How will this world end? It is a question that has vexed people of various cultures for millennia. Today, it could be argued that a nuclear holocaust is more plausible than the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse smiting people left and right. If we go back several centuries to the Dark Ages, artists depicted the Four Horsemen as prime evils, held back only by the hand of God. When they are finally released, they kill everything in sight. This leaves the world ravaged. So goes the old Christian apocalyptic myth. But what if the Horsemen have different goals? This is the foundation for Darksiders.
Darksiders follows War, one of the Four Horsemen. Unlike the traditional view of him and his colleagues, the Horsemen are enforcers of balance. Their goal is to punish those who threaten it, whether they are human, demon or angel. And when the apocalypse finally occurs, they are the folks who will merge all three kingdoms together. From there, life will continue with everyone living in harmony. Unfortunately, War was somehow summoned to Earth without any of the seven seals being broken or being sent by his superiors. His punishment was to be sealed away for a century. Now, he is out, and he wants revenge. He wants balance returned to the world.
It’s a pretty interesting plot and a refreshing take on a death of the world. War comes off as ruthless and completely calm, almost to the point of being calculating. He is not bloodthirsty, though his methods could be considered such. He is also shows mercy to his opponents at times, preferring to kill them later or believing they have already received their punishment. However, things are not always pushed to their limits or fully realized. War is, essentially, a mixture of different characters. He’s brutal enough to appeal to the bloodthirsty folks but kindhearted enough to be considered “decent.” This allows gamers who usually do not get into these types of games to back him, to take a road they do not usually traverse.
Gameplay is a mixture of several different games. There is intense slashing of demons and the undead with War’s sword, Chaoseater. There are gauntlets that allow him to literally punch the living daylights out of enemies. And there is a scythe that is perfect for annihilating groups of enemies. After an opponent has rejoined the Maker, you collect souls. This underworld currency is a necessary “evil” in order to purchase items in bottles — I mean, empty vessels — for healing and upgrading weapons and magic spells — I mean, wrath powers.
Then things instantly change gears. It suddenly becomes a third-person shooter on rails, a bit of dungeon of crawling and exploration, and then it once again becomes a third-person shooter. Then there are areas that have to be traversed by any means necessary: climbing on blocks, throwing your elemental stealing boomerang to set things on fire, blowing a horn to stun enemies, a chain that grabs onto surfaces and creating access points between two different spaces.
In fact, when most games wear so many hats, things tend to suffer. But Darksiders does it well because it mixes things so seamlessly. The developers clearly have a strong idea of how all their sources of inspiration work on their own levels and how they all fuse together. It’s this strength alone that makes Darksiders so strong: How each area is put together and how you traverse it are the most enjoyable aspects of the game. There is always something to catch your attention and captivate you for the duration of the adventure.
Control wise, everything is perfect. There is no lag between button mashing. There are only three buttons to worry about for attacking, and how you hold them influences how it’ll behave. If you hold down the X button, War will lift an opponent up in the air with his sword. If you hold the Y button with the Gauntlets equipped, he’ll smash the ground and cause damage to those around him. And the RB button can determine if you want to block an attack or dodge it. And you can even dodge midattack.
Graphically, the game looks realistic. War looks a bodybuilder who has a bit too much free time on his hands. Enemies, while rather similar, all move around the screen smoothly and look like actual threats. Flaming giant bats attempt to claw War, skeletons of various armors rise up and attempt to slash everything in sight, and there are even rogue angels with machine guns and swords flying around. Environments are massive and unique. Streets are cracked and destroyed, sewers still work with flowing water, a corrupted cathedral is complete with statues and pews, a sanitarium is covered with webs, and lava boils and pops. It’s a competent engine as load times are rather fast. However, it is not perfect. War can get caught in a corner and have to jump out of it. He can find an incline and “float” right above it. Even more “terrifying” is the simple fact his feet can sometimes be seen through the environment at times.
Audio wise, everything is in the necessary place. Swords clash, punches are electrifying, the scythe clangs and swishes through the air and War glides with shadowy wings. The voice acting is strong and perfectly fits each character. Without them, some of the characters would have felt extraneous or ineffective. What could be considered “poor” is the music. It isn’t bad, but it is mostly ambient. It would be nice if there were more tracks to hear, especially since the few measures heard are tense and threatening.
Overall, Darksiders is a strong addition to any action gamer’s library. There is always something to grab your attention, from the intense action sequences to the environmental puzzles. And it owes all of this to the games it clearly honors, proving homages do not have to feel like a long lost sibling who needs some green clothes, thunderbolts, a dagger and a soul-eating sword. It is a bit rough around the edges, but it is downright joy to play through.
I was fortunate enough to find this game for $20, and it is even worth it for $40. This roughly translates to about 15 to 20 hours of enjoyment. Of course, like any other game, this factor depends on how much time you are willing to allow to get sucked into a destroyed world. For a game that has “Christian principles” in it, it is wonderfully creative. So it’s no wonder I feel so fine about a dead world.
