Quantity over quality
It is very important that you know what kind of game Darksiders is before going in, it is primarily an adventure game. I came into the game expecting a bit more of a focus on action, something that really threw me off for a large part of my time with it. Darksiders attempts to merge a barrel full of other popular game mechanics to create a perfect mix. The problem is that not one of these mechanics has been represented as well as the game it borrows it from, not even close. The combat is very stiff, and the exploration is often halted by sections where you’re given very little information as what to do next or where to go. Depending on how you’ve seen all these mechanics done before, you might be left wanting at the end.
One area where Darksiders isn’t lacking is in the story, it does take a while to get going but once you hit the half way point things really get interesting. You play as War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. You are wrongfully called upon for battle and wind up getting blamed for the extinction of mankind. Which gets you into a little bit of trouble, the game is spent finding out just exactly why you were the only one called into battle. The characters are well realised, the voice acting is subpar in parts but the overall arc makes you want more after the games final confrontation.
The main thing that holds Darksiders back are the controls, while they are definitely competent; they leave something to be desired. The combat feels sort of like an “action game for dummies” walkthrough, once you figure out enemies patterns, there is a very repetitive structure to the fighting. You won’t spend much time fighting though, the vast majority of Darksiders is spent exploring various locations and solving puzzles. The puzzle aspect of the game is done very well; they come at a steady rate and strike a good balance of being obvious yet challenging and not frustrating. The biggest fault this aspect has is that too many sections of puzzles are repeated far too often. The portal gun is a good example of this, and due to the mechanics not being polished enough, these repeated sections become extremely annoying. This gun also factors into a very irritating boss fight that is repeated three times within around 90 minutes of gameplay. In a better game this wouldn’t be a bad thing but Darksiders doesn’t have polished enough mechanics for this not to be annoying.
There is definitely merit awarded for how many individual things Darksiders manages to cram into one game. The combat feels like a very toned down God of War, there’s a boomerang that is ripped right out of Zelda, a hook shot that allows you swing along certain areas, a portal gun that shoots out blue and orange portals and a gauntlet that can open up hidden paths. Your health and magic are upgraded by collecting 4 parts of a particular object and you collect souls to upgrade your weapons and powers. Depending on how many games you’ve played before reading this, odds are you’ve seen most, if not all of that in previous games. That’s what brought down the experience so much for me; not one of these mechanics is even nearly as solid as the game it has been taken from.
Darksiders pulls no punches with its kitchen sink approach for all the different mechanics in the game. The problem is that the games they’re taken from do them significantly better than in Darksiders. There is a great world to explore in Darksiders filled with interesting characters and ideas. It’s just a shame that the game surrounding it isn’t as ambitious. If any one of the borrowed mechanics in Darksiders was pulled off with the same craft as the game it was taken from, you could overlook the seemingly half-hearted effort applied to the rest. Sadly, that isn’t the case, if you have experienced anything that Darksiders has to offer, you’re not missing much by not playing Darksiders.
