Darksiders (April Gold, 2017) Review
Darksiders (Xbox 360) Review
Going into Darksiders for the Xbox 360 (which I played via backwards compatibility on the Xbox one) I expected (based on what I have heard all these years since its release) a Zelda clone. While the Combat system is much closer to that of a Devil May Cry style character action game and the going is rough at first, the now defunct Vigil Games indeed created a darker Zelda style game. What is more they created a good one, for the most part.
The Game opens with Armageddon, the final battle between Heaven and Hell taking place on the streets of Manhattan. Amidst the chaos War (one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse) is summoned via a meteor and you begin smashing anything in your way. Something is very wrong though. The other three horsemen (War's brothers) are not there and you quickly get blamed for the battle that wipes humanity from the face of the Earth. As punishment you are stripped of your powers and given a suicidal mission to find the ones responsible for the chaos and bringing them to justice, all the while with a handler holding your "leash".
The game starts you out with a basic over sized sword and the ability to grab large objects (such as burned out cars) and throw them at enemies. You very quickly acquire an off hand scythe style weapon from the traveling creepy shoppe keeper and a horn (which acts both as a crowd control device and a special door opener). Over time, you acquire more weapons and items often using them to defeat the boss of the dungeon where you receive them in.
Darksiders is not an open world, or even an overworld style game. Instead it is a series of hubs connected to long pathways that connect to other hubs to more pathways that end in dungeons. It is a design that can result in a fair bit of back-tracking as items you gain give you access to previously unreachable areas. There is a fast travel system that you gain access to fairly early via the local shopkeeper. Near the end of the game you gain a flaming demon horse that you ride in the more open areas (you are a horsemen, afterall).
The combat system uses a similar juggle and crowd control scheme as Devil May Cry with weapons that have advantages and disadvantages that you learn very quickly. Your Sword (which you always have equipped) is mapped to the X button while you offhand weapon is assigned to Y. The left trigger acts as your lock on or Z targeting if you will and the right trigger uses the item or ranged weapon you have equiped ( such as the horn, boomerang, pistol, and others). You also start out with a dash move that is used for evasion and positioning in battle. The Combat is quite satisfying once you get the hang of it. Larger enemies that are near death of a B button icon appear over them that prompts you to finish them off in an over the top, somewhat God of War manner.
The Dungeons in Darksiders are of similar nature to a standard 3D Zelda game. You move blocks, flip switches, destroy barriers (sometimes with the use of Bomb Plants) and raise platforms with the intent of either getting to a higher elevation or opening a specific door. These obstacles are simple in the early dungeons but become much more complex in later ones. Occasionally you are sealed off in an area with a series of enemies you must defeat before you can progress (much like in DMC). At the end of each dungeon you receive a skull, which acts as a heart container from Zelda, giving you an additional life bar. You can also find pieces of skull which give you a full one when four of them are collected.
Overall, Darksiders in mostly successful in pulling off a 3D Zelda style game with a more engaging combat system. Where it falls short are the platforming sequences where the sometimes clunky jumping can lead you walking right off a ledge when you thought you jumped ( you have to jump well before you reach the edge). Dashing can be problematic too as there were times that I hit dash to try to avoid an enemy attack only to not have it work, resulting in unnecessary damage. Such may be due to an attack animation of mine having to finish fully before it would allow me to dash. The story takes time to get interesting and really only gets truly engaging right near the ends as you start to learn what is really going on. Those points aside, I would say that Darksiders is a worthwhile game for anyone interested in a darker take on a 3D Zelda or fans of Devil May Cry.
Thanking you for Reading,
Gangway
