Red Hook Studios Inc.

Factsheet

Developer:
Red Hook Studios Inc.
Based in Vancouver, Canada

Release date:
January 19th, 2016

Platforms:
PC, Mac, Linux
PS4, Vita

Website:
darkestdungeon.com

Regular Price:

Full Release

$24.99

Description

Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. You will lead a band of heroes on a perilous side-scrolling descent, dealing with a prodigious number of threats to their bodily health, and worse, a relentless assault on their mental fortitude! Five hundred feet below the earth you will not only fight unimaginable foes, but famine, disease, and the stress of the ever-encroaching dark. Darkest Dungeon focuses on the humanity and psychological vulnerability of the heroes and asks: What emotional toll does a life of adventure take?

History

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Red Hook Studios was founded in 2013 and we are building the first chapter of our history with the creation of Darkest Dungeon. The project Kickstarted successfully in February 2014, earning $313,337 on an ask of $75,000. It then launched Early Access on Steam on February 3rd, 2015, where it climbed to #1 Steam Top Seller. Darkest Dungeon exited Early Access on January 19th, 2016. PS4 and Vita versions launched worldwide on September 27, 2016. The first DLC, "Crimson Court", is scheduled for early 2017.

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Features

Manage a team of heroes through the physical and mental stresses of adventuring. Try to stop paranoia, greed, anger, hopelessness, and more from crippling the party.
Affliction System: Make the most of character flaws and strategically construct your party to overcome hardship.
Innovative turn-based combat with a nostalgic feel
Striking hand-drawn 2d gothic art style
Extensive narration system to celebrate your successes...and failures
Original score by Stuart Chatwood, composer for eight "Prince of Persia" games and founding member of multi-platinum Canadian rock band "The Tea Party."
Meaningful consequences and permadeath deliver heightened tension and provide for truly heroic moments.
A Lovecraftian-inspired story of greed and redemption.

Videos

Official Release Trailer YouTube

Early Access Release Trailer YouTube

PlayStation Announce Teaser YouTube

Story and Gameplay Trailer: House of Ruin YouTube

Announce Trailer: Terror and Madness YouTube

Gameplay B-Roll - PAX Prime 2014 - THE WEALD YouTube

Gameplay B-Roll - PAX Prime 2014 - THE RUINS YouTube

Images

download all screenshots & photos as .zip (55MB)

Logo & Icon

download logo files as .zip (566KB)

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Awards & Recognition

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"Nominated for Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Visual Art and Seumas McNally Grand Prize" IGF, 2016
"Selected for the Indie MEGABOOTH" PAX Prime, 2014
"Selected for the Indie MEGABOOTH" PAX East, 2014
"Best RPG - PAX East 2014" MMORPG.com

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Selected Articles

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"Arguably, Darkest Dungeon is not yet officially out ... Nonetheless, the game already feels more rounded and complete than most."
- Simon Parkin, The New Yorker
"The game brings Lovecraftian lore to new heights with cool classes, powerful narration, stylish art, and addictive gameplay that will keep you crawling back to battle slithering monstrosities even as your favorite heroes become corpses. "
- Dan Tack, Game Informer
"Darkest Dungeon is a mean, capricious game. Success is a gambler’s thrill, addictive and illicit. It comes rarely."
- Jake Muncy, Wired
"[I] love it to bits. Darkest Dungeon is a triumph!"
- John Bain, TotalBiscuit
"It transfixes and binds you to this grand journey, dotted with failures and successes. And because you endured, because you thought your way through it, the final victory against the unimaginable evil you face at the bottom of the Darkest Dungeon is personally valuable."
- Daniel Starkey, Gamespot
"Darkest Dungeon is a grim and merciless tactical strategy game whose great tension comes from its many layers of complexity..."
- Dan Stapleton, IGN
"Darkest Dungeon is the realisation of its theme and cruel twist on dungeon-crawling. It’s a game that can be stubborn, incredibly frustrating, at times baffling, and often wonderful."
- Joe Donnelly, Rock Paper Shotgun
"...manages to be one of the most engaging and intriguing roguelikes I've ever played and I'll probably still be diving dungeons and trying new party compositions weeks from now."
- Nic Rowen, Destructoid

Monetization Permission

Red Hook Studios Inc. allows for the contents of Darkest Dungeon to be published through video broadcasting services for any commercial or non-commercial purposes. Monetization of videos created containing assets from Darkest Dungeon is legally & explicitly allowed by Red Hook Studios Inc.. This permission can be found in writing at http://archives.darkestdungeon.com/press/sheet.php?p=darkest_dungeon.

Additional Links

GDC Talk: A Torch in the Dark: Using Creative Direction to Light 'The Darkest Dungeon'
Chris Bourassa's talk from GDC 2016 on the creative direction used for Darkest Dungeon. gdcvault.com.

Official DevBlog
Feature reveals, media, and more at the official DevBlog darkestdungeon.com.

About Red Hook Studios Inc.

Boilerplate
Red Hook Studios is an independent game development studio founded in 2013 by veteran creators Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman. The company was established based upon a shared love of making unforgettable and original games that are beautiful to look at and mechanically solid to play. They leverage their many years of collective experience and complementary skills, while also engaging a network of talented specialists. Darkest Dungeon, a challenging gothic RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring, is the company's first project. About the Founders: Chris is best known as a top-tier creative director, art director and concept artist, with key involvement in the acclaimed animated TV series reboot "Max Steele", Eidos' "Monster Lab" franchise, and Disney's ill-fated (but beautiful) "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Doomed Armada." Tyler has designed or executive-produced over 15 published videogames and boardgames, including the award-winning games "HOARD", "Age of Empires: The Age of Kings DS", and "Crows." He was previously the studio manager for Z2 Games Vancouver, which acquired his previous studio, Big Sandwich Games, in 2012. Tyler has an MBA and a BSc. in Aeronautical Engineering.

More information
More information on Red Hook Studios Inc., our logo & relevant media are available here.