Cassia manages to escape after four long years, but by the time she leaves her eight-legged buddies she’s both crazy and facially deformed by the spider venom. Instead of calling a divorce attorney, her kingly hubby Marwan has dumped her into a maze-like dungeon to be driven mad by loneliness or killed by the thousands of giant poisonous spiders that call the place home. This time out the evil crew is led by new protagonist Cassia, a noblewoman who begins the game in a tough spot. Like the game’s early-2014 predecessor, The Dark Eye: Blackguards (despite the minor name change, this sequel still takes its rules and setting from the German pen-and-paper roleplaying game The Dark Eye), Daedalic Entertainment is once again offering up a bleak experience in which you play the bad guys in a single player-only campaign (the only mode of play). Gimmick and gameplay are blended into a satisfying mix that comes out as a unique concoction equal to much more than the sum of its parts, especially if you occasionally like to walk on the dark side.īlackguards 2’s heart may just be two sizes too small. This unrelentingly grim plot personality is further enhanced with smart game mechanics and devious (if a little plodding) combat that offers challenges both on the battlefield and when tricking out your anti-heroes. In this case, Daedalic Entertainment taps right into the evil vein with a deliciously dark tale that glories in such black-hatted pastimes as taking slaves, okaying battlefield massacres, and hanging prisoners as a cost-effective alternative to feeding them. Tactical role-playing game Blackguards 2 understands that letting out those inner demons to play a villain can be one of the most cathartic things about playing a game.

Blackguards 2 hang prisoners