Darkest Dungeon 2 Early Access release date announced

Darkest Dungeon 2 is coming to Early Access on the Epic Games Store on October 26, 2021, developer Red Hook Studios announced Monday.

It's been almost a year since we learned the roguelike sequel would be coming to the Epic Games Store. In that time, we've featured Darkest Dungeon 2 on the cover of PC Gamer magazine, exploring how Red Hook Studios is turning the dungeon crawler into more of a Oregon Trail roadtrip from Hell. Darkest Dungeon 2 is also more interested in getting you invested in a smaller team of four heroes on a wagon ride to an ominous mountain, rather than endlessly throwing new heroes into the grinder.

The original Darkest Dungeon released in Early Access on Steam, but Red Hook says that a return to the format is necessary because the sequel is different in some notable ways. For one thing, the studio has traded the original's 2D style for 3D art. You can read our interview with Red Hook co-founders Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman to learn more about Darkest Dungeon 2's artistic vision, or just why it might be less depressing than you'd think.

As for a price, Epic has yet to announce how much Darkest Dungeon 2's Early Access version will cost.

If you need another roguelike to tide you over, read our thoughts on 2020's Spelunky 2.