Games about heaven and hell intrigue me. It's a subject matter that's hardly tackled in videogames though, a taboo topic if you will. But upon reading the plot of Darksiders, I knew I'd have to check it out...
Darksiders sees you play as 'War', one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who's to be summoned to Earth when the seven seals referenced in the Bible are broken, resulting in war between heaven and hell. In a twist of fate, War gets falsely summoned, and it's up to him to find out what happened.
Comparisons to God of War are inevitable thanks to the hack-and-slash nature ? and thankfully, it pulls off the combat pretty well. With brutal finishing moves and the ability to use items found in the environment as weapons, the game frequently degenerates into a cacophony of blood and gore.
There aren't much combos and moves at your disposal at first, but as you progress through the game, you earn souls, which can be used to unlock more moves, weapons and items. It's an ages-old mechanic but still works well, keeping you glued to the game as you aim for more upgrades. The best thing about this system is that almost every move is useful, from the lunging dash strike to the air-attacks.
And it's not just the demons that you'll have to battle at first, as you go after angels and various other-worldly creatures in the intro too. That's right... Even members of heaven's army (not salvation) get brutalised.
Occasionally, you'll find yourself faced with a challenge or five in order to advance to the next area. Whether it be defeating 50 enemies in four minutes or 'instant-killing' thirty creatures, a tough challenge is guaranteed and makes for several tense moments as your health runs dangerously low.
But the game consists of more than just blood, gore and challenges, with a few puzzles thrown into the mix. It really evokes memories of Legend of Zelda ? albeit in a hellish setting.
The settings itself are decent enough, with the game going from ruined city streets and buildings to lava-swept caverns and nightmarish ruins. The immediate surroundings are quite detailed, such as the aforementioned orange-tinged lava-swept caverns. But the surroundings in the distance tends to look samey and bland.
The characters themselves are also decently modelled, with a colourful, comic-book style throughout. Enemies are also modelled well, though the zombie-like creatures are lacking in detail.
Speaking of enemies, the art style extends to the bosses found in the game, with intricately-detailed characters making for a visually-pleasing battle.
Darksiders also features great voice-overs, with cheesy acting creeping its way into the game at times. It's easy to overlook this aspect but it's clear that the developers haven't neglected it.
With brutal combat, a well-rendered art-style, a great story and a hint of puzzles, Darksiders is a great way to start 2010 and an excellent first release for Vigil Games.
8.0/10
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