Devs talk DLC, the future, and MORE! | Darkest Dungeon 2 Red Hook Interview

just want to say i enjoy darkest dungeon 2 red hook. keep it up!

100% agree with the devs not making this a game as a service

A cool concept from DD1 is the "invasion" battles....where the city is attacked and you need to defend. It would be cool if they could do a similar thing for the "rest stops" in DD2.

If they don't want to revisit the Confessions runs, i would totally be up to new Runs with the characters as protagonists, getting deep into each character, like Dismas Story, you have to do a run with Dismas forced into the party, and final boss is something related to him, the guilt of what he did made manifest, the past that he should let die.

PLANdemic. wake up neo

With the crusader I am happy with the old layout. He was missed most. Now I am up for new heroes. Please no arbalest, she was a boring dps pick and overshadowed many heroes.

Cant wait to play it on ps5

bring back DD1 background music and DD1 everything thank you

I really wanted to like the game (and for the ones who like it, i'm happy for you.) but two things are killing it for me. The first is the lack of content, it's always the same monsters, always the same regions and compared to the first game, the grind is insane (or at least it appear longer because a run in DD2 is way longer than a mission in DD1). Even before the official launch, mods were already here for the first game and it's why no one can say DD1 lacked on this side. The time to complete the altars of light, even if interesting, or to unlock all characters, is insane. And it's always the same thing again and again.

The second one is simply: the story of the game itself. In the first one just with the opening cinematic, the player knew who it was playing, who was the narrator and the main goal of the game. Same for each bosses, they had their story and their relation with the ancestor explained. In the second game, their is nothing at all. We don't have any hint of the overall story nor any indications why the bosses are what they are, What is the story of the sleeping general ? Or his army ? Who are the bosses of each region ? Why only the character representing the player can save the world ? It's not explained in the game itself. Some players told to me that the story was explained on social media: if it's the case, why not put this in the game itself ?
I can play grinding games, as Hades, because the story advance when you die, you unlock new quests, new dialogues, new interactions. In DD2... you have to grind level after level to unlock characters that you have to use and go the Altars to unlock their stories but the overall story never progress, change or adapt to your defeat, the game also never explain why you can retry again and again. Imo, the game feel rushed and unfinished. I played the game at launch and never touched it since, perhaps it has changed but i don't see the point of grinding hard this game...

I had some critics asking me "why are you still here ?". It's because i care, the first game is one of my all time favourite and i still plays it because of mods and overhaull. I was a patreon for it and i never had any regret. The first game is like Skyrim, it will be modded for years to come, DD2 is like Starfield, already done. I hope the expansion they speak about will remedy the lack of content and stories but i don't have any expectation, in doing so, i won't be disappointed.

The saddest part, imo, is how low the playerbase is even after a dlc launched and how low the number of views is on this interview. I whish them luck and success even if i choosed to stay on the first game.

I believe deaths door armor for was the first start to them relinquishing their control over the game, its so lame that the heroes can get sneezed on at deaths door and die from that and yet some enemies have the will to keep fighting on is baffling to me, its almost as if in their quest to make this game harder they give any excuse to do so, making the heroes absurdly underpowered and the enemies overpowered is not the way to go about it, even though DD1 was a shitstorm of rng at least the enemy design was fair and fun, DD2 just puts your head to a grindstone and tests you on how much you can take before you yourself break. Their priorities are still not clear and it seems as if they care more about difficulty rather than the fun of figuring out how the enemy works and using that against the game at the cost of losing some heroes, if you lose 1 hero on a run in DD2 it’s basically over. The confession bosses arent any better the only really well designed one i would say is the first one because at least it doesnt have some stupid gimmick that puts the whole team out of commission because of a small mistake, sure DD1’s bosses had gimmicks too, but at least the gimmicks were well thought out.

I'd like the balance rework/path rework next and then a new region maybe something like the sluice so you can have a fifty fifty on your bonus region. The first request will hopefully allow more people to enjoy more heroes. Hero stories are just too damn much work for something you only do once but I am glad that these guys like it and really want it. The game is great for a small team of 30 people.

I feel like it's kind of a waste of assets if they dont make a DD1 mode for DD2

If the Crusader's apparition in the final boss fight isn't wheat, I'll be sorely disappointed.

Great interview, Shuff! I usually don't buy into developer talk, but Chris and Tyler seem to be understanding of their game, and its community; which feels rare these days. Makes me excited for the future of DD2.

Well now that my boy Reynalud is back I can openly simp for Red Hook with all my strength. One of the few devs left that actually care about their fans

Also for more than two years I've been saying adding him will solve the problem of Jester or MAA being required for every run if you want consistency, and guess what? I was right

They have my respects for dd but not my thanks for atrocious BH mechanic with 17% usage. Such a waste

I've heard from somewhere that DD2 is not a direct continuation of DD1 story-wise, and rather it is more like an anthology with similar characters. Can I ask for confirmation as to whether this is true or not?

Great interview, very funny and insightful. Love to see Chris and Tyler at ease but so focused and transparent in their answers, you can feel the passion and carefulness they put in their work. I finally fully get why they shifted focus from DD1 to DD2, I wasn't totally aware of the magnitude of work required. Can't wait for the 2024 stuff! Tremendous job Shuffle, thank you

new zones super under valued. wtf????

Web Need a new game mode. I buy the dlc buy i wont play It. It Is boring to make the same thing over and over.

Excellent stuff!

the game has a serious bug where your can't get certain skills for the crusader. this bug was no addressed so far. dont have the final 2 skills for him. i paid for the dlc and can't have the full content. the devs had a ''fix'', but i didnt worked out for me. i mentioned that to the devs but so far got no answer.

I'm very grateful to sit in here and watch your interview Mr Shuff! Bit of a hyperbole, but allow me to say that you're a genuine pillar of the Darkest Dungeon community at this point (your content got me into this gaping abyss, and your new player guides guided me along!). Ancestor knows how much you've contributed to the community, and we couldn't have asked for a better Heir!

This was awesome. These guys are legends. Very cool that you got to interview them!

Interview with the ancestor when?

Glad to see how my comment that had some fair criticism but wasnt hype and positive got removed. way to go chief!

Those are the heroes we need and the heroes we deserve

Shuffle resisting with every cell in his body to not ask them when is the swimsuit graverobber skin coming into the game.


Jokes aside, nice video.

I was waiting for that "ok guys, imma hit the bathroom wait here 10 minutes bb"

I feel they need too push that console release asap. They will get so much support. I just dont get why it takeing so long. There must be a reason or its not high priority.

Chris seems based af. idk about the other guy though. Very political answers. Not overly impressed with your skills as an interviewer here. But I don't come here for that. Good on you for getting the interview though.

There was a lot of talk this year on why Lariant had the success they did and the importance of being an “ethical” studio. For me Red Hook is definitely one of those. A studio of people who are really excited on what they do and are even more excited when we feel the same.

Chris hating starfield is the most relatable thing ever

Man I really love to hear devs talk about the game they made and their community with care and passion, rather than just seeing it as an inflow of cash to be discarded when no longer profitable

Really interesting interview Shuff. They deserve a little vacations this hollydays, Looking for the mod support with great expectatives

Perfect execution shuff

timestamps would be good

I need you to return the estate management

Too hype, ruin has come to my underwear, clean up on aisle my Darkest Dungeon

WARHAMMER MENTIONS 🗣️
I must know what is his favorite faction / what is his favorite faction

the fact that chris did art for kid's stuff gives me some interesting images in my head

It's sooooo good to hear that the entire team is gonna work on improving dd2 in the next year. I was kinda worried because people have been so critical about the game. I love the dlc, I love dd, I love red rook.

I am so excited to hear that they plan on focusing on replayabiity over ephemeral content. I feel like that's exactly what the game needs and fails a bit to deliver with the base content. I have high hopes!

So I’m lazy, can someone tell me if there was talk about consoles?

Very wholesome and intuitive, excited for console release this year.❤️💯

shame this isn't a weekly podcast