They just come on one trip, die, and come back to life for the next run with the same name. I just didn’t connect with any of these heroes, because they didn’t come with me on multiple runs, taking time off to drink between dungeons, and gradually becoming stronger. Technically they have unique quirks each run, but I wasn’t always clear on what effect they had, and I couldn’t assign heroes with certain fears to keep them away from those monsters because there’s no assigning heroes anymore. The character management from the first game is gone. The UI for inventory and maps overlays on the carriage, and it’s way too cramped and irritating. You’ll need to decide which routes are best given your often imperfect knowledge of what lies on each route, but the actual carriage driving is a snooze.

You can crash into debris to occasionally get an item, but for the most part, it’s a more sluggish version of a typical roguelike map. You move from battle to battle via a steerable carriage, but it barely matters.

Darkest dungeon 2