarkable but rightly fits the dark theme. You'll hear death screams, wails, and the sound of steel meeting flesh among other things. The graphics is beautiful and in hand-drawn style. It's like watching a comic book and is reminiscent to games such as Dragon's Crown or Odin Sphere. A bit gloomy on the eyes, but again, it rightly fits the theme.
If it is one flaw that I'd like to nitpick, it is that the controls are cumbersome when managing stuff. It only takes the first few minutes to get the hang of it but it is nevertheless clunky.
Is Darkest Dungeon on Switch worth it?
Its amazing sound, comic-like graphics, and intense, perpetual Ironman difficulty create a title that was addictive to those wanting Lovecraftian horror with a side of near Dark Souls difficulty.
What is the difference between Darkest Dungeon and Darkest Dungeon Ancestral Edition?
The Ancestral Edition includes the Darkest Dungeon core game plus the following content packs: The Crimson Court, The Shieldbreaker and The Color of Madness. Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring.
How long to beat darkest dungeon ancestral edition?
When focusing on the main objectives, Darkest Dungeon is about 58 Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 124 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
Does darkest dungeon ancestral edition have all DLC?
Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition includes the base game as well as all the DLC packs, including Crimson Court, Shieldbreaker, Color of Madness, and Musketeer.