While the physical damage they sustain can be deadly, the stress of the adventure is no less dangerous. One of mine even developed syphilis after a particularly gruesome search for loot. Want to go rummaging through the pile of corpses for more loot? Sure, you might find something cool, but you also might psychologically or physically scar your adventurer. It seems like a lot to keep track of at first, but it soon becomes second nature as the controls are easy and intuitive and reactions are generally understandable – I’d also freak out if the hallway I was traversing was too dark to see upcoming threats or loot.

Added to this, you will need to keep the rooms well lit or stress and combat may become more difficult. Beyond the traditional health meter, there is also a stress marker to determine how much the dungeon has impacted each adventurer psychologically. However, Darkest Dungeon takes you deeper into the role of the adventurers – they are affected in positive and negative ways along the adventure. The dangers are paramount, but so are the rewards. There’s something special under the decrepit estate and only a band of intrepid adventurers can unearth it. The premise of the game is the same as most dungeon crawling RPGs. Darkest Dungeon takes a new and brilliant approach to a seemingly overdone concept, and it’s awe-inspiring. But it’s worthwhile for all the loot and experience to be earned. I always worry if the next step won’t lead to my characters dying in trap, or taking on an unbeatable opponent. Dungeon crawling can be stressful at the best of times.

Darkest dungeon managing stress