DARKEST DUNGEON II: INHUMAN BONDAGE

Re-reading Admiral's review of Darkest Dungeon 2 (DD2), I realize that I may have been in the minority of those who greeted the sequel to the chthonic and wildly successful first installment with quite a bit of enthusiasm. And while I agree on all the issues it raises over the recipe change I can't help but rate Red Hook's brave decision as a success based on the results. DD2 managed to dismiss perhaps the worst element of its predecessor, the endless grind, and change it to a smoother progression. This was accomplished by adopting the formula of Slay the Spire, which in turn should be studied for the impact it had on the industry (Inscryption, Tainted Grail: Conquest, Monster Train, to name a few). Building on this foundation, then, and keeping its best element, combat in all its aspects, unchanged, Darkest Dungeon 2 continues its development cycle with the new DLC Inhuman Bondage.

Having already released a DLC, The Binding Blade, which brought two more classes (the Crusader locked behind a quest and the Duelist), the development roadmap may have been predicated as "a new (or re-released from DD1) class per DLC". However, with the latest newsletter Red Hook confirmed that while indeed their most recent release, called Inhuman Bondage, would bring back Abomination and a region comparable to Sluice, it would also coincide with the unlocking of an entire mode completely free of charge, called Kingdoms. So now we're looking at two distinct games in one package plus of course the paid content. This review will focus to a small extent on the Kickstarter community-designed (during DD1's Early Access) Abomination and then on the new mode.

Let us take a closer look at the thing, as repulsive as it is.

Abomination starts like any character in the Confessions mode, through which you have to unlock their past first. Initially the (anti-)hero's main trait, the transformation (along the lines of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), is locked. Until then Bigby, as the character is called by default, acts as a "shuffler" of enemies: he can change their disposition while also being able to deliver a "Combo" debuff. These skills make him an important addition to many kinds of parties where they emphasize combo skills. In my first (and completely accidentally successful) playthrough I managed to combine Vestal, Flagellant, Abomination and Leper (which was impossible as a party setup in the first DD1). And even though Flagellant "left" the party quite early, Grave Robber, which demystifies combos, managed to fill the gap without a problem. The above technical analysis may not tell a DD2 combat novice much, but it does highlight two things: a) there are no longer any particular limitations to party setup with specific heroes, b) although he initially starts with 2-3 skills, Abomination can play an active and important role in a multitude of setups.

The rest of the formula in this DLC remains unchanged. Abomination can receive extra abilities by visiting the Shrine of Reflection and to gradually unlock his entire repertoire. As expected, increasing the skills then the corresponding number of confessions leads to a large "opening" of options. Finding the right synergies along with the plethora of subclasses that further modify skills leads to numerous combinations with a lot of trial and error depending on the region and confession chapter. The situation becomes considerably bearable with the unlocking of permanent upgrades that reduce the effects of a suboptimal build, as any self-respecting roguelite would. In addition, the DLC brings an additional area, the Catacombs, which follows the Sluice model, meaning an area that doesn't count towards run progression, isn't mapped, awards with a significant treasures but also comes with an increased difficulty.

Catacombs are also available in Kingdoms, which in itself could be a separate game rather than just a mode. As of this writing, Kingdoms comes with one of the three total chapters promised by Red Hook, Hunger of the Beast Clan, unlocked. If we could describe Kingdoms in one sentence it's about marrying the two Darkest Dungeons in a defend-the-base wrapper. We are called upon to manage a kingdom that is threatened by a certain type of enemy, and we have a time limit to accomplish this. At the same time, the whole stagecoach mechanic still exists since it is the means of moving the party from one area to another. Unlike DD2, we have all the characters available (if we have bought the appropriate DLC of course) and the main challenge is how to manage them under time pressure.

The management of Kingdoms is mainly based on enhancing the inns-stations on the map (through upgrades) and of course the management of the party in which we can switch characters. Starting the adventure, we have an inn station and a fixed map of different inns or camps. The layout logic is very reminiscent of that of DD1's dungeon crawl areas, with familiar "rooms" or areas in this case. The inns are still the rest stops except that their services are locked behind upgrades, unlocked independently for each inn. In addition to the initial team selection, the entire roster is unlocked but scattered across the map and in addition to the "days" time limit (one trip from station to station equals one day), we also have the pressure of the sieges at each inn.

Myriad options require careful deliberation.

All these elements comprise a complex management puzzle where it is important not only to choose the priority of upgrades, e.g. unlocking services or strengthening the inn's passive defenses in case of a siege, but also the movement of our roster. Our active characters suffer from fatigue - reducing their overall HP - while we use them, so they need rest themselves. To make things easier, we can move inactive heroes as pawns on a board on the map so that we have a common meeting point. I personally found this part the most interesting, since I had to plan 2-3 rounds in advance where I wanted to have a replacement party based on both the areas I planned to go through and the synergy of the other members.

It's obvious that even though we're dealing with a release of supplementary content, the free update of DD2 multiplies the replayability of the title. The conscious decision by Red Hook to make Kingdoms available for free as a marketing move with indirect benefits (increased engagement, parallel purchase of the other DLC) may also limit Alexandros' final reflection on whether it's worth it as a proposition. By broadening its format and offering two different modes with common elements but different enough to make them distinct, this is a proposal of addictive and (occasionally) frustrating gameplay where "We tempt fate, and accept damnation”.

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