Darksiders: Warmastered Edition Review (Wazonga)
I bought the “Darksiders” trilogy (Couldn’t get Genesis) back in July 2021. At first glance I said, 10$ dollars for 3 games sounds like a good deal. After completing each game I can proudly say, all I can say to the franchise’s community is, “Aren’t we making a mighty ruckus?”.
Darksiders 1 was an experience I loved through and through. I fell deeply for War’s direct yet serene personality to most of the cast you meet in the game. A warrior with only respect for arms and combat, while retaining his cunningness during the fights and his analytical understanding in the story. With the same voice as Gaara from Naruto DUB and Asura in Asura’s Wrath, Liam O'Brien, the story of the warmaster was perfectly introduced and portrayed.
The narrative and the cast of the Darksiders played their roles in the best way possible. I was shocked with some of the plot twists that explained the course of War’s Adventure. I gasped a lot. Most cutscenes and in-game dialogue explained most of the rules and concepts of this fictional universe. The theme of The Four Riders of the Apocalypse was adapted rather impressively.
As a “Hack ‘n Slash” fan and Puzzle Solver enthusiast, I was astonished with the core gameplay mechanics of War’s Movement Set. I found it to be a bit clunky at times. Even though it was basic and simple moves, they felt powerful and refined, similar to the personality of the warmaster himself. The combat always felt thrilling when facing the hordes of hell. However,the enemy AI was dumb sometimes. They either stood frozen in place for you to hit them. Others died walking backwards into a death wall, a cliff or as soon as they spawned. The Bosses were executed greatly, both figuratively and literally. They used the same mechanics the player learned throughout his journey, while retaining the “HIT THE THING AND KILL IT” vibe.
The puzzle sections are recursive gimmicks throughout the franchise. They require a bit of thinking and attention regarding your current arsenal and location. They always give enough clues for you to figure out what to do and where to go next. As for the landscapes, environments and level designs, they were carefully planned and detailed. The diabolical dungeons you explore through a dystopian earth are polished beautifully.
Even though it’s graphics cannot compare to other titles that were published in the same period, it is a great game and entry in the action H&S genre. Many people see it as a God Of War Rip-Off, but that is just a formula for this type of project. Nowadays making something completely original is complicated.
But what you can do is take the formula of a specific genre and adapt it to your own vision, guidelines and themes. And I believe the devs at Kaiko and Vigil Games did exactly that. As a result, it made a great start for the Darksiders Universe. A game for gamers made by gamers. 8.5/10