Once conceived as the four men of Apocalypse by the now defunct 3DO, the game at that point in time promised a lot of action that mimicked Dante’s antics from Devil May Cry. A generation later, Darksiders was born out of the ashes to create a similar ensemble that borrows heavily noteworthy hack and slash games and the infamous Ocarina of Time to give the protagonist the raging flavor of “War”.
The game begins with the beginning of Apocalypse as the truce between heaven and hell is broken and as chaos ensues the War is summoned to bring sanity to the ensuing destruction only to be defeated by a demon from the Destroyer’s horde of ogres who have begun feasting on mankind. War is accused of plotting the apocalypse by the Charred Council but after he vows to avenge his setup, the council agrees to send him back only to be tied down by one of their keepers called the Watcher. The story is simple and straightforward with minor plot-twists across keeping the player focused on the action at hand than deviating into an overtly complex plot. Although the developers could have managed to flesh out more from the core narrative there isn’t too much to complain about it. The characters, the environments and the plot are rendered in a style that is heavy on the theme of graphic novelization, allowing players to experience a wide color palette even though it depicts a post apocalyptic world entrenched in chaos. War moves to and fro within these arenas in well paced successions ensuring that the player savors his moments gasping at the sight of world of the “destroyer”.
Darksiders borrows heavily from games all around, a few favorites which formulate the addictive base include Devil May Cry, God of War and the boomerang/highlighted textual parts from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Dante’s sections are imitated in the format of wielding a barrage of multiple weapons at the same time assisting the player to perform a multitude of combos, which are transformed into deadlier attacks from the merchant of hell, Vulgrim. Backtracking is also allowed to a healthy extent in the game granting the player to explore old areas with new powers and unlocking secret missions in the game. In other instances, there exist sequences during combat that have a strange glow blocking doors which are opened once War defeats all the foes around him. War also imbibes a “Chaos” form which reminiscent of Dante’s devil form where he (War) transforms into a invincible demon with a set of moves that leave his foes biting dust off their ground. The game movement mechanics are based on Santa Monica’s God Of War series. War is a bulky character wielding a tainted sword called “The Choaseater” which is always thirsty for the blood of War’s fallen foes. Defeating an enemy in the game will cast off three types of souls that can be used by War, green for health, yellow for wrath (magic) and blue souls for currency allowing players to buy new weapons, moves and upgrades from the demon vendor Vulgrim. There are chests strewn all across the game which also provide War with souls aimed to satisfy the ultimate gimping junkie. War’s powers and method of combat is also similar to Kratos. He slashes his opponents to a certain extent when their health is significantly low, and he butchers them into pieces of cadavers strewn all across the screen with a press of a single button.
Numerous foes and battle sequences in the game bear an uncanny resemblance to the gods who rest in Mount Olympus. But with the multitude of combos that are available to War, each encounter feels different and challenging and unique. War has the ability to switch weapons instantly, there is a button mapped out for the Chaos Eater, his deadly scythe, his horse available in the latter sections of the game and his boomerang. Though the developers have tried to implement the control schemata effortlessly, there are times during combat when the player will get totally bewildered trying to switch weapons to take their foes down efficiently and effectively. Though a lot of press focus has been on the aspects of the Boomerang from Legend of Zelda, however we found it more similar to the Glaive that was seen in a game titled “Dark Sector” released during this generation since it mimicked a lot of instances from it which brings us to the puzzles that riddle Darksiders. Till the bade is found by War, the puzzle sequences merely involve pushing a button to move a statue or a brick from Point A to B, post acquisition of the power environment specific puzzles begin to tax upon the players’ cranium ensuring there is a level of triumph and satisfaction post solving it. The dear horsey that assists War in later areas also has an uncanny resemblance to Link’s Quest and battles on open plains.
Even though most players have seen all the segments of the game numerous times in other famous genres, a healthy mash of all feels exciting and powerful at the same time. There were so many instances where many players would feel how Dante would address a situation if placed in God of War and vice versa. With this title imagining those instances are gone. War fleshes out all sadistic and devious desires in a comical manner often reminding one of Maximo’s adventures last generation. This however does not suggest Darksiders is a perfect game, it is riddled with numerous inconsistencies which should be sorted out by its sequel. The primary one being the environments are too large for War to traverse along, often in sections all the player is doing is pushing the movement stick to move War from one arena to another. This does not suit the colorful post-apocalyptic world, which looks seemingly empty. War often feels minuscule to the entire project that is depicted around him making his character vulnerable at times. With all due respect to Mark Hamill, the Watcher tone is found to be more annoying than helpful or threatening instead one might just crack up after listening to the Watcher’s comments delivered in an all serious tone. Enemies become repetitive after a point in time and the auto executions are only performed by the same weapon “Chaos Eater” allowing for the same set of animations to flourish in the game. This makes the game monotonous after a point in time, if it was not for the constant gimping mechanism the game would have fared rather badly all across the board.
The Final Word: Darksiders as a project feels tight, exhaustive and engaging. It makes us wonder what depth the original set of games from which it borrows from will hold with their respective sequels in the future. Though the game loses face in certain sections making one throw up in disgust at the sight of constant imitation, amateurs who understand our complex world of gaming history will admire the game and will have a fulfilling overall experience.
Gameplay: 8/10.
Graphics: 7.5/10.
Sound: 7/10.
Budget Pocket: 8/10.
Overall (not on an average): 7.5/10.