Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 299 sampled Steam reviews (207 positive / 92 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing16% mention it
- Progression & loot9% mention it
- Combat9% mention it
- Visuals & art9% mention it
- Difficulty & balance5% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing30% mention it
- Progression & loot22% mention it
- Grind & repetition18% mention it
- Combat16% mention it
- Visuals & art13% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
57%
42 reviews
5-15h
60%
68 reviews
15-40h
74%
88 reviews
40-100h
75%
55 reviews
100h+
78%
46 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 95 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 75% | 70 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 64 | 78 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 66% | 64 | 1231 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (May 8, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 1231 total reviews in window · weighted 169.3 up / 78 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (99)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“Darkest Dungeon II continues the legacy of the original game as a brutally dark and difficult roguelite turn-based RPG. Much like the characters in the game, riding out in a hopeless effort to stave off the apocalypse, the player will find themself pushing forward despite certain defeat, with only a weak promise that next time it will be a little easier. It’s impressive that such a relentlessly challenging game can still have the player coming back for more.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Darkest Dungeon II provides an extremely challenging, roguelike adventure for fans turn-based combat games. The difficulty will turn away some players, but those who stick with it will be rewarded by fun gameplay and a compelling story set in an astoundingly designed world.”
read full review ↗ - 80
- 80
“Darkest Dungeon 2 is a title that has successfully managed not to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor. The change to rogue-lite won't please all fans, though, as it takes away from the game's complexity. On the other hand, it will definitely please players who are more interested in experimentation.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Darkest Dungeon 2 wanted to move away from the formula of the first part as much as possible and send us on a new adventure, but something went wrong. The project simply lost the gloomy atmosphere of its predecessor and never figured out how to replace its mechanics.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Where its predecessor was concerned mostly with the physical and emotional wear and tear that comes with a life of violence, Darkest Dungeon II is more invested in showing how dire circumstances affect your heroes’ relationships.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“If you like roguelikes, tactical turn-based combat, and RPGs, you should definitely give this a try. Just don’t let it completely consume you, unless you have another life to spare. Darkest Dungeon II requires a lot of time and patience. It rewards you with beautiful graphics, a captivating dark medieval atmosphere, and the depth of its gameplay mechanics. Some aspects could be a bit more player-friendly, such as the drawn-out beginning and the constant clicking on the same things at the start, but that’s something you can live with. Death isn’t the end here. It’s part of progressing through the game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Darkest Dungeon 2 may not be the sequel that ardent fans of the original wanted it to be, but its unique approach to that hard-edged, brutal roguelike gameplay is compelling all the same. A memorable art style, tons of replayability, and lots of mechanical depth make this one an easy recommendation to any roguelike fans, even if it can be a little grindy at times. If you've been looking for yet another tough roguelike to add to your collection, Darkest Dungeon 2 is certainly worth your time and your money.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Darkest Dungeon II retained a lot of features that made the original great, implementing some new challenging mechanics as well. The sequel kept that unique ‘’Darkest Dungeon feel’’, yet it gave us a completely new experience. ”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Darkest Dungeon 2 suffers from the lack of an engaging story and some monotony, but the developers have delivered on their promises. This game is better than its predecessor in almost every way.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“When a game is successful it can be easy to just make a few changes and call it a day for a sequel. Altering the formula with how traversal works and adding in new ways of making the game feel both punishing and fair is what makes Darkest Dungeon II exemplary. With so many different options of making things work it is easy to get lost in this world for one more run. Those that stick past the many fallen runs will find a game that shines by not having players learn to run from walking, but rather how to stand battered and bloody after crawling and fighting through everything the game throws at them. This game is a well-designed gem for any brave enough to enter its depths.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Darkest Dungeon II reminds me of Salt and Sacrifice; both sequels to cult classic titles that tried to innovate by mashing up with entirely different genres, both significantly worse off as a result.”
read full review ↗
Gamepressure
Pure Nintendo
Fintendo
INDIANTVCZ
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Nintendo Life
PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
RPGamer
VGChartz…and 87 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Darkest Dungeon II - Mac Mod UpdateAug 13, 2026
- Darkest Dungeon II Celebrates its 3rd Anniversary!May 8, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- 2.04.85095 - Darkest Dungeon II - HotfixApr 28, 2026
- Darkest Dungeon II - 2.04.84350 - HotfixApr 6, 2026
- 2.04.83892 - Darkest Dungeon II - HotfixMar 18, 2026
- 2.04.83880 - Darkest Dungeon II - coming_in_hotMar 16, 2026
- 2.04.80601- Darkest Dungeon II - The Steadfast Steward's Update: Part 2Oct 29, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.04.80494 - Steadfast Steward’s Update 2 - coming_in_hotOct 24, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.04.80416 - Steadfast Steward's Update 2 - coming_in_hotOct 23, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.04.80209 - Steadfast Steward's Update 2- coming_in_hotOct 14, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.04.80166 - Steadfast Steward's Update 2 - Coming_in_hotOct 7, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Steadfast Steward’s Update Part Two - Participation DetailsOct 3, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.03.79805 - Darkest Dungeon II - Curse of the Court - HOTFIXSep 3, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.03.79750 - Kingdoms - Curse of the CourtAug 28, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Darkest Dungeon II - Darkside Hero Creator Tool UpdateAug 7, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Darkest Dungeon II - Darkside Modding UpdateJul 31, 2025
- Darkest Dungeon II - Darkside Modding UpdateJul 25, 2025
- #2.02.79016 - Darkest Dungeon II - Steadfast Steward's Update Retail ReleaseJul 17, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Steadfast Steward - Recap and Design HighlightsJul 16, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78778 - Steadfast Steward's Update - Coming_in_hotJul 11, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78756 - Steadfast Steward's Update - Coming_in_HotJul 10, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78692 - Darkest Dungeon II - Hero Origin Pack HotfixJul 8, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78653 - Steadfast Steward's Update - coming_in_hotJul 3, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78608 - Steadfast Steward's Update - Coming_in_hotJun 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78542 - Hero Origin Pack Release Patch NotesJun 26, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Steadfast Steward Week 4 SurveyJun 23, 2025
- 2.02.78390 - Steadfast Steward's Update - coming_in_hotJun 19, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78247 - Steadfast Steward's Update - coming_in_hotJun 12, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78128 - Steadfast Steward's Update - coming_in_hotJun 5, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 2.02.78018 - Steadfast Steward's Update - Coming_in_hotMay 29, 2025significant · resets scoring window
…and 24 earlier patch announcements.