| Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Darkest Dungeon 2’s Inhuman Bondage DLC is the latest addition to Red Hook Studio’s hardcore turn-based RPG experience. Read on to know what it did well, what it didn’t do well, and if it’s worth adding to the base game!
Everything We Know About Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage
Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage Story Plot
Darkest Dungeon 2 follows the journey of the Scholar, who seeks to undo the catastrophic effects of the Iron Crown, an eldritch artifact whose release and devastation were caused by their own experiments. Armed with the Flame of Hope and joined by four mercenaries-turned-heroes, the Scholar embarks on a perilous trek to the Mountain, aiming to banish the eldritch abominations unleashed upon the world.
Along the way, they face relentless challenges, including remnants of a shattered civilization twisted into monstrous forms beyond recognition. Each step forward is fraught with danger, testing the resolve of the Scholar and their companions. Failure carries dire consequences, as the mission demands nothing less than delving into the darkest depths to reclaim a world teetering on the edge of madness.
Much like with the game’s first DLC, The Binding Blade, Darkest Dungeon 2’s Inhuman Bondage DLC delves deep into the backstory and lore of a single character. This time, the spotlight falls on the Abomination, unraveling the harrowing tale of how they became a monster—and the haunting aftermath that followed.
Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage Gameplay
The main campaign of Darkest Dungeon 2 is divided into five acts, each featuring a unique end boss and progressively increasing in difficulty. At the beginning of each run, players can choose which act to tackle, determining the journey’s potential conclusion if they make it that far.
Each run allows players to select up to four mercenaries to accompany the carriage, customizing them further by assigning a subclass or specialty, referred to as their Path. Mercenaries specialize in specific combat roles and possess unique abilities, ranging from offensive attacks to buffs and healing, enabling diverse strategies.
The gameplay is structured around two primary pillars: Travel and Combat. During Travel, players navigate through branching paths within each act, each path presenting new opportunities or challenges. These may include combat encounters, shops, field hospitals for healing, or locations where new skills can be unlocked for the mercenaries. Inns, located between sections, provide a chance to heal health and sanity, use Inn Items for buffs or Affinity improvements, and remove illnesses. Inns also serve as hubs for skill enhancement, carriage upgrades, and selecting the next destination.
Combat operates under its own distinct mechanics during specific encounters. Parties are arranged into four ranks, with certain abilities restricted to specific positions. Players and enemies take turns based on turn order, aiming to eliminate the opposing team. Skills and abilities can impose status effects or Tokens, which act as buffs or debuffs. For instance, Dodge Tokens grant a 50% chance to evade the next attack.
To reach an act’s final boss, players must clear a lair in a prior section, defeating a mini-boss along the way. Successfully overcoming the end boss completes the act and unlocks the next one, if available. Throughout their journey, players earn Candles of Hope by completing objectives, which can be used to unlock new abilities, trinkets, cosmetics, or additional mercenaries, enhancing the game’s progression system.
The Inhuman Bondage DLC introduces a new “Kingdoms” game mode, which still incorporates the game’s classic travel and combat mechanics, but now also adds an overarching, top-down strategy view that lets the player operate their defense against the forces of the occult on a grander scale.
Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage Release Date and Time
Released January 27, 2025
Darkest Dungeon 2’s Inhuman Bondage DLC was released for the PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store. The DLC is also set to be released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One sometime in the near future. We'll update this article with that information as soon as it is available. Stay tuned!
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Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage Review
Bound for Greatness, Bound for Glory
It’s hard to put into words the disappointment I felt when I realized that Darkest Dungeon 2 wouldn’t include the Crusader from the first game. But that was nothing compared to the deeper sadness that struck when I discovered the Abomination was also absent from the roster. Don’t get me wrong, the Runaway seemed like a fantastic addition, but losing one of the best mercenaries from the original Darkest Dungeon experience felt like a heavy trade-off. For a while, I begrudgingly accepted the idea of a game without the Abomination.
Then, when the Crusader was added through DLC, a spark of hope rekindled—it felt like only a matter of time before my favorite goat-faced, tortured soul would make his dramatic return in Darkest Dungeon 2.
As of January 27, 2025, that hope has been realized. The Abomination has officially joined the DD2 roster, arriving alongside a brand-new region and all the bells and whistles a new character could dream of. But the burning question remains: does this reimagined fan-favorite live up to its legacy, or is it just another DLC cash grab waiting to disappoint? Without spoiling the ending, I can confidently say that The Inhuman Bondage DLC is anything but a letdown. In fact, it brings a fan favorite back to the spotlight in style.
The Abominably Fun Experience of Unpacking Inhuman Bondage
Let’s set expectations straight about the Inhuman Bondage DLC, as it’s easy to overhype what it brings to the table—even if it’s still a lot. This DLC doesn’t introduce a game-changing new mechanic, nor does it radically overhaul the core systems of Darkest Dungeon II. Instead, it’s a content pack centered on a beloved character from the original Darkest Dungeon and a fresh spin on an old region from the first game that wasn’t included in DD2’s base game.
Inhuman Bondage presents itself as a tightly themed package with a unique twist, standing out even among DD2’s other DLCs—of which only The Binding Blade exists at the time of writing. While this new content is more compact and accessible, it sacrifices none of the impact. Its brilliance lies in how it unfolds The Abomination’s backstory as if it were playing out in real time.
This approach is a sharp departure from how other heroes evolve in DD2, and even more so compared to how the Crusader—the centerpiece of the other DLC—is unlocked. Instead of piecing together bits of the Abomination’s past and receiving arbitrary new skills that push them toward a specific build, you start with a hero who is almost entirely useless, equipped with only two basic abilities. As you progress through Hero Shrines and uncover more of their history, The Abomination gradually gains new, beastly powers. Eventually, you unlock the hero’s defining transformation—the skill that turns them from a frail, chain-wielding alchemist into a ferocious monster capable of shredding enemies in moments.
It’s this transformative journey—from a sickly figure to the raw, unrelenting force of The Abomination—that makes Inhuman Bondage such a satisfying addition, even within its focused scope. It’s like a side story unfolding alongside the main campaign’s high-stakes, world-saving adventure. Sure, all heroes in DD2 follow a gradual, piece-by-piece evolution that ultimately defines their identity, but The Abomination stands out as the smoothest and most compelling portrayal of this journey.
Now, compare that to the Crusader’s convoluted unlock process in The Binding Blade. The hoops you have to jump through and the guesswork involved make the difference between the two feel like night and day. When Inhuman Bondage was first announced, I braced myself for more of the same, but for once, I was glad to be wrong.
If they had repeated the Crusader’s approach, no amount of nostalgia for The Abomination could have shielded this DLC from sharing the same criticisms as The Binding Blade. Instead, this streamlined progression allows the DLC to shine, honoring the character’s legacy while staying true to DD2’s strengths.
The Abomination is Back to Kick More Cultist Butt
With the concept and setup of the DLC out of the way, how did Red Hook Studios handle Inhuman Bondage’s poster child? Well, once you’ve unlocked all of its abilities, The Abomination proves to be an absolute powerhouse, boasting some genuinely fun, unique, and engaging mechanics. It primarily operates as a front-to-mid-rank hero, staying true to its roots in Darkest Dungeon by offering strong crowd-control and damage-over-time options in its base form.
What truly sets it apart, however, is its signature transformation—unlocked after completing four of its Hero Shrine story scenarios. This transformation completely overhauls its kit temporarily, granting devastating area damage abilities that come with one massive trade-off: your team’s sanity. Just like in its original incarnation, The Abomination’s beastly form wreaks havoc on enemies and allies alike, forcing you to manage extreme stress levels among your party with every attack.
This push-and-pull dynamic is what makes The Abomination so unique. In exchange for a near-unstoppable hero, you’ll need to carefully balance the psychological toll it takes on the rest of your team—a challenge that feels both thematic and rewarding but could also be completely impossible if you didn’t bring a unit capable of healing stress like the Jester or the Man-at-Arms.
Of course, if The Abomination’s transformation was the only thing they brought to the table, this DLC would feel pretty underwhelming. Thankfully, Red Hook Studios didn’t settle for the basics. The Abomination comes with a set of signature trinkets that synergize beautifully with their abilities, along with multiple paths and unique stat upgrades in the meta-progression menu—just like every other hero.
One of these paths even dials back the power of their transformation in favor of exceptional crowd-control options in their base form, offering a flexible playstyle for those who want to focus on strategy over raw destruction.
Bottom line, Red Hook Studios absolutely knocked it out of the hamlet with The Abomination’s return, as they should have, because, let’s be honest—no one would’ve forgiven them if they botched the long-awaited comeback of this fan-favorite hero.
I Wish They Gave Us More of the Catacombs, But This Will Do
Accompanying The Abomination in this DLC is a new region called The Catacombs, which players may randomly encounter during their runs. Unlike the Foetor, Sprawl, Tangle, or Shroud, The Catacombs isn’t a fully fleshed-out region with sprawling paths or a lair boss. Instead, it’s more akin to The Sluice—a compact area with a maximum of two paths, primarily featuring combat or relic scenarios. It’s designed to serve as a lighter interlude between two major regions rather than a full region in its own right.
Now, I have a lot to say about The Catacombs, both positive and negative, but let’s start with the bad because it’s my biggest critique of this part of the DLC: why isn’t it a full region? Maybe this is the greed talking, but I can’t help but feel this was a missed opportunity. Inhuman Bondage already includes one fewer hero than the previous DLC, and introducing a fully realized region—with a lair boss and more frequent encounters with the new Slime enemies—could’ve given it the extra heft it needed to balance things out.
To be clear, I’m not saying this DLC is worse than The Binding Blade. I just find it puzzling that Red Hook Studios didn’t go all the way with The Catacombs, especially considering their history of adding entirely new regions in DLCs like The Crimson Court and The Color of Madness for the original Darkest Dungeon. It feels like a missed chance to elevate this package to the next level.
That said, what little of The Catacombs we did get was actually quite nice. It had its own set of unique trinkets that synergize with one another, granting access to the new “Slimed” status effect and health regen bonuses. The region itself is also incredibly creative in concept, evoking a grim, yet fantastically alien combination of crypt rot and neon-slime colors that I’ve never encountered before. This just makes me wish it was a fully-fledged region even more, but if wanting more of a thing is the worst criticism you could give, then that should be an indication of its quality more than anything else.
Releasing this DLC with the Kindgoms Update was a Genius Move
Now, let’s shift to something technically not part of the DLC but undeniably crucial to its overall reception: the free Kingdoms update, which launched alongside the Inhuman Bondage DLC.
Kingdoms introduces a brand-new game mode to Darkest Dungeon II, sitting alongside the original campaign mode—now dubbed “Confessions.” This mode reimagines your world-saving journey as a grand, tactical game of assault and defense spanning multiple inns and camps. While the core combat and travel mechanics of the base game remain, Kingdoms layers on a wealth of new features, including inn upgrades, a massive top-down map for strategic planning, siege defenses, hero swaps, night ambushes, and scenario-specific enemies.
Essentially, Kingdoms is an experimental twist on DD2’s formula, almost like a board game version of the experience. Without delving too deeply into critiques—since this article is focused on Inhuman Bondage—it’s worth noting that Kingdoms provides a fresh way to engage with DD2’s mechanics, including all the new DLC content.
Yes, both The Abomination and the Crusader are fully playable in this mode, which massively enhances their impact and replayability without bogging the game down with excessive content. Instead of overshadowing the DLC, Kingdoms amplifies its appeal by offering a new context in which to enjoy its additions.
It’s a brilliant move on Red Hook Studios’ part, ensuring the DLC feels even more integrated and rewarding within the broader game; one I can get behind should they continue to add more characters and DLCs in the future. My fingers are crossed for the Shieldbreker somewhere along the line.
If You Had to Choose Between DD2’s DLCs, Get This One
And that wraps up everything I have to say about Darkest Dungeon II’s Inhuman Bondage DLC. It’s a compelling experience, one where its lows are shaped and overshadowed by its highs—a fitting return for a beloved hero who’s been absent for far too long.
Sure, Red Hook Studios may have missed a few opportunities to push this DLC into truly unmissable territory, but if the worst critique I can offer is that it didn’t quite max out its potential, that’s a pretty good sign. For just $10 at most, it’s well worth diving in and experiencing it for yourself, and with a fun, free new update to the base game to match, too!
As for me? I’m just thrilled to see The Abomination back in action. It’s been far too long since I last caved in a cultist’s skull with those claws.
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Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage Product Information
 |
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| Title | DARKEST DUNGEON II: INHUMAN BONDAGE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | January 27, 2025 |
| Developer | Red Hook Studios |
| Publisher | Red Hook Studios |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam, Epic Games, GOG) PlayStation 5 (Coming Soon) PlayStation 4 (Coming Soon) Xbox Series X|S (Coming Soon) Xbox One (Coming Soon) Nintendo Switch (Coming Soon) |
| Genre | RPG, Strategy, Roguelite |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Teen |
| Official Website | Darkest Dungeon 2: Inhuman Bondage Website |
