Redhook Studios has confirmed that Darkest Dungeon 2 will leave Early Access later this year and will be available on Steam.
In October 2021, Darkest Dungeon 2 was released in Early Access through the Epic Games Store. Since then, the gothic roguelike has received several updates and expansions, but Redhook Studios has now confirmed that the title will leave Early Access on May 8, 2023.
That same day, Darkest Dungeon 2 will officially release on Steam and is now available on wishlist.
“Darkest Dungeon 2 is a roguelike road trip of the damned,” the description reads. “Gather a party, equip your stagecoach, and traverse the decaying landscape in a desperate quest to prevent the apocalypse. However, the greatest dangers you face may come from within.”
Players can download the Darkest Dungeon 2 demo on Steam, which grants access to four starting heroes and two of the game’s five regions. However, progress is not saved between attempts and only one region can be explored per game. . A similar demo is available through Epic.
The Darkest Dungeon 2 demo is part of Steam Next Fest 2023, which gives players the chance to play over 900 demos before February 13.
The original Darkest Dungeon launched in 2016 and tasked players with recruiting and then leading a party of heroes through a variety of gothic-looking dungeons, battling a variety of monsters in a turn-based combat system while managing a variety of potential afflictions that affect how the heroes handle the adventure.
Speaking to NME about the world of Darkest Dungeon 2, creative director Chris Bourassa said: “We wanted to raise the bar and explore a world beyond the confines of Hamlet. Technically speaking, regions are dungeons, but it was fun to involve a scale of destruction that we couldn’t in Darkest Dungeon.”
“Hamlet was great and crucial to the structure (of the first game), but it was just dull to continue with another hamlet or town or fortress or camp of some kind,” added Tyler Sigman. “Freeing things from a single base allowed us to lean into the travel aspect.”
In other news, parent company Take-Two has announced the release of Judas, the first game from Ghost Story Games, from BioShock creator Ken Levine.