After the success of their premier title, Red Hook Studios went to work putting together a sequel, and after years of work, Darkest Dungeon II fully released to the public in May of 2023. Along with the stressful explorations, unforgiving combat encounters, and challenging boss fights, the sequel carried over the storytelling method of the first game as the story of Darkest Dungeon II is told to the player from a character named the Academic, who reveals not only how the various areas of the realm fell to their chaotic, ruinous states, but also how he and his Protégé had a hand in bringing about the Kingdom's downfall. Let's go through the story told by the Academic, gather it together, and present it here so we can see the story of Darkest Dungeon II in full.
Also, shout out to @MiskatonicMemorialist! He's put in a lot of work analyzing the lore the first game, and I'm sure he's going to have plenty of videos on the second. He's even got an interview with Chris Bourassa from Red Hook on the story of the second game (which helped in putting this video together). Go check him out if you want more content on Darkest Dungeon Lore!
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
02:03 - Story Start
12:25 - Downfall of the Kingdom
26:08 - Events of the Game
33:35 - Outro
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DD1: Your ancestor was a madman, go clean up his mess DD2: You are the madman, go clean up your mess
DD3: your child is a madman, go clean up their mess?
@@randomman11167DD4: You are the mess, go clean up your descendant
@@randomman11167that’s sounds like fun actually
DD4: You are the mess, go make the madmen
@@randomman11167 That sounds like the perfect idea!
Darkest Dungeon 2, the story of how two time traveling horses saved the world by bringing a group of mercenaries through countless time loops until they defeated the ultimate evil.
😂 Badly describe the plot of a video game.
@@matthewhenderson8874idk, seems accurate to me
SPOILER WARNING BRO! Gezzz!
😢
😮
One of the things I like about the final fight is that while the ghosts of heroes can only be damaged by the hero they came from, the other heroes can still debuff the ghost and heal/buff the hero affected by it. Your faults and regrets are something that you have to reconcile with, but that doesn't mean that you have to do it alone.
That's a beatiful way to put it
hard
"It was calling for people that were searching for redemption of their own." Leper: "Brother, i came here for praying to the Light and destroy evil... and i'm all done praying."
Casually vibe check a boss
@@raymondtomas2294 Casually does a 200 damage crit, just because he felt like it
@@tjrex9458 remember this man suffers from leprosy
Leper can fight and kill DD1 final boss solo
@@raymondtomas2294 Leper be like: "and?"
The fact this is the Ancestor's fault all over again doesn't even surprises me.
Local man ruins everything... AGAIN!
Local man somehow ruins everything AGAIN from beyond the grave
In time... you will know the tragic extent of his failings...
THE FAULT LIES WITH YOU, ANCESTOR!
Someone get the heirs ghost, we need him to beat up his uncle
I can't help but feel the dangers stemming from the Protege's use of the iron crown is a little nod to how, despite it usually being described as unimaginable mind breaking horrors, eldritch stuff is ultimately the product of the human mind.
Which fits, cause the Light is according to the devs, a "god made by their own beliefs". as well. If what the Heart of Darkness/Ancestor said is true, then the humans of DD have basically the equivalent of the Warhammer 40k Orks Psyker instinct, due to being the spawn of an Elder God.
@aureliodeprimus8018 local elder gods children are messing up the universe and it cant stop them cause one got so pissed off it restarted the timeline forever trapping it in a loop
Its the "life never gave us lemons we invented them all by ourselves" thing.
I think the theme of redemption fits a lot better with Darkest Dungeon as a concept. It felt like in DD1 the game was like “naw even though you did everything in your power you still suck and the world is still doomed” whereas DD2 taught you that failure was your greatest strength and the only end is when you give up. Personally, when I think of the narrators’ quotes from each game, the DD1 narrator is always cynical and cruel while the DD2 narrator is encouraging and welcoming if everything that makes you the player, yourself
Redemption and this type of thing isnt really a cosmic horror staple but i really enjoyed It
@@calamari4125Thing is that DD never was supposed to be a cosmic horror mainly thing, it was always meant to be about the hardships of being an adventurer, it all mostly focused on the mental part of the cosmic horror, rather than the horror itself
@@DronesOverTheMoon either way the setting is still cosmic horror
@@DronesOverTheMoonlol, the first game whole concept was inspired by Lovecraft literature and the second one main reference it's in the mountain of madness ( creo que así es el nombre en inglés no me funen)
@@-angel-6371twas also based on a tabletop game specifically about the perils of exploring deep dungeons (up to including managing light and character stress iirc)
22:12 Plagueater Baby: You merely adopted the crop.... I was born from it.... MOLDED by it....
DD1 ending: You just delayed the inevitable. DD2 ending: Keeping hope alive that man's hubris does not bring about a world-ending apocalypse...again. This game is just full of sunshine.
i mean, the name is DARKEST Dungeon, it's not exactly gonna have a bright, happy-go-lucky world
@@ginaran8921 the better name of the second game is Darkest Mountain
@@danilosenicic2441 true enough, but either way, the Darkest part is important because these games are NOT meant to be happy or light-hearted
Have you considered making mini videos for each hero en DD2? like the history of dismas (the highwayman) ? that would be cool
That's what the next project was going to be, but it was going to be one video that had all of the Heroes from both games (at least the ones that are out for DD2 as of now). It would cover their Hero Shrine information as well as the information from the Comics from the first game. But maybe, in a few days, I'll put out a poll asking the audience which they would prefer: one video with all of them or individual ones for each character. There's benefits and drawbacks to each, so I don't think there's a "right" answer, but I guess we'll see. Which would you prefer? One video with all of them or individual ones for each?
@@SquatchGamingChannel I would say go with what's easier/more fun for you. I'll watch them all anyways :)
@@SquatchGamingChanneldepends on how much info there is for each hero, but I personally prefer a single long video
I feel you there. Some characters, like Musketeer, have like NOTHING, so the video would probably be less than a minute long. Doesn’t really feel “worth it,” y’know?
@@SquatchGamingChannel So it'll make a perfect youtube short for others to watch and catch your channel if we're blessed by the algorithm gods.
The redemption is the best feeling this game can give. It gave me the weakest feeling actually. Everything else was heavily terrifying
Darkest dungeon: Your ancestor unleashes hell onto a hamlet due to their hubris Darkest dungeon 2: A colleague accidentally unleashes the apocalypse Darkest dungeon 3: Your cat knocks over your Yog-sothoth figurine and it gets mad
I like how DD2 takes direct influence from HP Lovecraft's reanimator in regards to the university professor and his partner
Very interesting how different the nature of the two games are. In DD1, it plays with cosmic horror straight forward. No attempts at making you feel good or anything like that. Killing the heart did not kill the eldritch entity that was the Earth itself, you just bought humanity some time before it woke up again. In DD2, it looked like it'll be as straight forward as the first game but the more you continued the more it showed the optimistic message it wanted to tell. Wondered what reason the devs had to switch things up narrative wise.
Being constantly pessimistic can exhaust both the players and the developpers. So I am glad they took this road.
They read Albert Camus...
@@RhyanGeorgeMichael lmao probably that
Apparently the first game is the personal curse of the heir which is looping in that región like a personal hell or purgatory which is why second game is a different character but same world.
@@RhyanGeorgeMichaelCamus was an absurdist, not an optimist. Camus' philosophy is that you should do whatever you want because life is meaningless and doing what you want is what generates meaning. People often misunderstand the "We must imagine Sisyphus happy" as a quotation about a stoic appreciation of the suffering in life, but rather it was a comment that Sisyphus must be happy because he knows exactly what his eternity will entail, thus enabling him to derive some meaning from it.
not sure if it's been confirmed but The Body of Work's guts have 4 heads which could represent the other 4 sacrifices to make the Iron Crown ritual
I believe that is because it was supposed to have 5 but the academic survived
This made so much sense. I thought the developer design the monsters because it just look cool. Seems like there's a reason and story behind it.
I can't believe how much I missed after first trying act 1 and 2, but as if to make up for that, being stuck on act 3 for hours and hours cemented that part of the story pretty well
Act 3 was by far the hardest act 4 and 5 were easy in comparison.
hahaha i feel you, act three is the easy part of the lore because its also the fucking hardest boss ever
man, this game is just pure Indomitable Human Spirit and i love it
The eldritch abominations when the indomitable Human Spirit walks in: 🤨
The story of this game is beautiful and inspiring, and it was told amazingly in this video too. Thanks for your work!
Fantastic video but btw, Cultists from DD2 are not fascinated people who turned to eldritch practices but rather entities from the void which descended from the abyss onto the earth, this is even confirmed in an interview of Chriss Bourassa with his host "Miskatonic Memorialist"
in DD1 there were cultists who were human. as they got closer to their gods they became monstrous, so i thought this was the case with DD2 cultists
Thanks for making this story summary, Squatch! If Blasphemous II gets released, are you going to make a story summary of that?
Thanks for watching! Hope you enjoyed! Definitely! I've already got the release date circled on my calendar. Might take me a few weeks to make the video, but you can count on it being made!
Wonderful storytelling, if I may humbly add, at the end the Academic says “forgive yourself” which ties the story of the Protege, the heroes and the players all together. Which, for me, left me with ideas that the Darkest Dungeon is within our mind
Man, that was refreshingly uplifting after the first game.
As a lore guy, your video helped me to better understand what is happening in the game. Thank you! Already clocked 144 hours for DD2. Nice game!
dd1: ancestor is a madman, clean his mess dd2: protege is a madman, clean up his mess
9:00 GODDAMNIT GRANDPA, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO CLEAN UP YOUR MESS?!
I love the young people! (SpongeBob reference for those unaware - not a pervert)
My god, i missed you mate!❤🤩 wish you'd have like weekly uploads!💯 another excellent commentary on whats become my favourite gaming lore!😂
Believe me: I'd like that too, but I just don't have the time! Maybe someday I'll get there, but that seem a long way off! Thanks for watching! Happy to hear you enjoy!
This was awesome! Really did a great job summarising and linking all of the parts of the world and story together and in a really entertaining way. Thank you :)
AMAZING, i've been waiting for this video from you. Thanks for the quality content!!
Damn this game has a lot of metafores Half the stuff we can say is literaly told to us at a confession start
Thank you Squatch, I'm having a blast right now with DD1, and having you narrating DD2 makes me happy for people seeing more of this games. Slowly but surely getting the recognition they deserve fills me with determination and overconfidence.
in lore = they "helped" the desprerate few ingame : yeah gimme your lunch and torchlight , k ımma go
I would love for you to go in depth into the lore of each mercenary, a compilation of sorts of each of their journeys, I know you could do that task justice!
but something I like specifically is the game gives you hints throughout the entire game you not just fighting Darkness because you know? before you even start the embark you have to choose a confession like "denial" and then you fight a physical manifestation of the world's mind which honestly is not too crazy if it was the case but then it turns out it's your mind you are freeing and when that clicks that's amazing another thing is why does these candles hold power? and one of the reasons I think is because the Prodigy still have the iron crown even though they're not fully able to use it but they subconsciously resurrected or something like that? the academic and I think it's also the reason why all these candles of ""hope"" exist the more you confess your wrongs and confront them the more powerful you become the more you able to use the Crown for good instead of evil or Madness. I'm sure that the reason a lot of stuff in the game happens is purely because of the iron crown, like? I could honestly see it being the case multiple of the characters do die but get resurrected or brought back thanks to the power of the iron crown
SquatchGaming, i met you thanks to your Lisa videos. It will be amazing if you do some videos explaining the new lore bits from the definitive edition, so that we can have all that info narrated the best possible way. Your videos about Lisa are one of my favorites in the plataform, thank you for doing them with so much effort 👍
Yes pl3ase!
Thanks for making this Squatch, DD2 has been f*cking infuriating to slog through, you've saved me a lot of time and aggravation. At least now I can take a break until Redhook properly balances the lair fights...
Agreed. And I've a feeling we're quite alot sharing that feeling, sir.
Fights take too damn long. I don't really like this token bs system especially the dodge tokens. Enemies can basically spam every token they want whenever they want, like ghoul that gets a block token every single turn while you are stuck there having to combo constantly to daze enemies while they can just stun you with not setup. Act 3 boss is absolutely overpowered, Act 4 is pure damage race and Act 5 takes 40 mins. Heroes have huge power gaps. Having jester or man at arms is basically guaranteed but runaway and occultist are nearly unusable, leper too if you aren't using jester.
They can be pretty hard, but just wait til the last region before the mountain to fight them. You don't really gain anything by fighting them early on besides the trophies and trinkets they drop, but therese a high chance your heroes are gonna be too weak. The lair bosses are fights of attrition, but there are also certain aspects that will put a timer and force you to deal with them efficiently. I've probably lost all but one lair fights when trying to take on a boss before the final region before the Mountain. Everytime I've waited til the last region, when my roster is at its strongest point, I've never lost a boss battle. I think they're well balanced.
@@Idkcandy i agree tho i would recommend not to choose the child boss as the one youll go for as the -50% Deaths door resist can ruin your chances for the final bosses. But overall the lair flights are quite easy if you go for any boss other than the sleeping general as he can be punishing if you dont already know how to beat him.
@@noth1ingoriginal535 IMO the grave robber is by far the most OP hero, as pick to the face is simply too strong, Man at arms is also OP he has far too many things and gains too much tempo with retribution. Vestal is what i used throughout the entire game, plague doctor is a noob trap and imo is a useless hero and just simply doesnt provide enough.
Heres my wild hot take about the Heros. I dont rhink theyre real. I think that the Protege, in their shame and cowardice, imagined them. And because they are the god of fhe crown, their imaginations became real. They congured these twisted, sordid people to save the world from themselves. And when its over, and they defeat themselves, killing the dark god and remaking thr world as it should be, those imagined heros are left. Left to protect, lead, heal, and love. A finall gift from the short lived god
that could actually be the case?? I don't know how literal we should take it "he brought everything back with hope" to me that tells me anyone who died was brought back to life / restored so if that is the case I don't think it's out the question he also could create life with the iron crown? like we can see how powerful the Crown is throughout the game so if it's used with hope, good, and love what could the Crown create?
@@ms.blackfire2927The bitter irony of it all is that the Iron Crown has potential to be the ultimate good if used by sane and good mind. Yet to even know and use it you have to be quite the opposite.
If they weren't real dismas wouldn't be here
@@anthonygurskas4850The crown seems to be the biggest trap ever, you have to do gruesome shit to activate it wich will break your mind thus unleashing hell and if it doesn't break your mind that means you were already batshit insane so you still unleash hell, its a no win situation.
Devs said events occuring in the main map is real while the darkest dungeon (the final boss of each region) is the mind portion. But the time loop is definately weird so if it's the crown power allowing a cycle to start like the first game then it might explain your logic
Always love to see another upload, hope you’re having a good day Mr. Squatch
the academic studies' contents were produced near the tail end of the protege's studies, not at the start (near act 4 narration)
I'm not very good with my words, but I just want to say thank you for not only making this wonderful summary/lore video of a difficult game(at least to me lol) but also transcribing/putting captions. Please keep up the wonderful work!
Thank *you* for watching! Happy to hear you enjoyed and that the captions were helpful! And don't worry: I think the game is pretty hard too. Lol.
You explained the game and the story quite fascinating. Good video
This was so well put together and narrated! Loved it!
Darkest Dungeon 28:10 "Redemption they so sought" The Leper: I ain't seeking redemption, I'm just here to help you achieve yours
I started watching because of Hotline Miami 1 & 2, and Dead Cells lore videos and now have to say this channel is one of my favorites regarding lore telling
Awesome to hear, man! Thanks so much for watching everything you have! Really appreciate the time spent.
I love your explanation on the themes of the game as a whole, and what the academic says to us at the end - We all have a Darkest Dungeon inside of us. Personally for me, I’ve been battling depression and self loathing for a few years now and it’s been a big struggle for me, but I like to think that hope is there with me in my life and I can break through my demons and faults if I fight hard, and still am. We all have our Darkest Dungeon and as silly as it is we all have the strength to overcome it. Keep fighting, redemption is there for everyone.
Great job dude, keep up the good work
Man, it's a been long day. Time for some sleep Squash gaming official: * uploads a new video * *I don't need sleep, i need answers*
Love it, really great stuff man
I like to imagine that my version of the Protege is a well meaning but easily obsessive man. At first his curiousity and questions were simple and innocent believing his research would help the world. But as with the story he grew obsessed and his once good intentions were corrupted warped by anger and frustration. This lead to him murdering his mentor in the name of his fanatical research. When he dawned the crown his doubts spawned the initial corruption that broke the equation before his thoughts took over the equation entirely. Gripped by guilt and fear my version of the Protege fled. Beginning my playthrough where he was still plenty fearful of the world around him but that small spark of hope assuaged his fear and pushed him forward.
Man I love this lore videos, TKS!
This video is extremely well made but the thing that caught my eye the most was the fact you used the same party layout that I used for the seething sigh (pd, occultist, highway man, hellion)
Great video. I would love to watxh a video covering the backstory of the characters in dd2
Nice! Loved the vid
the animations are smooth as silk!
huzzah the legend, really appeciate your lovely storytelling.
Occultist's name set to Alhazred. Damn good stuff.
Thank you so much for this naration
Of course that even in Darkest Dungeon 2, the ancestor ruins everything.
God I love the story of this game, it is so hopeful
I would love to see a video on the lore of CDDA (cataclysm dark days ahead)
Love these videos man
Will you do a video on the new content in lisa definitive edition after this banger video?
Great video, i lerned a lot >w
DD2: A story about overcoming your mistakes, and realizing that hope is the only way for progress of yourself and others to continue, even when things are bleak you can always have hope. DD1: "Yo neph check out this cool door i found, i left it open though can you close it? thanks," - Ancestor
Now I'm wondering what would happen if the Iron Crown was instead wielded by a clear, benevolent mind.
Excellent work my dude
Thanks for watching, man! Happy to hear you enjoyed!
Appreciate the video dude.
I just have to say, thanks to your delightful narration, its honestly made me want to pick up the game, it seems like they did alright by the original.
A game I would recommend doing a lore video is a classic known as The Last Stand. Or on Rimworld. especially on the DLCs since each DLC adds some lore for Rimworld, like Biotech and the Xeno behaviors being the same.
The Last Stand as in the flash games? Man, I played those a ton back when I was a kid. Lol. Managed to beat both of me. That Hunting Rifle was so good in the first one. Never played Rimworld though. Think it’s been suggested a few times, so maybe I’ll look into it… Thanks for the recommendations, man! I appreciate it! And thanks for watching!
I am more of a gameplay guy, so I don't really bother thinking about the story much. Like, as long as I get the general gist of things, I feel satisfied... But listening to this summary made me appreciate the game's story and narrative. Great summary - easy to follow, and nicely structured.
Banger video as always
Squatch you should cover the changes made by Lisa’s definitive addition
I would absolutely love if you could, perhaps, make a video talking about the lore of Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
It’s been requested a few times, and I would love to make one, but I just haven’t had the time. Hopefully some day I’ll be able to get to it! Thanks for the request! Even though it may not feel like it, I take them all very seriously, so I really appreciate you reaching out! Also, thanks for watching!
@@SquatchGamingChannel lesgooooo I loved Ender Lilies, you definitely should when you have the time! You're doing good lad
man i just love how perfect they have captured the eldritch horror both is story and in visuals so damn perfect.
Its time to talk about more of lisa the painful/joyful
From the perfect aesthetics and setting to the unreal soundtrack and the epic voice of the narrator (I narrate for a hobby and this guy is one of my favorites ever), these games are literally a masterpiece and I am grateful that I have lived to play them. I honestly believe that Darkest Dungeon really needs an animated adaptation, this being a rarity, because I don't support garbage like video games adaptations.
This is awesome
When i saw that the antecesor got them to come i got scared, that guy killed his research partners and then made them the necromancer after all
LETS GO!!!!
The Iron Crown is just missing 3 points of the Eight Pointed Star.
This has to be happening with the ancestor at more the beginning of his journey.
After months of waiting i can finaly understand it
I can’t wait until you do darkest dungeon, black Reliquary lore
I had goosebumps throughout the entire video
Blinding blade DLC might warrant a story expansion
Not sure if you’ve seen since you left your comment, but the Binding Blade DLC has its own video which you can find here: kzhead.info/sun/e6mhqsNufn2Cg3A/bejne.htmlsi=P2m7PRKMKhh0ONIF Thanks for watching!
perhaps make a video on the individual mercanary stories?
That was the plan! Just not sure if it’s going to be multiple videos or just one. I prefer to do just one, but can see the benefit for doing multiple videos. Do you have a preference? Thanks for watching!
@@SquatchGamingChannel Depending on how long each story takes, you might want to split it into 2-3 videos
19:42 hungry hungry caterpillar part 2
A other good vidoe dude keep you rock
Awasome video, this game reminds me of fear and hunger cover that game when you get the chance
I didn't have any firm plans to cover the game, but they've been requested a ton, so I guess I better try and carve out some time to cover it eventually. Don't hold your breath on a quick turnaround! I would guess the soonest a video on the game(s) would come out is sometime next year (got a few other games lined up for videos right now). In the meantime, if you haven't already, go check out the videos @mutantwormgirl has made on the games. They seem like they're pretty good and it seems like a lot of people like them, so I bet that would scratch the itch you have with the story of the games! Thanks for the recommendation and thanks for watching!
Nice Bane reference ;)
that was great!
I would love to see a video on fear and hunger 1 or 2
I didn't have any firm plans to cover the game, but they've been requested a ton, so I guess I better try and carve out some time to cover it eventually. Don't hold your breath on a quick turnaround! I would guess the soonest a video on the game(s) would come out is sometime next year (got a few other games lined up for videos right now). In the meantime, if you haven't already, go check out the videos @mutantwormgirl has made on the games. They seem like they're pretty good and it seems like a lot of people like them, so I bet that would scratch the itch you have with the story of the games! Thanks for the request and thanks for watching!
@@SquatchGamingChannel thanks for responding! I love this channel and the videos you cover! Also take as much time as you want, finally I’ll definitely check out the videos
So the protagonist is basically Suzumiya Haruhi
23:27 the guy 🐟 on the left is totally okay with this
I could of sworn the full game was appose to be a 5 act thing where breaking past the Brain is just Act 1?
Also the heroes represent the 7 deadly sins Jester-wrath Man at arms-pride High way man-greed Grave robber-envy Foetor-gluttony(i know) Lust-idk the "artist" online Sloth-MC (he didn't have will power)
flagellant is lust
Runaway could be gluttony. She longed for the pain of flames and was obsessed with feeding flames. Vestal may be sloth since she failed her only job to daydream and peep on others.
Please explain to how you didn't have Vestal as lust and Leper as Wrath?
@@Crazieyboy15 leper ya know when he was killing the advisors I would imagine himm being quiet pissed to learn tha he would become a pupet.also he was gravely ill coulnt even walk but after he got up and proceeded to kill every conspirator Vestal i forgot a bit
@@cryptbeast3222 true
Please do a video on vambrace
If the iron crown is this really powerful thing that can alter reality why is it also the symbol of sanity?
Sanity tends to make impactful things happend
Iron crown looks a bit similar to Terminus from Calamity
I am hyped