Review: Darksiders

If one were to force the DNA of Kratos, Link, and Arthas of Warcraft fame into one body, they might come up with the character known as War from Vigil’s action-adventure-apocalyptic nightmare game that is Darksiders. He has the personality of Arthas (post-death knight), the fighting moxy of Kratos, and the puzzle solving capabilities of our favorite green-clad elf. The game unabashedly borrows from these characters, and the games from which they hail.

Fatalities, while unique animations in their own right, are styled straight out of God of War. The dungeon system, while not a mirror of Zelda’s classic forest/ice temple/fire dungeon model, are quite familiar with their maps, puzzles, and boss fights. The game’s aesthetic borrows both from games and comic books, which makes sense considering the creative director is known comic artist Joe Madueira, the man responsible for much of Marvel’s sketch work over the years.

All this theft works because it’s honest theft, if such a thing is possible. In an age where every developer is seeking to do the next weird, innovative thing, Vigil has taken a step back and reflected on what made gamers love the games that left indelible marks upon their history. I, for one, appreciate it and in that appreciation found Darksiders to be one of the funnest titles I’ve played in some time.

The story is cliche, but cliche in a fun way in its depictions of religion and heaven and hell warfare. War is one of the Four Horseman. The Horsemen are fated to only coming calling when the final battle approaches, and their task is to judge and determine the fate of the world. Between the kingdoms of heaven, hell, and man, they are a balancing force that exists to keep it all from breaking apart. It sounds heavy, and in a way it’s depicted as such, but for any action/adventure or RPG junkie, this stuff is old hat. Unfortunately for War, he gets called out early, accidentally kills a bunch of players on both sides of the conflict, and gets reprimanded by his higher ups (shadowy figures called The Council who only exist as large, volcano mouths). They strip away his powers and sentence him to either die or redeem himself in whatever way possible. So it is that he is thrown back down to Earth to find out just how and why he was manipulated into arriving without his siblings.

The formula is classic. Start a player out with a whole ship full of skills and tools, then strip them all away, forcing them to play through the game and re-earn everything. It almost sent a warm tingle through my hands when it happened just because it felt so nostalgic. One of the amazing things, and maybe this has been done before and I just failed to notice, is that Darksiders does a remarkable job of teaching a player all that War is capable of. There is an introductory level dubbed the Apocalypse where he walks around destroying demons and messing things up and has basically his entire skill set, but for a first time player, there is no indication of what this skill set is. The game throws out some tutorial hints, but never lets players know just what they can do. Thus this first little jaunt with all powers intact results in something less than elegant. Then they’re taken away.

Well, no problem right? We barely got to scratch the surface. But as each power is regained, the game forces players to not only learn the skill, but to master it. There are story-driven combat challenges at various points with set conditions for victory. In one, War has to kill enemies using only fatalities. In another, he has to kill them using only a specific move. At first, I thought this would be annoying and tedious, but the further I ventured into the game, the more I found it not only helpful, but challenging and satisfying. The many puzzles littered throughout dungeons and the open world only serve to add even more mastery to certain weapons and abilities.

The setting is a post-apocalyptic United States, presumably the area around New York City though it’s never properly defined. The landscape is torn up and there are large amounts of demon and angel built structures littering the wreckage. Hell has literally risen and dominates much of the ground with its magma-hot rivers, while the sky is scorched and constantly scattered with hunting angels and demonic fliers. It all looks nice, is extremely well designed, and makes a man feel right smack in the middle of bad news.

Combat, as mentioned, tips its hat to games like God of War and Devil May Cry, featuring super-fast movements, air juggling combos, and fatalities that are both ridiculous and often quite awesome. It’s incredibly smooth, and while some of the enemies can be frustratingly difficult compared to others (at least on the higher difficulty), for the most part its business as usual for War and his trusty weapons of death. These weapons include a massive cleaver of a sword encrusted with skulls and all types of horrid runes, an unlockable Scythe for a little extra bang and reach, a gauntlet fist weapon that’s nearly larger than War himself, a gun (yes, a gun), and a tri-blade throwing weapon that might as well be called ”demon boomerang.” One thing that I appreciate regarding the weapons is the use I find for each of them. One of my peeves with the God of War weapons, at least in the first game, was that I never found them preferable to the standard twin blades of chainy goodness. With War’s gear, I find situations where the Scythe is out and out better than his blade, and vice versa. The same can be said for the gun versus the boomerang. Some situations demand more precision or a longer reach, etc.

Boss battles are grand affairs. They’re large, generally have stages and a gimmick of some type. They look fierce, for sure, and all tend to have some insect, animal, or demonic appearance (think demon-bat and giant spider). They can be quite difficult, even after the correct strategy is found, but as War grows more powerful, he gets more chances to mess up. As the game progresses, even enemies that deal massive damage are hindered slightly by War’s ever expanding health bar. His health is something reminiscent of the Metroid series, but with a Zelda kick. He gets multiple health bars, similar to the energy tanks in Metroid, but to get them he either needs to slay a boss and get a full “rune,” or find four pieces of said rune around the world and combine them. The beginning of the game, when players only run around with one or two health bars, particulary on the high difficulty, can be harrowing.

Darksiders is certainly more action/adventure than anything, but it does bring with it RPG elements that fit right in. War himself does not gain levels, but his weapons do, and each gains experience as its used. They only have four levels apiece, but the ability to make them stronger, particularly if players find one more usable than another, is a deft touch. There are also enhancements that can be slotted to each of the primary melee weapons. There is only one slot, but players can enhance the damage capabilities, make the weapon receive more experience or suck out more souls, and even leech life with damage. It adds a layer of out of game strategy that is also appreciated and can be extremely helpful.

There is also a merchant system of upgrades available that is even deeper and has the potential to make War quite a fiend. Near the beginning of War’s trip back to earth, he meets up with a neutral demon named Vulgrim. Vulgrim happens to have a whole stockpile of information and items up for sale, and all he requires are the souls of the dead (the currency War gains upon defeating any bad dude). He sells weapon enhancements, weapon skills (and even multiple levels of weapon skills), rune shards, and more. His “shops,” which are just predefined summoning circles around the map, also serve as worm holes that allow War to quick travel around the entire world. Vigil does it mostly right again as the world he walks around in is massive and backtracking, while not always a requirement, is often beneficial. The only issue players might have with the worm holes is that they don’t instantly warp War to his destination. Instead they take him to this nether world that he must run along in from one door to another. Personally, I loved this touch as it reminded me of the Ways from the Wheel of Time series, but anyone who hasn’t read those books probably wouldn’t see the charm. Mostly, it’s just an unnecessary time waster.

As far as the presentation goes, some might take issue with Madueira’s art style. It’s very comic book inspired, but to fans of the look, it looks great. The world is fleshed out and immense. The demons and angels are unique but still recognizable and intricate in the extreme. The voice acting, while almost cliche in a way, is fantastic in an over-the-top manner, particularly with the character Ulthane who sports a beautiful scottish brogue that I’ve never heard in a game done quite so well. Nolan North isn’t in Darksiders. I know this seems odd as he is in all games, but he’s absent. Sorry fanboys/girls. However, Mark Hamill makes another much appreciated appearance as War’s shadowy demon Watcher, though more often than not War is smacking him around and trying not to listen to him. It’s certainly not a Joker-caliber performance, but he still manages to entertain.

Darksiders is a love affair with good games. Is it perfect? I suppose not, but mainly because it lacks innovation. It does so many things right while glossing over so many of the frustrating aspects of prior games that it’s very difficult not to fall in love. It may not appeal to those looking for the next hot thing, or those who always must have a realistic visual experience, but to those of us who have loved games like God of War and Zelda, it’s like a new blanket that smells and feels like the one we grew up in, but is covered in blood and wicked looking runes and tribal marks. Did I mention the game features a talking zombie with a top hat and British accent? I think that speaks for itself.

Doin It RIGHT:-Familiar gameplay that works like it has so many times before.- Great temple/dungeon designs in regards to bosses and puzzles.-Giant world full of places to explore.	Doin It RONG:- Can be frustratingly difficult early on.- The game features missable trophies/achievements.- Backtracking gets tedious at times.
FINAL SCORE: 9 / 10