Darkest Dungeon 2 gets May release date; demo launches today

Darkest Dungeon 2 best teams characters — (Image credit: Red Hook Studios)

Darkest Dungeon 2 is launching in May, and there’s a demo to give you a sneak peek of what’s in store.

Developer Red Hook Studios has announced that the follow-up to its 2016 roguelike turn-based RPG Darkest Dungeon is coming to Steam and Epic Games Store in just a few months on May 8. The highly anticipated sequel launched in Early Access exclusively on the Epic Games Store back in October 2021 and has received numerous content updates and tweaks in preparation for its full release.

Like its predecessor, Darkest Dungeon 2 is an altogether gruelling experience (in a good way), with an emphasis on punishing difficulty and permadeath. The familiar turn-based combat makes a return, but with changes designed to refine and improve on the original. If you simply can’t wait to put your survival skills to the test, then you’re in luck, as the developer is also releasing a demo on Steam and Epic Games Store. It will be available for the duration of Steam Next Fest, which gets underway today and runs until February 13.

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The demo tasks players with keeping the game’s four starting heroes alive through either The Sprawl, a huge city built from stone, or The Foetor, a once pleasant farmland now steeped in death and decay. It’s a small sampling of what to expect from the full release, which offers a dozen playable characters, numerous regions and end bosses, and plenty of persistent upgrades to improve your chances of survival the next time around. That being said, it’s worth noting that your progress won’t be saved between expeditions in the demo version.

A console release is also planned, but so far, there’s no word on when we’ll be able to play Darkest Dungeon 2 on anything other than PC.

See what else is set to launch this year with our guide to new games 2023.

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Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.