Plot Īt the outset of Darkest Dungeon, the player learns that they have inherited an estate from an Ancestor who, while seeking to fulfill his ambiguous ambitions by excavating the dungeons and catacombs beneath his manor, has unearthed some terrible monstrosity and released a number of horrific and evil creatures and corruptions onto the world. A sequel was announced in February 2019 and a board game adaptation is in development. The game received positive reviews from critics, garnering several award nominations, and went on to sell over two million copies. Played out in a mix of real-time movement and turn-based combat, a core feature of Darkest Dungeon is the stress level of each hero that increases with further exploration and combat a character sustaining a high-stress level may gain afflictions that will hamper, or possibly enhance, their performance as an explorer. Later that year, it was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Linux, with a port for iOS being released in 2017, and ports for Nintendo Switch and Xbox One being released by 2018.ĭarkest Dungeon has the player manage a roster of heroes to explore dungeons below a gothic mansion the player has inherited. The game was first released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in January 2016, which followed a year-long early access development period. Darkest Dungeon is a role-playing video game developed by Red Hook Studios and published by Merge Games.