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    Darksiders II

    Game » consists of 30 releases. Released Aug 14, 2012

    Players return to the post-Apocalypse in the sequel to 2010's Darksiders, this time as former protagonist War's fellow Horseman of the Apocalypse, Death, the pale rider, who seeks to resurrect Humanity to clear his brother's good name.

    Short summary describing this game.

    Darksiders II last edited by sashhimi on 02/09/22 08:37AM View full history

    Overview

    The game's evolving title screen.
    The game's evolving title screen.

    Vigil Games allegedly began working on the sequel just a couple of months after releasing the original Darksiders. At the IGDA Leadership Forum, Danny Bilson mentioned further details regarding the future Darksiders title during his keynote speech. It was revealed that in Darksiders II, a new character will take center stage as the main protagonist, not War. While the sequel's protagonist is not War, the Apocalypse only happens once so the story will be set concurrently with the first game. For the July 2011 issue of Game Informer magazine, it was revealed the new protagonist is Death.

    Darksiders was released in the US on August 14, 2012 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; the game was released a week later, August 21st, in Europe. The game was also a launch title for the Wii U on November 18, 2012 in the US and November 30 in Europe. A version for the PS4 was confirmed on February 16, 2015.

    Gameplay

    As a hack n slash game, Darksiders 2 has a strong emphasis on its combat system and fighting against hordes of enemies. The new combat system is much faster and more reliant on offensive agile maneuvers than War's more tank-like reactive combat; while War, as the incarnation of violence, was able to withstand mighty blows, Death is frailer than his brother, unable to block, and must rely on dodging to avoid damage.

    Death attacks with his double scythes and has a variety of dial-in combos and pause combos that he can perform, and he is also able to learn new moves with different NPCs throughout the game. Some combos end with Death's spectral form doing its last hit creating a dynamic similar to the Wicked Weaves in the Bayonetta games. Despite the concept being intrinsically tied to War, Wrath is once again the magic/mana gauge of the game, offering up special attacks and abilities.

    The game also adds secondary weapons for changing up combos and reacting to specific enemy types, and different gadgets that can be equipped to use for both combat and puzzle-solving.

    The new loot system puts a bigger emphasis on allowing the player to create a version of Death that plays the way they want to, with, for example, items that give more wrath allowing players to be more like a spell caster and weapons designed for melee giving bonuses to regular combat.

    RPG Stats

    Stats are now also a big part of the game emphasizing how much more of an RPG Darksiders II is in comparison to the first game. Although planned for the first game, development constraints prevented the stat system from making its way in but have returned for Darksiders II and is fully utilized to coincide with the loot system.

    Death's playstyle is determined by four stats: Strength, Defense, Agility, and Arcane.

    Weapons and Gear

    The player can use the main attack combined with the offhand attack in various combinations to perform combat abilities. The following are the weapon types available throughout the game.

    Main hand

    • Dual wielded Scythes that merge into one Giant Scythe as part of various attack combos.

    Offhand

    • Fast weapons such as fist weapons have a faster attack speed than the other offhand options.
    • Slow weapons make up the rest of the offhand selection, these consist of a 2 handed axe, hammer and a polearm. Each has its own style of attack, an example of this is the polearm "thrust".

    All weapons have a level of quality and various stats with the strongest being called "Possessed" weapons which can be fed other items in order to grow more powerful. So far gear items that look strikingly similar to those of the first game are;

    • Deathgrip - primarily used for navigating and traversing the world like War's Abyssal Chain and also has the dual function of pulling smaller enemies/objects towards Death and pulling Death towards larger ones.
    • The Void Walker - a portal generator for getting to otherwise unreachable areas.

    Most weapons and armor come in the form of loot items such as in an RPG and are fully customizable but designed to all fit together regardless of combination. Different stats will be better for different specializations.

    Despair

    Death has his spectral mount Despair; much like Ruin in the first Darksiders, Despair acts as Death's mode of fast transportation across the world of Darksiders II. This time around, he has been part of the game design from the beginning, and Despair is available from the start of the game; the is in contrast to Ruin, who was encountered late within the first game, as its environments were supposedly developed prior to Ruin being added to the game as an active mechanic.

    Reaper Form

    As War had his Chaos form, Death has his Reaper form; a much larger, more powerful super-state that grants far greater amounts of power for a short period of time. Since Death is a more flashy, egotistical character than the brutally pragmatic War, his Reaper form is featured in cutscenes as well.

    Wrath Powers

    No Caption Provided

    Harbinger Tree

    • Teleport Slash
    • Harvest
    • Unstoppable
    • Frenzy

    Necromancer Tree

    Death using
    Death using "Murder".
    • Exhume
    • Aegis Guard
    • Murder
    • Bone Storm

    Story

    New in Darksiders 2 is dialogue wheels.
    New in Darksiders 2 is dialogue wheels.

    Set during the same time period as the original game, Death's ultimate goal in Darksiders II is to restore Humanity; the Apocalypse was meant to occur once the Human race was ready to join either the side of Good or Evil in the End War, tipping the Balance and ending the war between Darksiders and Lightsiders once and for all. However, because the Apocalypse occurred millenia too soon, Humanity was completely wiped out by the demons who rampaged across the Earth. At the same time, Death seeks to keep his brother War protected during his journey to clear his name after he is framed for causing the Apocalypse.

    There is a sub-plot of the game that regards the origins of the four horsemen and their once glorious race known as the Nephilim, as well as further explanation about who The Makers were. There was an official Comic released that focused on the other horseman and it has been hinted many times that they will all appear a lot more in Darksiders II.

    Development

    Death was designed very differently from War, appearing lean but not emaciated, a distinct contrast to his usual depiction as a cloaked skeleton. His armor is very similar to War's in design, though with Death preferring to forsake any torso or shoulder armor to give him the maximum amount of maneuverability - unlike War, Death cannot block, and relies entirely on dodges to avoid injury.

    The four horsemen themselves are the last remaining members of a race known as the Nephilim, incredibly powerful super-beings with varying forms relatively similar to that of humans. The four were controlled by the neutral faction known as the Charred Council, initially represented as three giant stone faces in the first game. The Nephilim were almost wiped out after they declared war on Heaven; it was believed that the role of the species who would sway the Balance in the End War would go to the Nephilim, who were outraged when instead that destiny was given to the mortal race of Humans. The forces of Light wiped out all but four of the Nephilim in the ensuing war.

    The primary setting for Darksiders II is a realm of forgotten battlefields and destroyed worlds left behind by countless wars between Heaven and Hell. The major local is known as the Abyssal Plains. The more fantastical setting of Darksiders II has allowed Vigil to expand their artistic style much more thoroughly across the game than in the original since Earth isn't the primary location this time around.

    Town hubs with NPCs will be present offering up the standard RPG tropes of item vendors and optional quest givers.

    Wii U Version

    No Caption Provided

    The Nintendo Wii U version of the game makes use of the touch screen for inventory/map functions and the gyro sensor in the GamePad for evading enemy attacks. Off-TV Play is also supported. Additionally, the Wii U version comes with ''5+ hours'' of additional content in the form of all pre-order DLC packs and the Argul's Tomb and Death Rides DLC on the disc. The next two DLC packs are also available via the Wii U eShop.

    Retail Versions

    The game's collector's edition.
    The game's collector's edition.

    Aside from the standard edition, there are two additional versions: The limited edition and the collector's edition. The limited edition is a free upgrade to the regular edition for those who pre-order the game. It includes one piece of DLC which will be released for everyone after 30 days and is titled the Argul's Tomb expansion.

    The Collector's Edition contains much more than the Limited Edition, it includes:

    • Darksiders II Limited Edition
    • Life-Sized Replica Death Mask with Stand
    • Art Book
    • Digital Soundtrack Download
    • Shadow of Death DLC

    PC System Requirements

    Minimum

    • OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista SP1 or Windows 7
    • CPU: 2.0Ghz Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor or AMD equivalent
    • RAM: 2GB
    • Hard Drive: 20 GB space free (10 GB free after install)
    • GPU: NVIDIA 9800 GT 512 MB Video Card or AMD equivalent
    • Online Steam account

    Recommended

    • OS: Windows 7
    • CPU: Any Quad-core AMD or Intel Processor
    • RAM: 2GB
    • Hard Drive: 20 GB space free (10 GB free after install)
    • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 512MB Video Card or AMD equivalent
    • Online Steam account
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