Dark Hunting Ground

A pixel ARPG that nails the addictive loop of pushing difficulties and chasing loot, but the grindy endgame and confusing stats hold it back from greatness.

Introduction

Dark Hunting Ground is a minimalist pixel ARPG looter that takes heavy inspiration from Path of Exile, and it doesn't try to hide it. The core loop got its hooks in me pretty quickly. You push through difficulty tiers, unlock new systems, chase better loot, and do it all over again with more challenge. It's that "just one more run" formula done well, at least until the endgame reveals its grindier side.

The Difficulty Climb

The progression system is genuinely addicting. Every time you clear a difficulty tier, you unlock something meaningful. Maybe it's a new talent point, maybe it's access to systems like the Dark Tree or the Chaos Atlas, maybe it's better Relics and Slates. There's always a tangible reward waiting. This keeps the early and mid game feeling fresh because you're constantly getting stronger in noticeable ways. I found myself saying "okay, just one more difficulty level" way too many times before bed.

Limited But Logical

You only get two active skills plus a movement ability, which felt restrictive at first. I'm used to ARPGs where you're juggling a full hotbar of abilities. But here's the thing, it actually makes sense once you get further in. The game gradually shifts toward more idle gameplay in the mid to late sections, where your character handles most fights without much input from you.

This design choice works because of how much grinding you end up doing. When you're farming the same maps repeatedly to get a specific Relic or gather resources for rerolls, having simplified combat keeps things from getting exhausting. The downside is that late game battles feel pretty unengaging when you're just watching your character do their thing.

Smart Crafting System

The deterministic crafting mechanics are one of the game's best features. You can go full gambler and just reroll everything randomly for high risk and high reward. Or you can invest more resources to lock specific affixes you want to keep and increase your success chances. You can even set up reminders that stop the crafting when you hit the mod you're hunting for. It's a clever middle ground that respects both playstyles, and I switched between them constantly depending on how desperate I was for an upgrade.

Build Crafting and Stats

The customization and theorycrafting side is genuinely fun. Planning out a build with different Slates, hunting for the right Relics and Abyssal Eyes, and watching it come together feels great. The game gives you enough tools to experiment with different approaches, and finding a synergy that clicks is satisfying.

But the stat system is a mess. I still don't fully understand what's effective against what or which stats stack versus which don't. The game doesn't explain these interactions clearly at all. I'd build toward something thinking it would be powerful, then equip it and see barely any difference because the calculations work differently than I expected. For a game built entirely around optimization, this lack of clarity is frustrating.

The theorycrafting is genuinely fun, with tons of options for customization through different Slates, Relics, and Abyssal Eyes. Finding the right synergies between your gear is satisfying when it all clicks together.

However, the lack of clarity around stat interactions can turn this into a frustrating guessing game. You'll often build toward something expecting big gains, only to see minimal difference in actual gameplay.

Controller Woes

If you're using mouse and keyboard, you're fine. If you're planning to use a controller, prepare for a bad time. The menu navigation is genuinely awful with a controller. It's slow and unintuitive, which is a real problem in a game where you're constantly managing inventory, comparing items, and rerolling stats. I eventually switched to mouse and keyboard just to make the menus tolerable.

The Grind

Like most ARPGs in this style, the endgame becomes a loop of farming maps to minmax tiny stat improvements. If you're into that, you'll find plenty to chase here. But it does get repetitive and grindy. You're running the same content over and over hoping for better RNG, and the idle nature of combat that worked fine earlier becomes a weakness when you're just watching numbers tick up for hours.

Verdict

Dark Hunting Ground is a solid ARPG looter that knows exactly what it wants to be. It's raw, focused, and has no fat on it. The early progression is addictive, the crafting system is smart, and the build customization runs deep. But the confusing stats, terrible controller support, and grindy endgame hold it back. If you're into Path of Exile style gameplay and don't mind some rough edges, this is worth your time. Just know what you're getting into with that endgame grind.