A lone figure stands in the hall of a decaying manor before a vast painted portrait of a robed ancestor.

Original artwork, not a still

The Ancestor

Ruin has come to our family.

— Darkest Dungeon ‧ 2016

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

It is the game's thesis in six words: the family's ruin is already a fact, and you are the one left to pay for it. The sentence sets the gothic tone, with its overripe prose and Lovecraftian dread, and it is the moment fans first hear the Ancestor's voice. Played over the opening, it became a signature of the game, quoted whenever something has gone badly wrong.

Context reviewed

In context

Spoilers for Darkest DungeonShow the scene

The line opens the intro cinematic of Red Hook Studios' Darkest Dungeon (released 19 January 2016). It is the first sentence of a letter written by the Ancestor, a decadent lord who tired of ordinary extravagance and dug beneath his ancient manor in search of a hidden power. He unearthed an ancient horror instead. The letter calls the heir home to reclaim the Estate and save the family from the darkness below. The same sentence closes the cinematic as the 'sickening prose' the heir is haunted by. Wayne June voices the Ancestor, who doubles as the game's narrator.

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Context reviewed

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