10 Years and One Sequel Later, This Dark Fantasy Roguelike RPG Is Still A Stressful, Anxiety-Inducing Masterpiece That I’ll Never Put Down
I used to resent Diego, and it wasn’t just because I was already overwhelmed with school, work, and everything else that comes with being young. He’d introduced me to Darkest Dungeon, a game that was intensely stressful and built around creating a constant sense of dread. Each time I played, it felt like deliberately stepping into a panic attack disguised as a gothic horror story. But despite the suffocating atmosphere and the game’s bleakness, something changed. Looking back, Diego didn’t actually do anything wrong. He gave me a gaming experience I’ll never forget – one that still fills me with a strange combination of respect, fear, and wonder, even years later.
![During image reconstruction with [latex]K=1024[/latex], codebook utilization patterns diverge significantly between methods: while VQ-VAE and FSQ initially demonstrate increasing utilization followed by a notable decline, VP-VAE and FSP consistently maintain high and stable codebook engagement throughout the training process.](https://arxiv.org/html/2602.17133v1/x1.png)
