Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge Review — Back and Brighter

If you read my review of Darkest Dungeon II, you’ll know that I absolutely adored the sequel to the iconic, grimdark Lovecraftian horror-fantasy original. While I feel like the second game was, in many ways, an improvement upon the first, I understand that for some, the sequel just didn’t capture the same joy as the first, be it because of the gameplay changes, the art style shifts, or whatever other small shifts in direction the franchise went through between the first and second title. Even if you did love Darkest Dungeon II, you might have felt the calling to go back and give the first game another playthrough, perhaps to finally conquer the Crimson Court or just to experience the darkest nostalgia all over again.

Whatever your reason may be, Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge has created the perfect excuse to go back and give the original game another playthrough.

Coming a full ten years after the game’s release, Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge is a supplementary DLC that expands upon the base game with new content. Two new hero classes join the roster alongside a new Burn mechanic, three new Hamlet districts, and new trinket mechanics, giving you new content to enjoy as you get back into the game.

To be perfectly clear, Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge is not a full-fledged DLC for the game in the same vein as the Crimson Court. It doesn’t add any new zones, stories, or large-scale content to take on. The main campaign will be practically unchanged as you climb the same arduous path toward the Darkest Dungeon as you did before.

The DLC is also, in the strictest sense, not content that is new to the franchise itself. The two new classes added to the game, the Duelist and the Runaway, are prominently featured in Darkest Dungeon II as playable heroes. Everything that comes with them is simply a translation of their mechanics and presence in Darkest Dungeon II, adapted to fit the original game. This makes Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge more of a gap-bridging DLC release, connecting the two games and bringing us closer to a complete roster of heroes playable in both. Maybe soon we’ll see the Shieldbreaker come to Darkest Dungeon II?

The closest thing to a new mechanic coming to the game with the DLC is the Runaway’s Burn mechanic. This adds a damage-per-turn effect placed by the Runaway’s abilities, which does half as much damage each turn until it finally burns out. Interestingly, this effect doesn’t apply to a single enemy; instead, it applies to the position the enemy is standing in. This adds unique positional strategies to the game, which can lead to new and exciting party dynamics.

The Duelist also makes for a welcome combination of tank and damage dealer with her Riposte mechanic, striking back at any enemy who hits her. I found that adding both heroes to my party made for welcome changes to the party dynamics without feeling necessarily broken or too much stronger than the other available heroes. Still, I certainly can’t go back to a Darkest Dungeon without them now that I’ve gotten a taste of their power.

Overall, both of the new classes and the accompanying trinkets and mechanics feel right at home in Darkest Dungeon. As you might imagine, Red Hook did a wonderful job of translating their Darkest Dungeon II designs into the art style of the original game, making them feel right at home alongside the rest of the cast. As far as DLCs go, Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge feels like an unintrusive addition to the base game, but one that I simply do not want to play without now that I’ve got a taste for it.

For as much as I enjoy Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge, the one area I have mixed feelings about is the DLC’s price.

At the time of writing, I don’t know what the price for Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge is intended to be. While Red Hook has a good history of pricing its DLC content, I can’t say for certain that I agree the DLC should be worth the typical cost of a new hero. While $4-$5 isn’t a terrible asking price for what the DLC offers, I concluded it should be free. While the new content is welcome, it doesn’t feel like something that I would necessarily spend a lot of money on, and it feels more like the type of DLC that should be complimentary for a game that is now over ten years old.

That being said, I wouldn’t say that it would be highway robbery to charge the typical price that Darkest Dungeon asks for its character addition DLCs. While I personally believe the DLC should be free (after all, it is about on par with many free community-made mods, many of which are far more thematically exciting), I fully expect it to cost around three to five USD after taxes. That price is still fair, if not ideal, and I recommend you pick it up if you’re interested.

Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge isn’t a full-fledged, campaign-sized DLC like The Crimson Court or The Color of Madness. It won’t drastically change your Darkest Dungeon experience. It is, however, a fine complement to the game, further expanding the roster and giving you a great excuse to give the game another try. While I think the DLC should be free, I wouldn’t call it a rip-off to pick it up for the same price as the Shieldbreaker expansion, and you won’t want to go back to Darkest Dungeon without The Fire’s Edge once you’ve given it a try.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a Steam code for this PC review of Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge is available as DLC for Darkest Dungeon on Steam, Epic Games, GoG, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.