Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 386 sampled Steam reviews (343 positive / 43 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing10% mention it
- Difficulty & balance6% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing21% mention it
- Grind & repetition21% mention it
- Difficulty & balance16% mention it
- Combat14% mention it
- Progression & loot12% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
68%
34 reviews
5-15h
85%
87 reviews
15-40h
90%
72 reviews
40-100h
94%
67 reviews
100h+
94%
126 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) | – | 84 | 24 |
| Creator reviews (3 tracked) | – | 92 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 92% | 86 | 1210 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 83 | 66 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 90% | 84 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Feb 19, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 16285 total reviews in window · weighted 221 up / 28 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (102)
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 is an unrelenting adventure as well as an intricately designed puzzle. Swiftly punishing foolhardy players while rewarding the ruthlessly pragmatic, it hammers home the message that risk is not always worth the reward. Knowing when to fold them is the key to triumph, even if doing so means abandoning your loyal followers and slipping further into amorality...Being a heartless scumbag isn’t particularly pleasant, but if Darkest Dungeon‘s taught me anything, it can be one hell of an amazing ride.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Darkest Dungeon is an exciting, atmospheric and a very hard game. Dark Souls fans should definitely try it.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Darkest Dungeon has always been an RPG that finds ways to make life uncomfortable for the player, and this Switch version manages to add a couple of usability issues to that list. However, this remains a dauntingly deep, thoroughly absorbing dungeon crawler that will swallow you up for hours at a time.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Even if you can get over the constant grind and repetitive nature of the game's dungeons, what will put you off is RNG that easily wipes your whole parties. Instead of a truly challenging game, Darkest Dungeon turned out to be a frustration generator.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Darkest Dungeon is a very difficult, very interesting and very original game - a sturdy RPG mixed with a dungeon crawl and some aspects of roguelike games. As such it's not a game for everyone. Fans of these genres should have lots of fun - moments of irritation fade away and you simply need to visit this grim world once more. Darkest Dungeon is a very big and demanding product - I envy those players who will be able to max it out.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“In the end it’s the difficulty and unpredictability at the core of the game that will either make it incredibly appealing to you or rightfully scare you away. There’s no glory without challenge and sacrifice and when you manage even small victories in Darkest Dungeon they can feel terrific. Sadly, even when you carefully manage your resources and try to keep your accumulated rotation of characters in good shape you’ll need to accept that any happy thoughts and feelings are often fleeting. One particularly bad mission can cripple even your AAA team if enough manages to go wrong and while you can pay to remedy afflictions the cost will make you think it over very carefully. It’s both thrilling and depressing and captures the essence of what makes roguelikes so interesting all at once. If you’re a fan of this style of play it is an easy recommendation but if you’ve not dipped your toe in the pool yet this may be a bit deeper an end to jump into than most so you’ve been warned.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Despite gameplay better suited for a mouse and keyboard, Darkest Dungeon transitions rather well from PC to Switch. The controls were always going to be convoluted when adapted to a controller, but it doesn't take too long to adjust, and the core gameplay loop is strong enough where overlooking that initial awkwardness is more than doable. The sheer challenge of the title will certainly overwhelm some, but there a plenty of workarounds between Radiant mode and the ability to toggle certain difficulty features off. The atmosphere, aesthetic, and music all lend themselves to an incredibly tense experience where every battle matters and constant management is necessary for survival. Darkest Dungeon is by no means for everyone, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth the stress.”
read full review ↗ - 98
“Darkest Dungeon is one of the most intense and immersive games out there. A product of creative genius and flawless design, it delivers, with simplistic perfection, a difficult yet addictive experience.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Even while wading through some minor issues, Darkest Dungeon is enthralling. Even if I crave sunshine and rainbows after spending too much time in this world, it sticks in the back of my mind and I idly think about what team I'll put together to try to mount my next dungeon crawl. It's a dark and gloomy game, but the overall blend of combat, exploration, and town management adds up to a fantastic gameplay loop that sucks away time as you try to outwit the deadly creatures and obstructions all around the darkest dungeon.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“In the end, it still has that great RPG feel, and one that people if they take the time to look, will find some great rewarding fun.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Darkest Dungeon will kill your party, drive you insane, and leave you a gibbering mess at the Sanitarium. Yet it's so compelling and rewarding at the same time, you won't be able to resist diving back in for one more quest.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Punishing and beautifully crafted, Darkest Dungeon is cruelty at its classiest.”
read full review ↗
The Jimquisition
GameMAG
Nintendo Life
PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
NintendoWorldReport
ZTGD
The Escapist
Eurogamer…and 90 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Darkest Dungeon - The Fire’s Edge - 27850 HOTFIXAug 21, 2026
- Darkest Dungeon Update - Build 26186Jul 29, 2025
- Darkest Dungeon - Coming_in_Hot BuildJun 25, 2025
- Darkest Dungeon - Coming_in_Hot Build 26186Jun 5, 2025
- DARKEST DUNGEON UPDATE - BUILD: 25807Apr 30, 2025
- Darkest Dungeon - Coming_in_hot Build 25807Mar 4, 2025
- Darkest Dungeon - Coming_in_hot Build 25807Feb 19, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Darkest Dungeon II - Kingdoms Game Mode + Inhuman Bondage DLC Available NowJan 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Darkest Dungeon - Steam coming_in_hot Build #25869Dec 12, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Darkest Dungeon II Releases May 8th - What to expect for 1.0 and beyondMay 2, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Update Notes for October 6th 2022Oct 6, 2022
- Darkest Dungeon - Steam Build #25632Aug 31, 2020
- Darkest Dungeon - Steam Build #25622Aug 19, 2020
- Darkest Dungeon Build #25594Jul 28, 2020