The lack of visible eyes plays on the theme of intent–the player cannot completely trust these heroes. In fact, the only eyes that are ever visible in the game are those of many of the horrific monsters encountered by the adventurers. The lines on their faces are highly accentuated, but their eyes are always hidden–either by mask or by shadow. The characters are made to look gritty and weathered. The style that Bourassa uses in Darkest Dungeon is similar to that of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy series. Every action, reaction, ranging form entering combat to hitting enemies or aiding allies plays out like a series of panels in a comic book. Red Hook Studios wanted the player to see more of the action and get a feel for the characters. The 2-D aspect of the game helps this–we’re not looking at these characters as pieces on a chess board, but like characters on a moving slide reel. The horrors that the characters encounter on their delve into the depths of the titular dungeon would not be as striking unless we were allow to see it up close and personal.

Fortunately, they opted for a more personal vantage point. When Darkest Dungeon was in it earliest development, it was going to be tile-based where the player would be looking at the the characters’ heads from the top down.

Darkest dungeon highwayman afflicted