Stress is not like normal damage, in fact outside of camping there are very few ways to heal it during an expedition the nature of Stress is that it accrues, driving good men mad and clinging to soldiers until the turn to suicidal husks or abusive cowards. Every terrifying blow and revelation slowly inches up the bar, representing the deterioration and unhinging nature of those pushed through hell with fire and steel. Accompanying every unit you command’s HP bar is the Stress meter, ranging from 0-100 at which point the hero is pushed to the brink, and then over itself for 101-200 where even their body fails in terror. In Darkest Dungeon the bodies of your heroes are not the only things that are tried and broken, but their minds as well– The sight of otherwordly horrors, the ominous prophecies of madmen, and even the faltering or madness of allies can drive your heroes to Afflictions such as rage, depression, and insanity– Or, perhaps with some luck, embolden them to a Virtue the face of death and danger.

“ Injury and despondence set the stage for heroism… or cowardice.”

While generally applause-worthy, these things alongside the obvious aspects of art-style, writing, and Wayne June’s incredible performance as the narrator, only serve to surround the game’s star actors: Madness and Degeneration. In Part 1 of this article we discussed how Darkest Dungeon laid out the table in terms of its tense, foreboding gameplay and setting by using presentation and the tuning of otherwise basic, unremarkable mechanics. “ The shifted corridors and sloped vaults of our ancestry are beginning to feel familiar.“

Darkest dungeon curing afflictions