I've been diving deep into Dark Hunting Ground this past week, and wow—this game is a blast. It ditches unnecessary fluff, and instead refines the core ARPG style into an ultra-fast, arcade-like experience that focuses purely on what makes ARPGs fun.

A Game That Just Feels Good

One thing that just instantly grabbed me was how intuitive the game is. In Path of Exile, I've spent hours messing with tools outside the game just to figure out whether or not my build idea even works -- or more likely I'll just avoid the hassle and just copy one of Mathilification's builds. But in Dark Hunting Ground, it's refreshingly simple. Pick an ability from a tightly curated list, swap out Slates (PoE-style support gems), and hit the training dummy. If your DPS goes up, you're on the right track. You get instant feedback on how much more or less damage you're doing. It just encourages so much exploration and trial and error. Why haven't more ARPGs done this already? No spreadsheets, no overcomplicated math—just testing in-game and seeing the results immediately.

Automated looting and crafting

This game forgoes Path of Exile's "feel the weight"-style of looting and instead gives you a cute little cat companion that loots and sells items for you. Similarly, the crafting system is also very polished despite being minimal. There is plenty of drama happening now around PoE2's lack of deterministic crafting, but I'm actually a huge fan of the random crafting system. Few things feel better than nailing the perfect roll and crafting an absolutely cracked item with just a handful of currency. Dark Hunting Ground proves that you can make a randomized itemization fun and rewarding.
The system works much like PoE alt/chaos spam, but instead, you can set "reminders" that stop the crafting rolls whenever you get the mod you're hunting after. Way better than PoE, where you spam clicks until your fingers bleed—only to realize you might've hit the mod you wanted but clicked past it by accident.

A Perfectly Structured Endgame

One of Dark Hunting Ground’s greatest strengths is how it drip-feeds endgame content. At first, you’re just hunting deterministic bosses in maps, but as you progress, new systems unlock at just the right pace:

  • The Hunting Ground – A mode where you can endlessly farm maps without any downtime.

  • Uber Bosses – Harder versions of standard bosses that act as a gate to higher difficulty tiers.

  • Multiple Difficulty Tiers – This game offers a ton of granular difficulty levels, letting you fine-tune the challenge and always giving you something to shoot for.

  • Endgame Mapping – Custom difficulty modifiers that increase both challenge and rewards.

  • Abyssal Eyes – A high-end item system that offers insane damage bonuses but requires a lot of strategic investment and plenty of luck.

All of this is wrapped up in a system that never feels overwhelming. And that’s what really sets Dark Hunting Ground apart it delivers the depth hardcore ARPG fans crave, but in a small arcade package, that’s clean, intuitive, and, fun.

Final Thoughts

Dark Hunting Ground isn’t just a great ARPG—it’s a masterclass in how to design an engaging, fast-paced loot experience. It trims the fat off of Path of Exile and Diablo while keeping everything that makes those games compelling. Whether you're a min-maxer or a casual player, there’s something here to love.

If you’re into ARPGs, give this one a shot. While it's not a "forever game," it's definitely fun and scratches a unique itch.