Darkest Dungeon

[ArqArturo]

This looks awesome! (http://www.darkestdungeon.com/)

Darkest Dungeon is a hard-core RPG about the stresses of dungeon crawling. You will lead a band of four heroes on a perilous side-scrolling descent, dealing with a prodigious number of threats to their bodily health, and worse, a relentless assault on their mental fortitude! Five hundred feet below the earth you will not only fight unimaginable foes, but famine, disease, and the stress of the ever-encroaching dark. Darkest Dungeon focuses on the humanity and psychological vulnerability of the heroes and asks: What emotional toll does a life of adventure take?

Darkest Dungeon is not a game where every hero wins the day with shiny armor and a smile. It is a game about hard trade-offs, nearly certain demise, and heroic acts. Prepare to experience an RPG like nothing you have played before.

[DemonicAngel]

Saw it too thanks to Penny Arcade. Already added myself to the mailing list. this indeed looks awesome, can't wait for it!

[Choyrt]

BRILLIANT approach. Is this hitting steam, maybe?

[nhbdy]

HOLY HELL! That trailer alone is a great pitch, and skimming other pages on their site, it seems they are attempting something new, and interesting (to me) thanks for sharing this! It's definitely going on my radar!

[CarpeGuitarrem]

From a quick read, that sounds incredible. Somewhere between the Torchbearer RPG and Sunless Sea.

[ArqArturo]

I think, in many ways, this is what Blizzard wanted to do with Diablo, because D1 had that feel. But, sadly, it ended in the way we know it today.

[t209]

I think, in many ways, this is what Blizzard wanted to do with Diablo, because D1 had that feel. But, sadly, it ended in the way we know it today.
Like smacking the soul gem of Diablo into your forehead as a plan to "contain" him. Either stupid move or influences by the devils.
Remind me of Call of Cthulhu, going nuts after seeing monsters.

[Choyrt]

Really? I never got that from any of the Diablo's. The sanity/party balance thing. What from Diablo reminds you of this game? I ask because maybe Diablo is worth a second look for me.

[Cespenar]

Really? I never got that from any of the Diablo's. The sanity/party balance thing. What from Diablo reminds you of this game? I ask because maybe Diablo is worth a second look for me.

Diablo of course didn't have any sanity/party balance stuff. But what it did have was the right atmosphere. It made you think "hell, I'm really going into a dungeon, aren't I?"

[Winthur]

The original Diablo felt influenced by roguelikes - you could permanently lose weapons if they lost durability, there was no respawn in single player like in later games (and dying in multiplayer had you drop all your items and forcing you to fight for them, there existed effects that permanently nerfed your character [certain bad Shrines that you could use and if you didn't have previous knowledge or some online guidebook, you couldn't know if it won't screw your character over; also there were Black Deaths, whose attack drained your hit points permanently]) and the imagery from the game was pretty damn dark and disturbing. The game was slow-paced, the dark corridors and the soundtrack were pretty foreboding and due to the aforementioned factors you were afraid of dying in an ambush or by just taking on too many monsters at the same time. Even the city and its residents are pretty damn gloomy. Sure, Farnham the drunk tends to be comic relief, but then you mention Archbishop Lazarus around him and you just feel horrified and sorry.

In Diablo 2 they took a more fast-paced approach to the gameplay and changed this atmosphere. Whereas in D1 you had to be methodical and patient at least when playing Warrior or Rogue, maneuvering strictly around cramped, creepy interiors, D2 had you running around vast forests, deserts, jungles and wastelands while dungeons became a bit more occassional. The fact that you could actually run instead of taking slow steps and that even melee classes got a lot of flashy skills, some of them AoE based, made the game rapid and you could clear entire areas in mere moments with most characters. The towns you visit aren't as gloomy as Tristram was in D1, and they usually contain some comic or light-hearted characters (Gheed, Geglash, Ormus come to mind).

In general the playstyle and the overall feel changed between D1 and D2. They're both very good games that executed their ideas well, it's just that D1 really, really does differ from its sequels. I even heard some people define it as a survival horror of sorts, but that's honestly a bit too much - the atmosphere is thrilling, but it's not like you are helpless against monsters - especially if you are that munchkin who plays Sorcerer. :smalltongue:

[Cikomyr]

I would like to see some gameplay footage of that game. Is it some sort of Final Fantasy-like battle lines, with soldiers acting in turns?

[Choyrt]

You know, I did really enjoy the first Diablo. The second held no interest for me and as lovely and slick as the third one was, I was bored of the grind fairly fast.

It may sound odd, but Icewind Dale was always my game for dungeon crawling. I'd also suggest legend of Grimrock and Binding of Issac for a good dungeoneering game.

I really like the idea of the party dynamic being a gameplay mechanic here. Keeping up moral and emotional and mental support strikes me as a new front of conflict to navigate during other, more standard dungeon battles.

[Avilan the Grey]

I will buy Grimrock this week.
As for Diablo III... Torchlight 2 is a superior game on all levels, I think.

[Giggling Ghast]

I'm interested on the basis of the plague masks alone.

[Eldan]

Looks very interesting. But if what we saw there was the combat system... that looks boring as hell, like a bad JRPG.

[Wookieetank]

I will buy Grimrock this week.
As for Diablo III... Torchlight 2 is a superior game on all levels, I think.

Glad to hear I didn't miss out by just geting TL2. Grimrock is very neat, I need to get back to it myself.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Looks very interesting. But if what we saw there was the combat system... that looks boring as hell, like a bad JRPG.
It being a trailer, I don't get that vibe at all. For one thing, it didn't seem like an actual gameplay moment, just a representation of the combat sequence (i.e., turn-based damage-dealing attacks), and the degrading of the characters' Terror stat was interesting. (Or whatever it is...Morale, Terror, etc.) Looks like you'll have to manage both HP and Willpower, which in itself is interesting. And I suspect that HP will not heal easily, that it's the Willpower/Morale/Sanity of the party that you need to keep boosting (as with the cleric ability demonstrated).

It also looks like there's a brutal "party implosion" tension to conflict, where taking a big hit can cause everything to crumble. I like that feel.

[Cikomyr]

It being a trailer, I don't get that vibe at all. For one thing, it didn't seem like an actual gameplay moment, just a representation of the combat sequence (i.e., turn-based damage-dealing attacks), and the degrading of the characters' Terror stat was interesting. (Or whatever it is...Morale, Terror, etc.) Looks like you'll have to manage both HP and Willpower, which in itself is interesting. And I suspect that HP will not heal easily, that it's the Willpower/Morale/Sanity of the party that you need to keep boosting (as with the cleric ability demonstrated).

It also looks like there's a brutal "party implosion" tension to conflict, where taking a big hit can cause everything to crumble. I like that feel.

It does make your character comes off as more human than just pawns. It<s very natural for people to panick after a massive hit.

[DemonicAngel]

I know, I know, no necroing of topics, but I think it's better then opening a new thread

The kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1460250988/darkest-dungeon-by-red-hook-studios) is here! go and donate! for the glory of the stretch goals!

[Rodin]

Already chipped in! The game looks to fix the one problem I always have with perma-death Rogue-likes - that sense of frustration at losing progress and having to start over. I love the idea of being able to lose a battle and then have your heroes be deeply affected by that, then go back down for another shot.

The combat is going to be the concern, I think, but even if it's almost entirely abstracted like in Warlords III the joy is going to be in watching how your guys react during the fight. Presentation will be key.

So far, they've made the stretch goals I was hoping for. The town events is the last one I really care about.