App Army Assemble: Darkest Dungeon - How does it play on iPad?

Darkest Dungeon is a turn-based RPG in which you have to scour the bowels of a dungeon with a party of mercenaries.

It sets itself apart with a unique light system, that makes the dungeon more or less challenging depending on how well let it is, and a sanity system. I bet you can guess how this works.

At review, we gave it a Gold Award and described it as: "A rich, tough, ingenious dungeon crawler that's a pain to play in (mostly) all the right ways".

We also asked the App Army for a second opinion, and here's what they had to say.

Thiago Ness

Darkest Dungeon in one sentence? Turn-based Dark Souls with a dose of nostalgia.

One thing that stood out is the narrator - it's superb. Together with the bleak visuals, the art style, and punishing dificulty, Darkest Dungeon reminded me of the excellent classic Myth: the Fallen Lords.

I know many won't appreciate the punishing difculty, but you can have genuine fun in this unique game.

Darkest Dungeon has made a new home for itself on the iPad. This dark and gritty rogue-like turn based RPG is now the App Store's new top dog in its genre.

Red Hook Studios has done an excellent job porting it from PC. Everything that made it special on PC can now be played on the go.

The gameplay is top notch! The fight and navigating mechanics are a natural fit on the iPad. This game was meant for mobile gaming! It also has town and character management elements, except this is a premium title that doesn't hold the player back with annoyances like the infamous time refill constraint and gem currency that plagues freemium titles.

This game might be a bit much for people who are not comfortable with perma-death gameplay though. The only bug I've experienced is a stuck zoomed in screen when returning to the game after minimising.

Other than that, this is a perfect port and a must have that I recommend to anyone who likes rogue-like RPG's.

Andrey Velit

Darkest Dungeon is stylish, gloomy, and damn cool.
Despite the lack of plot, this game interested me right away.

There's an impeccable style and an intriguing atmosphere, the authors made the surrounding world incredibly original. The graphics are unusual, and reminiscent of illustrations in old books.

I love how stress affects the characters. If one of the hero's stress level passes a critical mark, he starts to act unpredictably - it's very funny.

I really liked the game. I haven't experienced anything like it in a long time. Three hours spent in the dungeon flew by in an instant.

I am really digging this game - it's pretty amazing. It looks great, plays great, and has novel gameplay with an awful lot of content.

I don't normally like roguelikes but this one just works. Sure, you die a lot but it's more of a learning exercise than an annoyance.

I'm now tempted to grab the Steam version, all it needs is cross platform play.

Crystal Loker

Darkest Dungeon is a great RPG that I've been waiting for on iOS for some time. Love the roguelike movement and the art style.

The difficulty is the only real downside, and I find it hard to understand some of the abilities and how far their range is.

I find that your finger is always in the way when you try and read it. I really recommend anyone to play this - it's really fun and if you're into RPGs then you will like this one.

Dries Pretorius

I had high expectations for Darkest Dungeon on iPad, and I'm not disappointed. It feels like there's an emerging trend in mobile gaming where games require lower engagement from the player. Darkest Dungeon is the cure.

It's brutal, and likely the deepest turn based strategy RPG on iPad. I could write a thousand word review and still not cover all the mechanics that make this game click.

At its launch price, this is serious value. If you're a fan of the genre, go and grab it right away, if you are not, go grab it anyway!

Laura Egri

Fight hordes of monsters and evil powers in this gloomy, gothic dungeon crawler. The story is gripping and full of surprises, the character design is great and credible, and the gameplay drags you in like a spell.

There's a lot to learn in mastering your party skills and turn-based battles but for the fans of RPGs it will make sense right away.

Get the quest, explore, kill, loot, upgrade, and repeat. Yes it will obviously involve a certain level of grinding but it's not too repetitive as each quest has an interesting outcome and a piece of the story.

Everything you do is a visible step in a certain direction, maybe not the right one though. It's totally worth it for newcomers to the genre as a fairly good tutorial will guide you in.

The only downside is that the ported menus and texts are a bit too small even on my 12.7 inch tablet. But nothing critical. Solid game.