Darkest Dungeon—yes, the original game, not the sequel—is getting its first DLC in six years, a whole decade after the game initially launched.
The DLC is called The Fire’s Edge, and it’s out on August 18. The DLC will include two new characters from Darkest Dungeon 2, the Duelist and the Runaway. It also includes three new districts, new trinkets, tools, writing, events, and “surprises.” The update will also include a number of features from Darkest Dungeon 2, such as the burn mechanic. The burn mechanic is favored by the Runaway, who is also focused on stealth.
If you’re unfamiliar with Darkest Dungeon, this DLC seems like a great excuse to get familiar. It’s a turn-based roguelike in which you build parties to explore procedurally generated dungeons. Critically, Darkest Dungeon is brutal: characters can die permanently, debuffs and ailments take a real toll, and everyone develops horrible trauma from their dungeon delves, as measured by a stress mechanic that can straight-up give characters a heart attack if ignored. One of the best things about Darkest Dungeon is the narrator, voiced by the late Wayne June, who died last year. It’s unclear how the devs will handle new story content in his absence since, although June gave them permission to use AI to recreate his voice, they declined to do so.
This will be the fifth DLC for Darkest Dungeon (one DLC, The Butcher’s Circus, was PC-exclusive). The PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo releases of The Fire’s Edge will arriveon August 18. An Xbox version is also promised, but does not yet have a release date.