It has been more than a year of radio silence since Darkest Dungeon 2’s initial announcement. Today, Red Hook Studios announced that the hardcore, gothic roguelike RPG will debut first on the Epic Games Store in 2021 as an early access title. The official Twitter account added that the “1.0 version” will come later on “other PC storefronts”. Considering the first game was released on Steam and GOG, I’m pretty sure once it’s out of early access Darkest Dungeon 2 will be available on those two storefronts as well.
Alongside the Darkest Dungeon 2 early access exclusivity announcement, Red Hook Studios also showed off one huge change for the series: the whole game will be in 3D. And by 3D, I mean characters and objects have 3D models and no longer in a flat 2D art style. Watch how they perfectly capture their old visual in the teaser trailer below, featuring Man-at-Arms, Plague Doctor, Highwayman, Grave Robber, and Occultist fighting a bunch of zombies.
Red Hook Studios co-founder and Darkest Dungeon 2 creative director Chris Bourassa tweeted that moving from 2D to 3D visuals was a really cool experience. With that, they still managed to “reserve the game’s signature art style” while allowing them to push the limit of in-game animation and visual effects. So far, their little experiment seems to work, but I can’t wait to see how the 3D models will move and look in the game. Maybe they’ll even simulate the low frame-rate effects for their animations like what ArcSys did with Guilty Gear Xrd or Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Darkest Dungeon first released in January 2016 for PC, PS4, and PS Vita. You take control of a group of heroes with a dark past and explore dangerous dungeons, battle otherworldly monstrosities, and managing stress and sanity levels. Two DLCs that expand the lore of the game, The Crimson Court and The Colour of Madness, later released in 2017 and 2018.
What do you think of the teaser? Let me know in the comments below!