Ready to journey back into the dark?
Developer Red Hook Studios has released the first big update for their excellent Early Access game, Darkest Dungeon. Titled “The Fiends and Frenzy” update, players can now venture back into their worst nightmares with new classes, new bosses, new loot, and a slew of new features. You can view the full patch notes here, but some of the bigger changes are:
- A new class called the Arbalest. Arbalests bring crossbows to the fight and specialize in suppressing fire and picking off targets from afar.
- A second new class called the Man-At-Arms. Man-At-Arms is a support and defensive specialist, buffing his allies and soaking damage before unleashing powerful counterattacks.
- New bosses for the Warrens, Ruins, and Weald areas.
- Heart attacks. Stress was rough on your heroes before, but now can be even worse. If your heroes get too on edge without taking care of it, they can drop dead on the spot, leaving you in a difficult spot mid-dungeon.
- A powerful and rare new trinket set, and the ability to sell your old junk.
- A new archival building where you can view all cutscenes that you have seen.
Darkest Dungeon has been one of the best successes out of the Steam Early Access program. It was already very polished when released, and it has seen updates on at least a weekly basis. I took a look over the initial release build back in March, and have continued to be impressed with the direction it is headed. It combines elements of rougelikes with RPG party management systems, and it has a great sense of style and atmosphere. If you haven’t ventured into the dark yet, or are ready for another visit, now would be the perfect time.
Ready to trek through the dungeons again? Or is The Witcher III eating too much of your time? Let us know in the comments below.
