Innovation often happens from combining two great things. This is true in the case of Dark and Darker which takes two incredibly popular game genres—the dungeon crawler and the battle royale—and puts them together into one chaotically enjoyable experience. While that combo might sound simple, it’s anything but. So in this article we’re going to explore everything you need to know about Dark and Darker.

Released in Alpha

While the game has already been making waves, it has only been available since August 2023… and that’s only in Alpha. That means the experience is still far from its final form, with a large amount of changes to be made and bugs to be found in the current version. But don’t let that put you off. The game is already hugely popular and entertaining, so although it’s still in development that doesn’t mean it isn’t a whole lot of fun.

Iconic Setup

As a dungeon crawling battle royale, the premise of Dark and Darker is pretty clear. You’re a hero exploring dungeons looking for loot and battling through hordes of enemies in the process. Drawing inspiration from popular dungeon crawlers, each match starts by allowing you to choose your class from the classic wizard, warrior or rogue. Each of course comes with their own unique abilities and playstyles.

The Dark Dungeons

Each match takes place in a procedurally generated dungeon, providing each match with unique exploration, enemy placement and, of course, loot. 

But unlike many other dungeon crawlers, Dark and Darker really leans into darkness, quite literally. Many of the corridors you will wander through will be pitch black. Requiring you to grab your nearest torch or light source in order to navigate effectively. This use of darkness really ups the ante; adding heaps of tension while making the game’s audio a key part of the experience. The audio is super important as you can use it to locate enemies… and they can use it to locate you. This combination of darkness and sound leads to plenty of interesting strategies.

PvPvE

The game touts itself as a PvPvE game; in other words a game where you play not only against the environment but also, potentially, against other players. This is because as you navigate the dungeons you’ll encounter other players. Of course, you can team up with these other players—but allegiances are paper-thin when it comes to getting your hands on the best loot.

This combination of compelling dungeon crawling with tense PvP make Dark and Darker a really unique experience. After all, there aren’t so many competitive dungeon crawling experiences out there!

Looting and Equipment

As a dungeon crawler, loot plays a huge role in keeping you engaged—acting as both a motivator and a reward. Throughout the game you can find a vast variety of weapons, armour and magical items to enhance your abilities and stats. But just like anything in this game, it’s not quite that easy. Inventory space is very limited, forcing you into making strategic decisions of what to carry. Not to mention that having more loot makes you walk slower and make more noise… in other words making you a much bigger target.

Unique Goal

Unlike most battle royales, the ultimate goal of Dark and Darker isn’t simply to wipe out all the other players; it’s to escape the dungeon alive with your loot. To do this you have to locate the extraction point which only becomes available after a certain amount of time.

So why don’t all the dungeoneers just work together? Well, only a certain amount of players can escape, turning the extraction point into a hotspot for some of the biggest and most fierce battles you’ll see.

Character Progression

Being a battle royale, the game’s progression is strictly kept within matches—meaning you’ll start each one afresh. That means that your skills are the main aspect of progression; with increasing your  knowledge of each class, item and opportunity to be your best chance at success. That said, you can get your hands on gold to purchase items from in-game merchants. So if you’re ever getting stuck you can buy dark and darker gold to get ahead.

A New Type of Battle Royale

Dark and Darker is a truly unique experience, blending a variety of different genres together to reach something that both feels fresh and familiar. So if you’re a fan of dungeon crawlers and want to up the ante, consider diving into this unique experience—you won’t regret it.