I’m freaking out.
If I’m in a dungeon with skeletons lurking in the dark, I’m freaking out. I’m freaking out if I’m in a dark dungeon and I see a rat. I’m freaking out if I’m in a dark dungeon, period. I’m no hero, but even heroes have a breaking point. That’s the beauty of Darkest Dungeon by Red Hook Studios.
The game “is a challenging gothic roguelike RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring”. In other words, it’s as much about not freaking out as it is about adventure. In other words, the heroes are more like real people.
The game has raised $240K of its $75K goal with nine days left on Kickstarter. That is some serious Kickstarter love. Actually, $240K of $75K is more than love. It’s passion…and lust. It’s getting it on in the dressing room at Banana Republic.
Why do people want this game?
Maybe it’s the sign of our times. We’re coming out of two wars triggered by 9/11. We’re still suffering from the Great Recession. The first decade of the 21st Century was one long and dark dungeon and there were plenty of skeletons and ghouls and monsters. We’ve all got a little PTSD and we want heroes that can face and overcome those challenges. Yep, I’m stretching it, but there’s some truth to it somewhere somehow.
The game looks awesome. A part of the game is assembling your team to maximize the performance of your team – not only in the traditional RPG way (healers, fighters, wizards, etc), but also psychologically to maximize fluid teamwork and minimize the freak-out factor. Reminds me of Jagged Alliance where two people who hate each other will refuse to fight together. The game also reminds me of war games like Total War. Victory is gained not by chopping heads, but by destroying the enemy army’s will to fight. Just how strong is that will? It’s up to you and your team.
Darkest Dungeon will be available for PC/Windows and Mac.