A Darkest Dungeon Retrospective | Love at First Blight

Folks, it's Darkest Dungeon, the notoriously unforgiving, Lovecraftian turn-based dungeon-crawler, and one of my all-time favorite games. Hope ya like my fond retrospective of it!
00:00 - Intro
05:48 - Story Intro
09:40 - The Ancestor
13:52 - The Purpose of the Campaign
16:30 - The Importance of Preparation!
20:03 - Basic Dungeon Mechanics
22:07 - Curios
29:00 - Upgrades & Inventory Management
33:07 - Core Combat
41:49 - Stress
48:46 - Death
53:34 - Level Restrictions, Diseases, and Quirks
58:23 - The Grind/Bosses
01:06:52 - Changes Since Launch
01:08:15 - Trinkets
01:11:25 - The Writing
01:14:07 - The Crimson Court DLC
01:22:43 - The Color of Madness DLC
01:26:06 - The Darkest Dungeon
01:33:58 - Conclusion

[@silenceburns1336]

The greatest game I've never finished. You can call me a quadruple dipper on this one. I've picked it up on pc, Xbox, PS, and Switch. I've played hundreds of hours across all platforms, but never finished a single run.

[@wadam111]

I feel you man

[@smittywerbenjaggermanjensen69]

😂😂😂😂

[@gadgetman2061]

Yeah same here bro lol

[@andreumut7198]

Few mandatory things to finish a run IMO. ACC stat is mandatory on every hero, the bank is overpowered and finally wiki your curios.

[@FoundBoy]

Yes, yes, yes! Forever playing, diffrent mods, new characters, new runs, but again and again picking highest difficulty and trying and trying. And I think I wouldn't feel that way if this game wasn't so....punishing yet fair* Oh, I also enjoyed DD2, even though it is so different.

[@webpombo7765]

Having gotten really into Darkest Dungeon the past week and a half, this is a very good video. 80+ hours in and still counting

[@liberalsockpuppet4772]

I played for 650 hours and finished it twice. Once at darkest difficulty, and once with the crimson court, darkest difficulty and never buying a torch ( execpt for Crimson court runs where it doesn't help with stress.) I changed my gammer tag to Eldritch Madlad.

[@Tosted]

Great work as always, like I said on Patreon - It really feels like your overall flow, script & editing keeps improving!

[@candletype1a447]

Thanks so much buddy, and yeah, this game required a bit of a different approach compared to how I normally do my videos, but I think it paid off and I'll incorporate more of this style with my future work!

[@AC-hj9tv]

Big baller alert 😎

[@slr4201]

With the consistently high quality of these retrospectives and ever improving flow it's only a matter of time before you blow up and start getting the views you rightly deserve. Again, well done mate. Cheers!

[@Rufiowascool]

The audio is heaps better! You've actually improved it like you said you would - fucking awesome! Love this channel so much!!

[@candletype1a447]

Cheers man, turns out I just had to just sit much closer to the mic haha

[@SmoughTown]

Great video brother - couldn't agree more, I was absolutely addicted to the Darkest Dungeon for a time (writing guides on unleash the gamer) and it's just such a special game. P.S. Flagellant is the best!

[@candletype1a447]

I only just noticed this comment three months later haha. Glad ya liked the video m8, and means a lot coming from someone as prolific as you!

[@anthonythetophatter2834]

think this man just hit the jackpot with the video, can't wait to see him get more recognition

[@nethulhu]

really enjoyed this video! love this game and its always fun to hear other peoples perspectives on things you love. gonna check out the rest of your stuff afterwards, great work :)

[@jeffwilkins4236]

Your stuff is so good. I'm so glad I stumbled onto your channel

[@MetalAriel]

Your review was really good, you captured all the good (and difficult) aspects of this marvel of a game. I literally opened your video again, just to like and comment. Thanks for your content!

[@XenoZach]

Great choice for the video topic! I’m sure I’m going to love it as always!

[@PistolPattt]

So many great memories of this game. I remember the first time I ran into The Fanatic and got wiped. Went for revenge with my strongest party coupled with the best gear I had at the time, after a few turns I knew I had no choice but to run, leaving one of my guys on the cross. The custom classes in the modding scene is also phenomenal.

[@primachpepe8597]

a great breakdown of the game, and yeah im one of those players that gave up mostly due to the grind. also, the crimsoncourt is brutal

[@MarkoUntitled]

For your first playtrough i strongly advise you to turn crimson court off.

[@primachpepe8597]

@@MarkoUntitled i would recommend the same to a new player. But even with it off, the grind is strong with this game. Interestingly enough, the 2nd game doesnt have this issue, with it becoming more rogue like. You go on runs, similar ro the first game, but each run is around 3 hours, start to finish. At least thats what the first couple of parts i have seen seem to be. Interested to see the late game though

[@lordofgraphite]

I’ve never even played this game but i love it so much. Watched tons of content on it. I’d die for a graphic novel adaptation

[@awesomepork101]

Brilliant game, brilliant video!

[@dansmith2178]

great video as per usual

[@muto7825]

Excellent stuff!

[@jake.klusewitz]

I’ve heard of Darkest Dungeon a few times, but this has me really interested

[@kybalion5205]

Play it. It will give an experience that youll never forget

[@AC-hj9tv]

​@@kybalion5205fr fr

[@sup1602]

Something about DD 1 makes the game so fun to run through dungeons and slowly building the hamlet and a good team. Unfortunally the second was unable capture for me. I also found my new favourite channel.

[@chailime]

Great video! Going to have to check out the rest of your channel. If you haven't yet, you should play Dredge! Seems like it'd be up your alley. Such a fun little indie game with a similar Lovecraftian horror vibe :)

[@ObsessiveBadguy]

Best DD retrospective ive seen on KZbin, also love the use of the Fear and Hunger track at the end, can we expect another retrospective on that game too if you haven't already?

[@candletype1a447]

Thanks man, glad ya liked it! As for Fear & Hunger, though I had planned to make a vid on it at some point, I've still never actually managed to finish the damn thing. It's one of those games I love learning about but don't hugely enjoy playing, though there is still a chance I do some sort of video on it in the future.

[@ObsessiveBadguy]

@@candletype1a447 Right on, I feel it tho, the barrier to entry is pretty tough as is the type of content on display for KZbin's policies especially.

[@HurricaneBady]

I adore this game. Ive spent over 300 hours on the PC version alone. Theres so much to offer. Once i finished the hardest difficulty, i went to the mods for more content. There are some amazing mods out there. Like sunward and vermintide. A lot of people put passion in those mods and i enjoy them immensely. I remember playing this game foe the first time in 2017. I couls barely beat the apprentice necromancer boss. But there was something about the mechanics of this game that kept me from quitting. I love how metaknowlage is so powerful. I have a lot of good memories of Darkest Dungeon, and i still play it to this day.

[@HeroGetsu]

Ok I’ll subscribe man I like your souls retrospective series

[@thetisbird7007]

Awesome dude 😎

[@LichKingg23]

I get the intro. There are games out there that are a Instant Buy just by seeing a photo and 20sec of gameplay. Colony Ship: a post-earth role playing game is the most recent and DD 1 was like you said within 2 battles and my first death. And this channel! By the lenth, the narration and storytelling. I know I will enjoy your vids. Instant subscribe and bell. I love the DD game, the setting and the music. Also, I love DD2. Still to be finished but as fun as the first one (for me).

[@Klaital1]

One of my favorite games too, I have around 600 hours of played time on it at this point, having completed the game half dozen times, including several on the highest difficulty.

[@imskullfungus]

Came across your channel recently and I'm really digging it. You've mentioned lovecraft and cosmic horror in some of your videos, so I thought I'd suggest you try the game Darkwood. It's a top-down, base-building, scavenging and crafting, exploration, weird-dialogue-heavy slavic horror game that I think you'd enjoy based on the videos of yours that I've watched. The atmosphere of that game is incredible!

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Shine on, you dungeon star! Since I can't Git Güd, have to game vicariously. I love learning about storytelling thru the medium of gameplay from creators like you. This was a great one. Must have been a challenging game to organize into the essay but you made it seamless. Hope you do Slay the Spire one day too. (Or maybe you have? I'm still catching up on your work!) It's rad you're trying to deliberately showcase games you've had great experiences with. That's a concise criterion. I appreciate the channels who cover game jankery or do series deep dives or retro histories or indie titles. Love it all. But I dig how unapologetically personal + positive + simple the mission of your channel is. I hope you keep having fun doing it, bc I'm having fun watching you have fun. Thank you! (Also you're really making me miss Oban + Edinburgh...ooh now I kinda wish a game developer would do something Lovecraftian using a creepy version of Rennie Mackintosh style...)

[@candletype1a447]

Thank you so much for this lovely comment, it really made me smile! Regarding Slay the Spire, I have considered covering, cos it's such an incredibly designed game, but the trouble is that I don't think I could quite do it justice due to how deep it is, and there's also the fact that I'm really not good at it haha.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

@@candletype1a447 Thank you for giving me a way into these realms I'd never get to experience otherwise. I'm sure I'll like whatever you cover, but hey, you might surprise yourself one day & just have the ideal Slay The Spire form crystallize in your brain suddenly. I was impressed by the way you handled + revealed some really unintuitive aspects of Darkest Dungeon, elements that could've been clunky or easily mishandled but you made a fairly deep game really come thru vividly without anything seeming bumpy or disconnected. I understand it as a product of the labour + craft you put in but also you have a knack for shaping these videos & it'll be a pleasure to watch you develop your art here. Cheers!

[@Goo5eman]

To answer the starting question dungeons of dredmor really fun roguelike with huge build variety and doesnt take it self to seriously

[@Matthew...1979]

...I'm gonna watch this video in it's entirety while I toil away at the warehouse tomorrow... I'll like beforehand because...just because!

[@candletype1a447]

Hope you have an okay shift at the warehouse m8; cheers for the like!

[@Matthew...1979]

@@candletype1a447 I'm sure at least Part of it will be Rad as F'... watching (listening) to your newest upload, man! Thank you in advance!!

[@Inuzumi]

Great video. I first tried this game on PC and didn't like it. Then a couple years after that I saw it on sale for the PS Vita and grabbed it just because. This game scared me, angered me, got me on my knees pleading for any hero to survive every death door's check. And then right on the final boss it crashed lol. That didn't stop me though. I went to buy on Steam and put over 200 hours since then. It's a magnificent game. Too bad they nerfed a lot of characters when the Color of Madness came out. It kinda put me off from the game but still remember it very, very fondly.

[@TitaRussellTrails]

The later parts of the darkest dungeon remind me a lot of the sixth stratum in Etrian Odyssey 1 with the fleshy appearance and the environment itself being deadly.

[@turbanheadless]

Great video, Limmy😂

[@sabnock31]

20:43 btw, if you RNGd yourself a Skeleton Key from a battle or a tent this chest can be opened to get two trinkets.

[@orestisoro1899]

came for the darkest dungeon content stayed for the accent XD Great video btw i love this game,nr2 is pretty decent

[@SandGentleman]

Berry good bideo!

[@adrianmartinez9406]

I keep this on my ps vita and iPad at all times. 😊

[@Klaital1]

A couple corrections to your explanations of the titular darkest dungeon. The locus beacon is not random, it's always in the exact same room, and second, the insta kill of your heroes against the heart is not based on the amount of turns you take, it's based on the health percentage of the heart, and it always happens twice, after the heart goes below certain health percentages, only way to avoid it is if you one shot the heart from a higher health percentage.

[@RandomPerson-cm2wg]

Or only bring two people in the fight. The Heart never uses the insta kill if there's only two.

[@Klaital1]

@@RandomPerson-cm2wg It's going to be pretty hard to make it past the ancestor with only two characters though.

[@RandomPerson-cm2wg]

@@Klaital1 Not as hard as you may think. Isn't one of the preferred no death comps that doesn't involve one shots being Houndmaster and Flagellant? Both are self sustainable damage dealers with DOT that can hit any rank.

[@MarkoUntitled]

Fuck this game. That being said... I love it.

[@chickenistrexlastname1331]

I like the game but I could not see myself every "git good" 😂😂 so I am happy watching the video reviews and stuff.

[@Hammers_Peace]

The level restrictions and the inability to take on the DD twice with any hero are the only thing I can't stand about this game, I usually just mod it out. You should check out Iratus, Lord of the Dead which flips the stress mechanic on your enemies, pretty cool.

[@geenoix2357]

Gaming has a reputation as an 'unhealthy' hobby- people put far more time into their computer games hobby than they really should. Darkest Dungeon is the first computer game I've ever played that I enjoyed taking breaks from while playing. This is, I think, the highest praise I could possibly offer a game

[@diddymelone2265]

I enjoyed the Game alot, played it several hours each day over a few weeks. Funnily enough, even though I enjoyed trying multiple interesting Setup, my favourite turned out to be the holy crusade, 4 crusaders. Amazing. Anyway after I defeated heart of darkness for the First time, I quit the Game. I felt that I Had conquered what the game Set Up in Front of me and so there was nothing more to achieve by grinding the same dungeons over and over. Also the penultimate dungeon was really annoying. Anyway I loved the game for a while and then I was done. Interestingly even though I totally consider my time spent worth it, I didnt ever look back.

[@jshwanTTV]

Great video! IMO: Vestal is not needed in CoM if you stack dodge. Plague doctor fits in any region because she has 2 stuns and battlefield medicine. Vestals are overrated, if you're fast and can consistently kill and stun turn 1, the need for healers is minimized. Vestals actually weigh your team down because her kit is not very offensive.

[@Felsmukk]

As to answer the question about falling in love with a game? Let's see. When I got to Nabstablook in Undertale. Then I alt+tabbed out to buy the soundtrack.

[@adrianovasco3096]

Over 1000 hours, and just getting into Black Reliquary. Something is clearly wrong with me. For me it's an absolutely awesome game.

[@Klaital1]

I will have to disagree with you on the plague doctor not being good in courtyard, weald, and warrens. Plague Doctor is in fact part of my default courtyard clearing team that can do the massive courtyard missions in one go from start to finish. You just switch to using Incision instead of the blight skills for those areas, the main reasons to bring her is always her stuns and blight/bleed removal ability anyways.

[@andregon4366]

0:00 Yes, it was a game called Darkest Dungeon. Maybe you've heard of it.

[@maxpheby7287]

I've put a couple thousand hours into Terraria and its calamity mod maybe the best indie game ever.

[@Mordikay211]

The only really good Lovecraftian game. The naration in this game is out of this world pun intended and the game itself is great. It's a hard game yes and meant to be although once you figure out the tricks and have like dodge teams it shifts a bit. For anyone picking up this game for the first time just enjoy the horror, grief, gripping anxiety and Crimson court DLC is a must.

[@Cadllmn123]

60hrs in this game and I didn't know that hitting wilbur causes Swine King's aoe. I never replayed the game once I beat it - it was all I could stand to finish the darkest dungeon. That being sad, I will never stop singing this game's praises. *spoiler* I always interpreted the ending as you writing the letter for your replacement, wherein you become the their 'ancestor'. Even in the defeat of the ultimate foe, you realized it was a futile endevour... and you call to the next generation to right the wrongs you were never able to... and so the wheel turns.

[@sinjin90ful]

about to break!!

[@CommissarJake]

Let me just say, really enjoyed this discussion of darkest dungeon, I'm glad this got recommended by KZbin. But my question is.... Fear and Hunger discussion when? After all, you did use music from F&H and Termina.

[@candletype1a447]

Ach, honestly, I'm fascinated by the Fear and Hunger games. I absolutely love how brutal and nasty their worlds are, as well as the music, but I've never quite been able to gel with the gameplay part, to the point where I've never managed to finish either game. Even so, it is still an ambition of mine to cover both games at some point, possibly in the next few months if I ever manage to finish them lol.

[@thedarkgenious7967]

I was right. It was fun.

[@SeraphOfCats]

Had fun watching this video. If you don't mind me asking have you played Battle Brothers? If so are you interested in making a video?

[@candletype1a447]

Nah, I hadn't heard of Battle Brothers before, but it actually looks really cool judging by the Steam page. It's a bit unlikely that I'll make a video on it to be honest, but I may pick it up and give a shot at some point, and then who knows!

[@broodwars64]

This is a game I've tried to play a few times, but always end up bailing on it after completing the 1st dungeon and then never having anothet successful run, always having to grind up another new set of party members. I feel like the game could have used a more gradual difficulty curve.

[@nomercy8989]

I love this game but I never finished it.

[@jonskowitz]

I love this game too death, but yeah it's just to grindy for me to ever finish it

[@Tom-tv3zh]

As fun as darkest dungeon was on the start it kinda just devolved into a headache of a city management, wondering what hero teams to make "Fym this dungeon is below my experience", running out gold constantly, loosing high lvl heroes and being set back hours of progress was just not fun for me, I loved the turn based combat but it was just so grindy overall and had just what felt was a huge amount of rng bs, I eventually stopped playing 70 something hours in Darkest dungeon 2 pretty much removed all the parts I disliked, for example the accuracy and dodge systems has been reworked into a more simple one with 50% and 75% chances to which are consumed upon having a chance to proc so you know when you are taking a risk, but the overall feel and atmosphere of it is completely different

[@Jopeth23]

I think this fits thematically for each game: DD1 is about hopelessness and futility in face of something cosmic and incomprehensible, while DD2 is about redemption and forgiving yourself, hence you have greater control on the outcomes of the battles.

[@WGasmss]

Im Just gonna go play slay the spire every video I’ve watched on other games I LOVE mention it and I have it so I might as well download it and play it

[@-alostsoul-6902]

Do it! I reached a similar conclusion a few months back and have been loving/mildly obsessed with the game ever since

[@WGasmss]

@@-alostsoul-6902 it’s great, really passes the time and 2 hours felt like 30 minutes from how much I was enjoying it

[@Angelfyre.]

I haven’t been as enraptured by Darkest Dungeon II as much as the 1st, idk what it is but the new one just doesn’t have the same “red hook” 😂 the original did

[@GalahadTheSeeker]

Will you make a vid on DD2? If not, care to share what you thought of it if you've played it?

[@candletype1a447]

I haven't actually played any DD2 yet. I'd planned to get it once it came out of Early Access but then I was just busy with other things at the time. I definitely will try it at some point though and will more than likely make a vid on it.

[@retrohanska4441]

The amount of anxiety I got after hearing the F&H soundtrack at the end made me realize I might have slight PTSD from that game. But that's fitting choice for this video considering how badly DD has made me lose my mind as well. For anyone who sees this and thinks about buying the game, just do yourself a favor and start with easy difficulty. I've seen people not getting into this game because they simply didn't have time and patience to grind characters countless times before pulling through. And if you enjoy cock and balls torture in video game form like I do, the hardest difficulty is one of the toughest experiences I've had in gaming, especially with Crimson court. The time and death limits are insanely strict for the kind of game this is and managing Crimson Court makes it 10 times worse. I had to use every cheese trick I know to survive it.

[@warningoffensivealsohilarious]

You mentioned how you loved Slay the Spire, and I have good news... Darkest Dungeon II is directly inspired by Slay the Spire! I'm sure you'll fall in love with it too - it represents the 'marriage' of two of your favorite games!

[@llepester]

bro dd2 is so bad I cried

[@warningoffensivealsohilarious]

@llepester why just curious (I really liked it lol)

[@llepester]

@@warningoffensivealsohilarious they took everything I Iiked about first game and had thrown it right into a trash can

[@u443o]

thought thi channel was milti million subs channel before i checked the sub count

[@chrispysaid]

This game, to me, just feels like someone flipping a coin and taking your valuables if it lands on the one they don't like. Just that, over and over again. Maybe chance will favor you and you'll end the session with a few valuables left, but most times youre gonna end up utterly broke.

[@chrispysaid]

The planning you're describing sounds like moving to a new city, where if you don't have someone actively explaining "You can go to the store for milk, but DON'T go for meat, and DON'T go after 8pm, but if you absolutely need meat you can try to get in when they open but ONLY if Shannon is working, and if she's on her period you have to bring her flowers or you'll get trespassed from the store for 4 years, and she'll sell you meat BUT ONLY if the shop owner isn't there, but if he is there and he sees you talking to Shannon he'll make you take a lie detector test and then he'll go to the back for 10 minutes, and if you're able to get your meat purchased and leave the store by that time you won't die, but if you don't pass the test you'll still get trespassed regardless of whether you're there or not, and if you need SUGAR," Of course if you don't have someone explaining these things, you'll absolutely die, and if you don't have someone explaining, at best you'll end up overwhelmed and confused

[@vip878]

git gud

[@CrusaderCrunch]

Boggles my mind that the Canadian media fund constantly backs crap game projects but denied DD just floors me.

[@skoomajunky5566]

yes... xD

[@higherintelligence2241]

comment

[@VolvedorZ]

Almost no mention of the light mechanics and its risk/rewards ? Also very little on hamlet/hero management, which is very important if you want to actually finish a campaing.

[@daitilus7343]

I hate this game, but I love it so.