Darkest Dungeon: 14 Best Narrator Quotes, Ranked (2023)

The narrator in Darkest Dungeon is the foundation of the game's atmosphere. This difficult, stress-inducing dungeon crawler gains so much from his foreboding voice, littering the game with hints of story and general unease. For any player, these quotes become etched in the mind, tied to a challengingslog through one of the hardest games in recent memory.

Whether the player isventuring into the diseased Warrens or fighting off the fishfolk of the Cove, Darkest Dungeon never stops being a hard, macabre, and addictive RPG. With every step of the way darklydotted by his mysterious voice, the Narrator becomes a vital part ofthe player's harrowing journey. Along the way, he dispenses some truly iconic lines.

Updated June 17, 2021 by Meg Pelliccio: The narrator in Darkest Dungeon is arguably the most prominent character in the game, rather than any ofthe title'smany hero types. The narrator delivers a whole range of unforgettable lines to the player while they are delving through the depths of their family estate, so we've added a few more of the very best.

14 "Ruin Has Come To Our Family."

The doom-laden first words in the game come gargled over the opening cinematic.The player hears these words repeated again and again every time they boot up the game, so it makes the game's motives clear.

It is the player's introduction toa place of death and disease, a place of ruin thatthey're now in charge of, and they better be ready (this game is considered by some to be harder than Dark Souls at its most devious). As the narrator says near the end of the introduction, "it is a festering abomination!"This linemakes a massive first impression, but it's heard so often that it may not have quite the impact of some.

13 "Welcome Home, Such As It Is. This Squalid Hamlet, These Corrupted Lands, They Are Yours Now, And You Are Bound To Them."

The Hamlet in Darkest Dungeon acts as a hub. The player can hire new characters here, equipa team for a coming excursion, or send people to various facilitiesto cool off after a particularly stressful experience.

For such a bleak place, it starts to feel like the only pleasant and safe space in the whole game. While these "corrupted lands" are the best it will get, it is still nice to see a place that the player can call home in this indie horror masterpiece. Either way, they are "bound to them," so it doesn't sound likethere's a choice. Not the most highly-rated line, and rarely heard, but a great one nonetheless.

12 "Slowly, Gently, This Is How A Life Is Taken..."

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This is oneof the creepiest lines in the game, and a big fan favorite. Whenthe playerinflicts Blight or Bleed on an enemy which slowly eats away at their health (via tricky techniques like the Caltrops attackfrom the versatile and deadlyBounty Hunter), the Narrator seems to relish it.

He sounds almost playful and curious, as thoughhe finds the sight entertaining. Not only does this lineadd depth to excursions into these dark dungeons, but it alsoleads to early questionsabout the narrator. Why does he sound so interested in such a horrid action? A powerful quote, albeit one that may be heard a little too often.

11 "Great adversity has a beauty— it is the fire that tempers the blade."

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While the narrator'slines are seemingly endless statements rife with morbid and dark sentiments, there are surprisingly a rare few that are actually positive. What's even more surprising is that most of the morehopeful lines are spoken when a player fails an expedition, such as the above quote.

Apparently, even the negative character of the narrator is willing to give a little encouragement to players when they need it most, and that's likely why this quote resonates with fans.

10 "There Is A Sickness In The Ancient Pitted Cobbles Of The Old Road, And On Its Writhing Path You Will Face Viciousness, Violence, And Perhaps Other Damnably Transcendent Terrors."

As the tutorial begins, the game emphasizes that it is not for the faint of heart, laying out a sort of mission statement. Just like heading towards the catacombsat the beginning of Dark Souls, it is clear fromthesefirst baby steps that this will be a challenging ride.

While previous lines have had a similar effect, the way this one sets up the game is perfect. If there was ever asummation of what Darkest Dungeon is throwing at the player, "viciousness, violence, and perhaps other damnably transcendent terrors" is spot on, really. Not the Narrator's most iconic words, though.

9 "Injury and despondence set the stage for heroism... or cowardice."

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The narrator says this line when a heroloses 50% of their healthor fills their stress gauge by 50%. Spoken with the same ominous tone as always, this line is more than meets the eye as it actually explains one of the mechanics of the game.

When a hero's stress level fills, they can either become virtuous and gain a virtue, or they will become mad and gain an affliction.Afflictions can cause thehero to retreat back from a position or negatively affect their companions, whereas virtues will see them helping out their fellow heroes.

8 "And Now The True Test... Hold Fast, Or Expire?"

One of the most brutally difficult situations in Darkest Dungeon (among many that make its fans enjoy it so much) is when a Hero is at Death's Door. Here,a Hero has no HP remaining, and any damage has a chance to be avoided entirely or kill them.

It is a tricky little mechanic, giving a vague chance at pushing forward, but at the risk of losing a loyal Hero. This decision is made all the more hard work when the Narrator givestheplayer only two options: stay strong or die. There is no encouragement to retreat, only two miserable choices. The line causes mixed feelings among fans, depending on how their Heroes tend to fareunder theDeath's Door status.

7 "This Sprawling Estate, A Mecca Of Madness And Morbidity. Your Work Begins..."

When the player heads out on their first dungeon crawl, the narrator quietly describes their new home as "a Mecca of madness and morbidity." Like a lot of the writing in Darkest Dungeon, it is a beautiful line, full of the creeping terror that pervades throughout the whole game.

It doesn't end with any hope: this isn't the beginning of a journey, this is the start of some grueling, horrific "work". The player is here to clean up this mess, not to enjoy themselves. Powerful words indeed, but this line is also only heard at the beginning of the game.

6 "A Star-Spawned Horror!"

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It's evident to any player that Darkest Dungeon has been heavily influenced by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. One of the many Eldritch terrors that you can encounter in the game is the Shambler, a special boss that can appear whenever your torchlight fades or if you use a torch on a Shambler's altar.

One of thephrases that the narrator will say upon encountering the Shambler is "A star-spawned horror!" The nice little detail to this is that "the Star Spawn" is one of the terms given to the Cthulhi, the spawn of Cthulhu, in Lovecraft's work.

5 "Monstrous Size Has No Intrinsic Merit, Unless Inordinate Exsanguination Be Considered A Virtue."

Darkest Dungeon is full of quirks— strange gameplay design and strange language to make the whole game feel slightly harder to grasp. Possibly the line most emblematic of this style is this excellent one, heard whentaking down a large enemy.

The phrase "inordinate exsanguination" (bleeding a lot, essentially) is going to make a strong impression, but when coupled with the deep grumble of the Narrator, itfurther enhances the game's atmosphere without sounding too silly. While other linesmay be more iconic, this one is fantastic and deserves more recognition.

4 "As life ebbs, terrible vistas of emptiness reveal themselves."

While this quote at face value seems like the perfect addition to the game with its bleak outlook for those facing down death, it holds even more importance for fans of Lovecraft. In Lovecraft's work, the more positive characters dream of beautiful vistas, whereas those dealing with the eldritch seemore horrifying vistas.

These "terrible vistas" contribute to their spiral into madness, which ties in with many themes and elements of Darkest Dungeon and how the heroes can become insane or virtuous from their prolonged stress levels.

3 "Prodigious Size Alone Does Not Dissuade The Sharpened Blade."

(Video) Hero Difficulty Tier List: Darkest Dungeon

Throughoutthe title's many battles, the Narrator punctuates different actions with archaiclanguage and endless foreboding.Here,however, when taking down a large enemy, the Narrator is almost teasing the enemies. No matter how huge and intimidating a foe may be, the player will still try and take them down.

To hear something that is slightly amusing in such a serious game is a lovely surprise, especially after a long trudge through a tough dungeon. This encourages the player to keep pushing deeper, taking on tougher enemies, and hopefully making it out alive.This line is venerated by the community, a rare message of hope and inspiration in this macabre world.

2 "Remind Yourself That Overconfidence Is A Slow And Insidious Killer."

In most other games, success is accompanied by a chime of pleasant music, a cheer from someone in a crowd, or just something nice for the sake of positive reinforcement. Darkest Dungeon always treads the line between a glimmer of hope and a feeling of despair. This incredible line, so perfectly applicable to most things, comes firmly under the latter category.

Only appearing aftera victory inbattle, it immediately tries to ground a headstrong gamer. It reaffirms every lesson the game teaches and encourages the player to continue to tread carefullydespitetheir success, making iteasily one of the best (and most beloved) quotesin the game.

1 "Many Fall In The Face Of Chaos, But Not This One. Not Today."

For all of Darkest Dungeon's brilliant writing, the best narrator quotes come in the midst of the gameplay. There's nothing more satisfying thanan unlikely success being framed by the rare uplifting quote, and this is perhaps the best of the bunch.

Asthe player delves deeper into the darkness, asthe light flickers out,their Heroes become increasingly stressed. If they become too stressed, they can suffer from an Affliction, or, if you're lucky, gain a Virtue.If it's the latter, the image ofa Hero shines on the screen and the narrator underlines this success, deliveringthe line in a matter-of-factnature that feels glorious in comparison to the rest of the game.

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