It's been well over 18 months since Red Hook Studios unveiled Darkest Dungeon 2, the sequel to its brilliant but brutal Lovecraft-inspired RPG, and now, after a tortuous wait, the game has resurfaced, along with the news that it's entering early access via the Epic Store next year.
The original Darkest Dungeon, which released in 2016, pitted players against an army of Lovecraftian horrors, battling in turn-based fashion across numerous trap-infested environs. It's biggest thematic trick came in the form of slowly encroaching madness, which would eventually send party members over the edge, imbuing them with (usually) negative quirks that made future excursions that much harder.
The resulting balancing act between deeper exploration and hero preservation managed to be both immensely stressful and unquestionably satisfying, earning the experience a huge following and plenty of critical acclaim.