THQ Nordic treat us this year with a re-release of a much-loved classic, Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition. Darksiders II was initially released in 2012 on the PS3 and Xbox 360. In 2015, they released the Deathinitive Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One, which boasted improved gameplay. It’s now got the next gen upgrade which introduces even more updates, like; load times, 4K resolution, and DualSense integration. making the most of this generation’s hardware. I got the opportunity to check it out recently, check out my review below.
A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER
Remasters like this give a new audience another look at games which may have passed them by at the time. For me, it was the latter, I didn’t get a chance to play this originally on release. Are there any games you tried out years after its original release and now love? Share your stories in the comments below!
Gameplay
At the start of the 2010s, gritty action packed hack and slash games were all the rage. God of War played a big part in many developers trying to emulate its aesthetic with their own. Darksiders, and it’s sequel here, definitely has that dark tone and all the hack and slash goodness and then some. You continue the tale of Death, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. In this sequel, he is trying to clear the name of his brother, War. War is standing trial for wiping out humanity. That story alone is a little on the dark side in tone and story, fitting given the game’s title.
After an amazing cinematic, you are put straight into the game, where Death is riding his epic looking horse called Despair through an artic-like landscape. Despair is used mostly when travelling over the large, semi-open world maps. Soon enough, you come across a battle. The controls are as intuitive as you can get for a hack and slash adventure. Well-timed attacks and dodges can make short work of any attack. With the first enemies dispatched, their loot is yours for the taking, ranging from health potions or equipment upgrades.
NAVIGATING THE WORLD
A raven called Dust always leads the way, shining brightly to ensure you always see it and know the way to the next location/objective. A unique and clever addition as opposed to a sometimes obstructing compass HUD. A traversal tutorial is also given, where find out that Death can also wall-run and climb really well. There’s chests and collectables to collect along the way, where you use your magic hands to rip them open. To advance through certain areas, there’s very simple yet clever puzzles to overcome. One which I particularly liked involved rolling around balls to their respective cups to connect circuits.
As you level up after slaying the many enemies that stand in your way, you gain skill points to go towards improving your hacking and slashing. The combat is so gratifying when seeing Death himself use combat acrobatics and take-downs. The combat when taking down bosses ramps up the gratification even more when fighting the big boss type characters dotted throughout with quick time events. What elevates the combat even more are the effects used when fighting, which we’ll move onto now.
Graphics & Audio
In this re-release on the next gen platforms, the already vibrant, detailed and breath taking environments truly shine. There were moments I had to just stand in one spot, which was hard to do in such a frenetic game, and take it all in. The attention to detail in every area fools the gamer into thinking the very linear at times paths are much more open world. The fight animation FX were a joy to behold also making the already kinetic hack and slash gymnastics look even more fun.
The soundtrack goes hand in hand with the impressive and detailed vistas on offer, offering up a sometimes contrasting ethereal music to the growls and shouts of the monsters, the hack and slash of Death’s blades and the clanging of metal chains when opening boxes. The tempo and energy does change when encountering a larger for, making those victories even more epic. I was impressed with the voice acting throughout. The right tone and menacing attitude given by Death and everyone he encountered was sublime.
Longevity
Players can expect a hefty 19+ hours exploring and questing throughout the lands of this game. Even more if you are like me and want to take in every detail, often stopping to screenshot and savour the colours and detail. There was enough change of the scenery and colours too to not allow it to become repetitive. Throw in some intricate and challenging puzzles throughout which takes a bit of solving. There’s multitude of skills to unlock too meaning boredom never was an issue for me and I will continue playing this to the end.
Final Thoughts
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition need a re-release on the new gen consoles and PC? I always say yes when talking about remasters of much loved games, as it serves to introduce them to a new generation of gamers. Improvements have been given to the game to bring it right up to date and to make use of the newest tech. This game still remains a firm favourite in the gaming community, and it’s great to see it given a polish and offered up looking better than ever.
I award this game the Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoyed this review, why not check out my previous articles here
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Thank you for finally giving this masterpiece the recognition it deserves. This is the most underrated franchise in all of Gamedom.