The roguelike genre has witnessed a slew of new entries during the previous seven years. And, while many games have been as nasty and challenging as 2016’s Darkest Dungeon, very few have found a way to incorporate the tension of all those repeated runs into the gameplay. Anyone hoping for more chances to drive even more unfortunate adventurers to their breaking point in the face of an ancient and horrible evil got their way in 2019, with the announcement of Darkest Dungeon II. After a protracted Early Access phase on the Epic Games Store, it appears like the second in this series of gloomy and verbose dungeon crawlers is on its way to Steam and a 1.0 release in the not-too-distant future.

The official Darkest Dungeon Twitter account stated on February 6 that Darkest Dungeon II now has an official release date, and that it will be available on Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 8. This follows a February 4 Tweet stating that the game would have a trial available as part of the Steam Next Fest, which runs from February 6-13. This period should provide Steam users a taste of what Epic Games Store users have been enjoying for several months, as well as what obstacles the game has in store for them in the future.

Darkest Dungeon II modifies the roguelike formula significantly from its predecessor. While the turn-based combat and grim tone of the original game are retained, some important changes include the inclusion of a new, more RPG-like party system with distinct heroes to whom you may get attached. The new game also abandons the musty old dungeon crawl in favor of a new stagecoach-based mode of transportation.