Darkest Dungeon

'Darkest Dungeon' is a mixture of stylish comic-like characters and a dark, gothic environment. The fingerprints of Lovecraft and Poe can be seen everywhere, from the tentacled monsters of the cove to the iron bars of the asylum. The effects match the theme perfectly - during battles, fighters cut into the foreground when they attack, and their model switches to a horrified grimace when something bad happens, like losing their mind. Movement animations are simple, but the character models are very detailed in their 2D way.

The music was composed by Canadian musician Stuart Chatwood, who also worked on 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'. It is heavy on the strings and Victorian flavor, and like the gameplay, is deep, dark, and depressing. The narrator (whose character is the dead former proprietor of the castle) is the only voice besides enemy barks, and his pained, guttural delivery is excellent.

'Darkest Dungeon' is the rare game that gets my heart pumping while playing, not because it’s scary (even though it is a little scary), but because the stakes are so high. One battle can make the difference between waltzing out flush with loot, and returning home defeated, with the party dead or completely insane. It will punish your mistakes and it will even punish your good fortune, on the rare occasion it happens. Despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, I cannot seem to stop playing 'Darkest Dungeon'.