Darkest Dungeon®: The Color Of Madness

All That Glitters Is… Mad

HIGH New game balancing brings new strategies.

Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness is the latest DLC addition to Red Hook's wildly successful roguelike RPG. This add-on brings a new area for players to explore, new items to use, new districts to build, and a new mission type — Endless. Instead of delving into caves or forgotten ruins, Madness focuses on a comet that's crashed into a nearby farmstead. Buy Darkest Dungeon: The Color Of Madness cheaper on Instant Gaming, the place to buy your games at the best price with immediate delivery!

LOW The new trinkets aren't always worth their price.

WTF Why is this big rock so hard to find on this farm?

Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness is the latest DLC addition to Red Hook's wildly successful roguelike RPG. This add-on brings a new area for players to explore, new items to use, new districts to build, and a new mission type — Endless.

Instead of delving into caves or forgotten ruins, Madness focuses on a comet that's crashed into a nearby farmstead. Strange glowing shards have started appearing, and the locals have become husks — essentially, slaves to the shards. The player is tasked with exploring the farmstead to find the source of the shards and returning the farm to its normal state.

After the first couple of missions, the farmstead reveals the endless quest called 'The Harvest'. Players gear up to go in and survive for as long as possible, collecting comet shards (used as a new type of currency) as they struggle on. This takes Darkest Dungeon's themes of endurance against terrifying creatures and cranks the difficulty — instead of making it to the end, it's about how quickly players can cull the endless horde of enemies, and for how long.

As players progress, new heroes start coming to the farmstead. These 'Shard Mercenaries' are the best trained and have the best equipment, but will only participate in The Harvest. Players can use them in the fight, but these heroes take a part of any comet shards that are earned.

Another interesting twist to the Harvest missions is that adventurers don't die. When a character is defeated, they will be 'lost to space and time' for the span of one or two quests,but will eventually be spat back out in the main hub. This is a great move that means players can beef up their team members without fear of losing them permanently (a very real danger in the main campaign) and keep all of the comet shards earned along the way.

Red Hook has also added a new resource called Shard Dust. This substance gives a temporary boost to speed and damage for one fight, but also comes with extra stress and a hefty debuff to becoming virtuous for the rest of the quest. However, adventurers don't have to use the dust, so it becomes a key option (in a game already filled with them) about balancing the pros and cons of its use.

The new trinkets in Madness can be powerful, but also too expensive and too specific to be worth the trouble. The main problem is that the cheapest trinkets cost 25 shards, and they aren't the easiest things in the world to get — and the best ones? Around 200 shards. They all come with a downside so they fit right in with the rest of the game, but overall I was underwhelmed.

Taking a wider view of the content, the game as a whole has gone through some major balance changes that are also thematically appropriate. For instance, whenever a player scores a critical hit they do more damage as normal, but now they also earn a small buff unique to each character class. Characters who become Virtuous (kind of a super-powered status) can lose the bonus if they accrue too much stress.

The Color of Madness is another welcome addition to Red Hook's tough-as-nails Lovecraftian horror RPG, and in contrast to the way the previous DLC,The CrimsonCourt, was implemented, this new content is mostly self-contained and doesn't bleed out into the main campaign — a plus for newcomers who aren't ready for it. While the add-ons in other titles can often feel superfluous or like a grab for cash, TheColor of Madness delivers a strongly-realized idea that improves the core content while also adding to it. Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Red Hook Studios. This DLC is currently available on PC, but the game itself is available on PC, PS4, XBO, Vita and Switch. This DLC was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 10 hours were spent in the new DLC, and the content was not completed in the sense that there were certain bosses that I did not see while in The Harvest. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Violence, Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Partial Nudity, Alcohol References, and Mild Language. Similar to content in the core game, there is one female character that is topless for 1-2 seconds at a time. There are slight flashes of blood with most attacks, and the game is fairly violent. Be warned that it's not a kid friendly game.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game is fully accessible. Captions can be placed at the top or bottom of the screen. The text size can not be modified.

Remappable Controls:The game offers remappable controls, and can be played with keyboard and mouse or controller.

Eugene Sax

Latest posts by Eugene Sax (see all)

All That Glitters Is… Mad

HIGH New game balancing brings new strategies.

Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness is the latest DLC addition to Red Hook's wildly successful roguelike RPG. This add-on brings a new area for players to explore, new items to use, new districts to build, and a new mission type — Endless. Instead of delving into caves or forgotten ruins, Madness focuses on a comet that's crashed into a nearby farmstead. Buy Darkest Dungeon: The Color Of Madness cheaper on Instant Gaming, the place to buy your games at the best price with immediate delivery!

LOW The new trinkets aren't always worth their price.

WTF Why is this big rock so hard to find on this farm?

Darkest Dungeon: The Color of Madness is the latest DLC addition to Red Hook's wildly successful roguelike RPG. This add-on brings a new area for players to explore, new items to use, new districts to build, and a new mission type — Endless.

Instead of delving into caves or forgotten ruins, Madness focuses on a comet that's crashed into a nearby farmstead. Strange glowing shards have started appearing, and the locals have become husks — essentially, slaves to the shards. The player is tasked with exploring the farmstead to find the source of the shards and returning the farm to its normal state.

After the first couple of missions, the farmstead reveals the endless quest called 'The Harvest'. Players gear up to go in and survive for as long as possible, collecting comet shards (used as a new type of currency) as they struggle on. This takes Darkest Dungeon's themes of endurance against terrifying creatures and cranks the difficulty — instead of making it to the end, it's about how quickly players can cull the endless horde of enemies, and for how long.

As players progress, new heroes start coming to the farmstead. These 'Shard Mercenaries' are the best trained and have the best equipment, but will only participate in The Harvest. Players can use them in the fight, but these heroes take a part of any comet shards that are earned.

Another interesting twist to the Harvest missions is that adventurers don't die. When a character is defeated, they will be 'lost to space and time' for the span of one or two quests,but will eventually be spat back out in the main hub. This is a great move that means players can beef up their team members without fear of losing them permanently (a very real danger in the main campaign) and keep all of the comet shards earned along the way.

Red Hook has also added a new resource called Shard Dust. This substance gives a temporary boost to speed and damage for one fight, but also comes with extra stress and a hefty debuff to becoming virtuous for the rest of the quest. However, adventurers don't have to use the dust, so it becomes a key option (in a game already filled with them) about balancing the pros and cons of its use.

The new trinkets in Madness can be powerful, but also too expensive and too specific to be worth the trouble. The main problem is that the cheapest trinkets cost 25 shards, and they aren't the easiest things in the world to get — and the best ones? Around 200 shards. They all come with a downside so they fit right in with the rest of the game, but overall I was underwhelmed.

Taking a wider view of the content, the game as a whole has gone through some major balance changes that are also thematically appropriate. For instance, whenever a player scores a critical hit they do more damage as normal, but now they also earn a small buff unique to each character class. Characters who become Virtuous (kind of a super-powered status) can lose the bonus if they accrue too much stress.

The Color of Madness is another welcome addition to Red Hook's tough-as-nails Lovecraftian horror RPG, and in contrast to the way the previous DLC,The CrimsonCourt, was implemented, this new content is mostly self-contained and doesn't bleed out into the main campaign — a plus for newcomers who aren't ready for it. While the add-ons in other titles can often feel superfluous or like a grab for cash, TheColor of Madness delivers a strongly-realized idea that improves the core content while also adding to it. Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Red Hook Studios. This DLC is currently available on PC, but the game itself is available on PC, PS4, XBO, Vita and Switch. This DLC was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 10 hours were spent in the new DLC, and the content was not completed in the sense that there were certain bosses that I did not see while in The Harvest. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Violence, Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Partial Nudity, Alcohol References, and Mild Language. Similar to content in the core game, there is one female character that is topless for 1-2 seconds at a time. There are slight flashes of blood with most attacks, and the game is fairly violent. Be warned that it's not a kid friendly game.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game is fully accessible. Captions can be placed at the top or bottom of the screen. The text size can not be modified.

Remappable Controls:The game offers remappable controls, and can be played with keyboard and mouse or controller.

Eugene Sax

Latest posts by Eugene Sax (see all)

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The Color of Madness is the third DLC for Darkest Dungeon. It was released for PC on June 19 2018, and was released for Consoles on October 11 2018.

Some hateful shard of alien origin has streaked through the night sky, crashing into the old Miller's farm on the outskirts of the Hamlet! Those unfortunate enough to witness the Comet's arrival have been blinded by what they can only describe as a shifting, ephemeral hue of damnably abrasive intensity. There has been no word from the farm in a fortnight, save for the unearthly groaning that echoes from the ruin of the mill…

Features[edit | edit source]

The list of features that were announced include:

• Wave-Based Survival in a New Environment: The Farmstead. A new survival mode will be added which includes endless waves of creatures 'in an effort to reach the comet's crash site.' Some waves will include other creatures from the base game(rarely the Darkest Dungeon). You will also be able to track your highest kill count and compare them with friends.
• Three new repeatable quests: a novice introduction, a veteran boss-kill, and an endless darkest-level wave-based combat experience.
• Resupply. In between waves, heroes will have a chance to use new and exotic curios to restore their vigor.
• An All-New Enemy Faction. The influence of the corrupting comet has turned the miller and his farmhands into slavering monstrosities. Now they are merely lifeless shells intent only on spreading the comet's influence...
• 3 New Bosses. The Miller has become an overlord of the crystalline corpses that infest the countryside, and must be put down. The Comet's virulent energy still pulses throughout the region, and it must be dealt with. But be wary, as a terrifying new creature, the Thing From the Stars, stalks the farm lands...
• Twisted New Trinkets. The Nomad Wagon will have a new section available known as the Jeweler. Your gold is no good here; only Comet Shards may purchase the twisted new treasure that await.
• New Districts With the new resources found within the farmstead, the Hamlet is able to build new districts to help the heroes ward off this new crystalline menace.
• New Quirks
• New Tunes. The Color of Madness will have new music, which according to RedHook is 'the longest, most involved combat score to date!'

RedHook had stated that more features will be present.

Battle strategies[edit | edit source]

See Farmstead.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Promotional art for The Color of Madness

Darkest Dungeon Comet Shards

• Promotional art for The Color of Madness included with the August 15, 2018 patch notes

• Second promotional art for The Color of Madness.
  'When men shake hands with time, time crushes them like tumblers; little pieces of glass.'
  ― Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri

• The release date teaser image

References[edit | edit source]

Update information from Darkest Dungeon main site.[[1]][[2]]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

• The Color of Madness is likely based on 'The Colour out of Space' by H. P. Lovecraft, a short story about a meteorite which crashes on a farm and causes strange things to happen.

Darkest Dungeon The Color Of Madness Review