Madness has taken over the land, and it's up to you to hinder its spread in Darkest Dungeon 2. Read on to learn the game's release date, plot, and whether or not it has multiplayer in our preview.

Darkest Dungeon 2 Release Date

Darkest Dungeon 2 is Already Out!

The full-release version of Darkest Dungeon 2, by Red Hook Studios, was released via Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 8, 2023.

DD2 was first released as an early access game on the Epic Games Store back in 2021.

Everything We Know About Darkest Dungeon 2

Darkest Dungeon 2 Trailer

Darkest Dungeon 2 Story Plot

The sequel to the acclaimed 2016 dungeon crawler Darkest Dungeon, Darkest Dungeon 2 by Red Hook Studios sees you facing an eldritch madness that has spread all over the land. The malignancy comes from a mountain, and you and a party of four adventurers must drive your stagecoach to its very heart and destroy whatever is responsible for this catastrophe.

But between you and the Mountain lies a cursed Earth filled with monsters, cultists, madmen, and the few people who have managed to retain their sanity through these dark times. Just like in the previous Darkest Dungeon, you and your party must fight cultists, the undead, and all manner of horrors beyond the realm of reality. On top of that, you must manage the sanity of your party members and keep their morale up, lest infighting overtakes them.

Instead of trodding through an estate like in the first game, you have to explore the land and choose your routes carefully. Your stagecoach is easily destructible, and many beings wish to waylay you on the road. But you and your men can find respite at fortified inns filled with people who have yet to succumb to the madness. Upgrade your coach, stock up on supplies, and keep the morale of your adventurers up, and you may just be able to push back the horrors that threaten to swallow your world whole.

Darkest Dungeon 2 Platforms and Price

Darkest Dungeon 2’s full release version will come out for the PC via both the Epic Games Store and Steam. The Early Release version is currently being sold on EGS for $29.99, so this may be the full release version’s price as well.

Ports for the PS4 and Xbox One are planned, though no Red Hook has yet to announce release dates for those versions.

Darkest Dungeon 2 Multiplayer

The first Darkest Dungeon had a multiplayer PVP mode through its ‘The Butcher’s Circus’ DLC, where players could pit a four-man team of their choosing against another player’s team and progress through a tournament.

We can expect Darkest Dungeon 2 to eventually feature multiplayer as well. But remember that the first Darkest Dungeon’s multiplayer DLC came out roughly four years after that game was released. This means you might have to wait a similar amount of time for multiplayer in Darkest Dungeon 2.

Darkest Dungeon 2 Returning Characters and Enemies

Darkest Dungeon 2 will have 12 character classes available to play on release, with 11 coming from the original game and 1 being exclusive to DD2.

The first Darkest Dungeon had 18 character classes, but the seven that didn’t make it into Darkest Dungeon 2’s release version (the Antiquarian, Crusader, Arbalest, Shieldbreaker, Houndmaster, Musketeer, and Abomination) might be added into the game via future DLC.

Meanwhile, the Runaway class is a new character made for DD2, and it’s safe to assume that other DD2-exclusive hero classes will be released in the future as well.

Games That Will Come Out Alongside Darkest Dungeon 2

Games Releasing in May 2023	How It Matches Up With Darkest Dungeon 2
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	Darkest Dungeon 2 offers a grittier, less forgiving adventure compared to Link's quest in Tears of the Kingdom, so hardcore RPG players who want a challenge will be more at home playing DD2.
Redfall	Darkest Dungeon 2 and Redfall are similar in that they both involve parties of four heroes, and those heroes have to battle dark forces. But DD2's mechanics make the game more immersive than what Redfall is shaping up to be.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum	While Gollum's game has you skulking about as the titular creature, your party is in a mad dash to hell in a stagecoach in Darkest Dungeon 2, promising a more intense adventure.

How Darkest Dungeon 2 Matches Up to Similar Games

Games Similar to Darkest Dungeon 2	How It Matches Up With Darkest Dungeon 2
Darkest Dungeon	Darkest Dungeon 2 expands the original's game mechanics in many ways, though it does not have the base building and fine-tuned character management aspects the original had.
XCOM 1 and 2	Both Darkest Dungeon 2 and XCOM have permadeath and less forgiving RPG mechanics, though Darkest Dungeon 2 has a stress mechanic that alters gameplay much more than anything both XCOM 1 and 2 have come up with.
Fire Emblem: Engage	Darkest Dungeon 2 has a more serious and far darker story compared to Fire Emblem: Engage (or most of the Fire Emblem games, really). So fans who don't like cutesy anime aesthetics can try out DD2 and see if it scratches their aesthetic itch.

Darkest Dungeon 2 Trailers

The Howling End Teaser (Released Feb 20, 2019)

Released around the time of Darkest Dungeon 2’s announcement, this cryptic teaser shows us The Mountain, which is the ultimate destination of your expedition. The Flame of Hope mechanic is teased as well.

A Glimmer of Hope Teaser (Released October 22, 2020)

This teaser shows us the fully 3D graphics of Darkest Dungeon 2, as well as some of the returning hero classes like the Man-at-Arms, the Plague Doctor, the Highwayman, and the Grave Robber. Coincidentally, they’re also the characters players will have available at the start of a DD2 run.

Road of Ruin Teaser (Released October 23, 2021)

Here, we see The Academic, the travel system, and the regions you’ll be riding your stagecoach through to get the Flame of Hope up the Mountain. We also get a glimpse of the enemies you’ll be facing off against, as well as other returning hero classes like the Jester, Leper, and Hellion.

The teaser also shows two hero classes that are exclusive to DD2: the Runaway class, and another unnamed class that appears to be a prisoner of sorts. We also see the upgrade system for the Stagecoach, as well as the ability to choose the path you’ll be taking once you leave an inn.

The Altar of Hope Teaser (Released October 15, 2022)

This teaser revolves around Darkest Dungeon 2’s progression system, which is done via the Altars of Hope that you will pass by during your expedition. Here, the player will spend Candles of Hope to boost their party’s stats or unlock perks.

Obsession’s Gaze Teaser (Released October 19, 2022)

The teaser shows off yet a new boss to be fought in Darkest Dungeon 2, an eldritch being with multiple eyes.

Darkest Dungeon 2 System Requirements

Based on the system requirements published on Darkest Dungeon 2’s Steam page, the game is not graphically demanding at all. Even office laptops should be able to run it without much trouble, provided they have sufficient RAM.

Darkest Dungeon 2 Product Information

Title	Darkest Dungeon 2
Release Date	May 8, 2023
Developer	Red Hook Studios
Supported Platforms	PC, PS4, Xbox One
Genre	Roguelike Dungeon Crawler RPG
Number of Players	1
ESRB Rating	Teen
Official Website	https://www.darkestdungeon.com/darkest-dungeon-2/

Michael Mendoza Ab..

Reviews video games by day, tries to write novels by night. He's a sucker for open-world games (Bethesda Fallout titles, Mount and Blade Bannerlord, Grand Theft Auto), CRPGs (Planescape: Torment, Disco Elysium), and First-Person Shooters (Call of Duty, Battlefield, and immersive sims like Bioshock..