tl;dr if you liked the first one you will probably like this one. Or, if you are like me that only liked the atmosphere of the first one and didn't like the game loop then you might like 2 better.
~2 hours of poor gamplay but you get to see how it works: https://odysee.com/@acp:a/first-play-darkest-dungeon-2:8
They took the bones of DD1, removed the "xcom" style team roster and the IMO tedious town management, and wrapped it in a tighter rogue-lite package with a Slay the Spire style branching map. As per the usual roguelite formula you earn unlocks that take effect at the end of each run (in some cases in the middle of the run).
Death is still permanent for each run and you can swap in replacements if you manage to beat the level with men down. You start with 4 characters and extras are unlocked through the progression system.
In general everything appears to have been streamlined including the UI. Instead of stress from 0-100 you have from 0-10 and if the char gets 10 he has a "meltdown" where his hp is set to 1 and he develops a bad relationship with another character.
The relationship system is a new mechanic. Each character has a meter that is either positive or negative with every other character showing their relationship with each other. Various actions, both in and out of combat, affect that relationship. If the characters are stressed the relationships tend to go down. Once the meter is maxes in either direction the pair gain a positive or negative trait. If it is positive they heal, buff, and lower each others stress. If negative they cockblock actions, debuff, and increase stress.
The stress meter is more meaningful in this one in that if it maxes out the character goes to 1 hp and automatically nukes his relationships and the results tend to be pretty bad.
The torch mechanic is back and more interesting in that you can't just buy consumables to keep it up. You have to make gameplay decisions that increase or decrease the torch and each has tradeoffs. If the torch goes to zero you automatically get into a tough fight that if you can win gives you more light but not much.
So far I played maybe 4 hours and I'm still enjoying it, have barely made any progress.
The game is technically early access but I've only found one minor bug.
It is only on sale in the Epic store for $30. I had a coupon and there is discount so I got it for $17.
The nice thing about Epic store games is they are immediately available on pirate sites so you can test it that way.
For the culture war stuff there is a relationship pair buff called "Amorous" and it does appear to allow for homo pairings (but not positive it allowed for guy guy, it does for girl girl). Chracters with that trait will occasionally jump up and pop up a dialogue bubble that says "get them my love" or "I'll do anything for you" (you can see it in action if you watch the linked vid)
So far not a total dealbreaker and I bet it will be modded out as soon as the game hits steam so I'm not giving up on the game just yet.
You can’t have legalized gay marriage without opening the door to the insanity we’re experiencing today; something even most right-wingers don’t seem to understand. The religious right has been 100% correct on this matter since the beginning.
100% correct. It's why it's banned in a bunch of countries trying to maintain birth rates and societal growth, because once it's legalized and Lefties are allowed to create propaganda to promote that lifestyle, it leads to nothing but a slow (or speedy) decay of social standards.
Anyone who followed the lifestyle trends associated with the alphabet soup could see it all coming a mile away. And yet there are still Conservatives and those who claim to be on the Right who refuse to acknowledge that being gay is not okay, especially when you start bending your political and social standards to associate their whims.
Oddly enough, Canada used to be like that: Both men AND women over a certain age (I think it was 18? It was fairly young.) who were not married were assigned a penalty and fine from the government back in colonial times. So precedent for that kind of system does exist.
That's an interesting proposition. Not sure why you're being downvoted for simply asking a question (maybe a raging beta orbiter is trying to silently white knight on behalf of 30+ hambeasts the world around?)
Regardless of what people think, I actually think Russia is on the right path with how they're going about it. Incentivize marriage instead of punishing men for being married like it is in most other Western nations. Penalize or reduce the allowance of globohomo propaganda, so people are less likely to experiment and completely screw up their orientation, which would only lead to failed marriages and relationships. Also constantly promoting beauty/health standards for the populace to strive towards means people have ideals to chase, even if majority of people don't meet said ideals.
The Ubermensch is still a goal that people should seek to attain, and having national policies pretty much all but outright promoting that as the ideal makes for healthy motivation within the society.
It's the complete opposite of what's happening in places like America, Britain, or France, where obesity is promoted, healthy lifestyles are penalized, and gender relations are turned into a turbulent game of masochism.
I wouldn't necessarily say that penalizing women for not being married at 30 would be a productive way of improving civic duties, though. Some women just aren't very mature at 30 and aren't mother material by then (same as some men are still immature and childish by the time they hit 30). Educating and fostering maturity among the populace would be the better route. Most women would naturally gravitate towards motherhood once they have the right set of principles instilled and men are encouraged to be responsible, hardworking, caring providers.