I have played a lot of Darkest Dungeon. It has been a very long time since a game has hooked me as well as it has. It's time to stop.
Time to stop trying to defeat a game that is designed to defeat those who play it. Incredible satisfaction can be extracted from the strategic quagmires the game offers, and I feel like I've overdosed.
Overdosed on missions, quests, heroes, and being a brutal dictator to a band of at times uncooperative heroes.
It remains one of the greatest games I've ever played, and goes to a special place in my "classics" library, no more than a dusty shelf in my brain filled with warm, rosy memories of games that I've enjoyed thoroughly.
A testament to this is that I own this title on multiple platforms - the PC (which I've recorded all these horrendously long videos on) - and the Switch - which means that if I'm ever on a horrendously long flight, I can use the Darkest Dungeon as a form of escapism.
Even though I've spent hours upon hours within the confines of this title; it begs for further exploration - the downloadable content, the other character classes, and of course - actually "beating" the Darkest Dungeon itself.
My career as a caretaker of the Darkest Hamlet (as I called it in my save file) has come to an end. The game's story will live on with other Hamlet Masters to come and go, as is the case with such games.
The narration in this game is beyond excellent. The game design, balance, and mechanics are brilliant. The visuals are stylish, and the game runs on pretty much any piece of hardware without troubles.
The premise that dungeoneering damages the mental health of your heroes is unique, and the reactions that are spurred from this make game play interesting.
An unforgiving game, Darkest Dungeon is a reflection of the cold and indifferent nature of the universe. Character deaths are sudden, painful, and a common occurrence. There's no fanfare. There's no incredible sense of ceremony when a valuable combatant dies.
There's nothing left at all when they perish.
That, in and of itself, makes this one of the most beautiful games, from a design standpoint, that I've ever played. You're left to decide the consequences and magnitude of your actions - which led to that hero's death.
The game never seems unfair. But it is unforgiving.