1) Darkest Dungeon
Few games have captivated my attention in such a mesmeric way as Red Hook Games’ brutal and gruelling roguelike dungeon crawler RPG Darkest Dungeon. I have spent an absurd amount of hours peeling back each layer of its deep, satisfying and intelligently crafted systems. The game’s Lovecraftian aesthetic drips with dark eerie character, and every grotesque beast and battered hero is brought to life with vivid artistic panache and style.
The most unique element of this gothic dungeon crawler is its focus on mental stress damage combined with the typical physical injuries that journeying into the monster-infested darkness would have on a person’s body, soul and mind. There are a dizzying amount of gameplay systems at-play within Darkest Dungeon, but the great thing is that they’re all super fun to uncover and slot neatly together in really clever ways. There’s a profound synergy in the gameplay systems that really hooked me in.
Stress, light level, critical hits, upgrades, loot, afflictions, quirks, perks and trinkets all have their own personalized systems that flesh out a game that could’ve quite easily come off its rails if they weren’t implemented in the right way. Thankfully, Red Hook Games have done themselves proud, crafting an unforgettable, moreish experience that made our number 2 spot on We Got This Covered’s Top 10 Indie Games of 2016. It really is a dark and twisted gift that keeps on giving and you’ll be like a moth to a flame when it gets its bloody hooks in you. Basically, you should totally check it out… I dare you to.