In 2010, Vigil Games — a relatively new game development studio — released Darksiders.
In that game, the player controlled War. Yes, one of the four horseman of the apocalypse. At the beginning of the game, War is called to an apocalypse on Earth with angels and demons duking it out on the city streets. The problem was that the apocalypse wasn’t supposed to start at that time and War was blamed for initiating the slaughter of humanity and the destruction of Earth.
His punishment? Perpetual torment from his higher-ups, something us mortals consider commonplace.
Death, the second game’s protagonist, hears that his brother is being unjustly accused of starting the apocalypse and sets out to revive the deceased peons on Earth to restore the balance.
Darksiders was an interesting combination of ideas incorporating The Legend of Zelda, God of War, and even Portal. The sequel puts the player in control of Death but will the power of Death give this game series a new life of its own?
The Good
I really liked how the game establishes the Death is a character about balance. He takes on quests from characters that create a semblance of balance for them so that they, in turn, can help restore the big picture balance for Death. Death’s personality is sarcastic to the point of being jovial as he cracks jokes at the other character’s expense.
The environments in Darksiders I had a very lackluster setting taking place on Earth while Darksiders II really lets loose on the art design. Structures fifteen times the size of Death make the game feel that much more epic in scope and the bosses compliment this by being equally large and grand.
The gameplay and how Death interacts with the world around him is feral and vicious which is an extension of Death’s character and demonstrates to the player that this is not War with a new coat of paint. The game also incorporates a loot system, which allows you to upgrade Death the way you want to.
This keeps the game addictive and conveys constant progress being made to the player.
The Bad
Darksiders II has frequent and jarring loading times.
Every time Death opens a door or goes into a new area, there is a loading screen. I downloaded the game onto my Xbox 360 hard drive but it barely remedied the problem. The platforming, while good, was a bit finicky and fastidious creating frustrating moments.
For those of you who like to sit down and play a game for great lengths of time, Darksiders II is going to feel like a grind. Get your objective... go to dungeon... solve the puzzle...rinse and repeat three times and then go to the next quest-giver.
What also perturbed me were these ledges or spaces Death could clearly jump up to but couldn’t climb up because the developed wanted you to go a different way. It harshly reminded me that I was playing a video game and not experiencing an imaginative world.
The Verdict
Darksiders II has one of the most structurally important pillars in game design: fun. It is a blast to grab Death’s scythes and have a field day. Even with all the technical issues and repetition that the game has, I would still recommend Darksiders II to anyone curious about the game, even if you haven’t played the first one.
Follow me on Twitter @MaroonandGamer or send me an email to shfawcet@asu.edu
