izigame.me

While I can understand the mixed reception I think this is ultimately a pretty great DLC. If i had to guess, the disconnect between those who like it and those who do not might largely comes from 2 elements: 1. The Fanatic and Investation feel cheap to the new player with how hard it can be to avoid infection and not take infected party members with you on quests at times and 2. Crimson Court's content warping the game around it rather than enhancing the base game.
My thoughts are as follows:
1. Yes, the Fanatic absolutely is cheap and frankly, I don't like his inclusion in his current state. He is my major problem with this DLC because unlike other RNG mechanics like The Things From The Stars or Bloodsucker encounters, he feels nearly impossible to be prepared for at all times. Crimson Curse can spread so fast due to infestation that it is not an uncommon occurrence that an average skill player will *have* to take infected party members with them for a decent composition. However, having a decent composition that is *also* good at staying healthy AND fighting off the Fanatic is a big ask for something that is completely up to chance. Compare this to The Thing From The Stars, who is also a random encounter but is shown to roam one specific area on the map at a time. This means that if your current available party members are not good at fighting him, you can simply avoid that area for the time being. The Fanatic is ALWAYS there, can show up at any point during most quests so long as one VERY common condition is met, and he is extremely dangerous. It's not very fun, especially for players new to the DLC.
2. I feel the rest is a general disconnect between a decent part of the playerbase and what I believe Red Hook was trying to accomplish with the DLC. I think *because* it is paid DLC many people might come into Crimson Court with the expectation that since they had a pay a decent amount for it, this is content *any* darkest dungeon will be able to enjoy rather than a rework of the main campaign designed for hardcore fans to make an already hard game EVEN harder. The game warns you that this is not the case, and that you should play this only after beating a regular campaign, and I do wonder how many of the players who walked away disliking the DLC took this warning seriously seeing as quite a few Crimson Court DLC achievements have a higher completion rate than beating the base game on Radiant, or how many base game players really tried to change and adapt their playstyle to fit the new challenges and needs the DLC presents. Infestation can seem annoying or unfair at first, but focusing on collecting a significant amount of trinkets that buff your units against bloodsuckers specifically will help out a lot when dealing with these additional random encounters, while also increasing your ability to deal with threats in the Courtyard. The Crimson Curse is also a new thing you'll have to manage and outside of the Fanatic I think it is an interesting mechanic that adds another level of inventory and item management, and as long as you recognize the necessity to rush the Sanguine Vinters, which produces two vials of blood each week, this too never gets too overwhelming from my experience.
On top of this, the Crimson Court adds incredibly engaging lore, a really cool aesthetic, an interesting new area (although I hate the crocodilian boss and the Epic length layouts are probably a bit **too** long) If you treat the DLC for what it is, that being a harder, new way to experience the Darkest Dungeon campaign, I think it succeeds at that exceptionally well.
Also the Flagellant rules what a sick character whose role as a bleed stacker with consistent, strong healing opens up so many more teamcomps. If you enjoyed your playthrough of the base game and are looking for a different take on it, definitely get Crimson Court. Otherwise, you are probably better off waiting for a sale and buying the DLC for cheap for the Flagellant (who can be enabled seperately from the Crimson Court campaign).