Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness is a downloadable add-on to the popular fantasy role-playing game, Darkest Dungeon. The focus of the game is near-constant combat, complete with blood and gore, and players are rewarded during gauntlet-style fights for the number of kills they rack up. Heroes and monsters are shown being stabbed, shot, dismembered, and burned with fire and acid. In addition to physical trauma, heroes suffer mental trauma and are shown having mental break-downs and dying from stress-related heart attacks. Heroes are shown visiting taverns and brothels and using alcohol and drugs. Some female monsters wear revealing outfits, and dialog contains the occasional instance of “damned” or “hell.”
Community Reviews
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
DARKEST DUNGEON: THE COLOR OF MADNESS is an alien-themed add-on pack to Darkest Dungeon that revolves around driving an alien entity from a mill on the outskirts of the player's ancestral village. Players take on a new faction and three new bosses, fighting wave after wave of enemies and earning Comet Shards. This new form of currency can be used to buy powerful new battle trinkets and new blueprints to expand their village's districts. New musical themes set the mood at a new location known as The Farmstead, while useful new curios help players wage war against comet-spawned monsters across time and space.
Is It Any Good?
The talented team at Red Hook Studios does it again by having a Lovecraftian entity invade its first-rate dungeon-crawler. Building upon stellar role-playing game mechanics, Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness challenges you to fight in another dimension, beyond the dusky forests and shadowy crypts. Removing the exploration aspect of the original, The Color of Madness focuses exclusively on combat. The action's nonstop as you fight through multiple waves of eerie enemies, earning brief rest breaks only by filling kill meters. Three gauntlet levels (novice, veteran, and endless) provide plenty of opportunity for earning Comet Shards which can be traded for a wide range of cool battle trinkets. Gather enough Shards, and you can also buy blueprints to build four new structures that offer your heroes various health benefits.
Alien combat has other advantages as well: for instance, surviving a fight with The Thing From the Stars grants heroes useful power-ups (called “Quirks) they can't get any other way. New lighting effects and music are a welcome departure from the look and sound of the original game, and having access to new high-level heroes almost right off the bat is a definite thrill. While its bloody imagery and themes of madness and moral dissolution are definitely not for younger kids, it's well worth the five dollar asking price for older gamers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness reduced because you're fighting against alien creatures and monsters? Does the impact seem more intense because of the focus on combat?
How does Darkest Dungeon represents mental health, stress, and mental illness? Is it accurate?
Game Details
- Platforms: Mac, Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Red Hook Studios
- Release date: June 19, 2018
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Topics: Adventures, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- ESRB rating: T for Violence, Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Partial Nudity, Alcohol Reference, Mild Language
- Last updated: July 24, 2018
Our Editors Recommend
For kids who love dungeon crawling
Themes & Topics
Browse titles with similar subject matter.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate