Darksiders Genesis Review
Not long after the release of Darksiders 2 in 2012, it was revealed that THQ was in deep financial trouble. The company would eventually declare bankruptcy, leaving the future of the Darksiders franchise in doubt. Six years after the launch of Darksiders 2, and fans are finally being treated to the long-awaited Darksiders 3, though the game has been met with mixed reception by fans and critics. However, some fans are just happy to get another Darksiders game, and luckily, they don’t have to wait six years for the next one.
Darksiders Genesis arrived just a year after the launch of Darksiders 3, and it probably wasn’t nearly as divisive as its predecessor. Even if its switch to a Diablo-style isometric camera is a bit far from the series’ standards, Darksiders Genesis is still a Darksiders game, and while it certainly has its glaring flaws, it’s a lot of fun. it still is, especially when playing. in the co-op.
Darksiders Genesis is the first game in the Darksiders series to feature co-op, allowing one player to play as Strife and the other as War. The two Horsemen of the Apocalypse join forces to try to stop Lucifer’s plot, and they team up with Darksiders regular Samael to do so. Since the Darksiders games have been completely solo adventures up until this point, the Horsemen’s personalities haven’t been developed much, but here we get a lot of interesting dialogue between Strife and War, and both they exit the game. more compelling than ever.
War and Strife’s contrasting personalities make for some fun banter throughout Darksiders Genesis, and they help balance each other out. Fury’s personality in Darksiders 3 was a source of criticism for many critics of that game, and it’s possible that if this was a solo adventure for Strife, his endless quips would be grating. Still, Strife’s quips combined with War’s grim seriousness continue to entertain.
War and Strife didn’t just shine through in the story of Darksiders Genesis. Playing as any of them is a blast, especially since the developers have gone to great lengths to make sure they’re truly unique characters. War plays like a tank, and he is equipped with many of his abilities that he had in his solo adventure. Playing as War feels like the Diablo games that clearly inspired Darksiders Genesis with a focus on hack-and-slash combat, but playing as Strife is a completely different experience. Playing as Strife is like playing a twin-stick shooter, with her serving as DPS to War’s tank.
Darksiders Genesis players will find a satisfying rhythm to the game’s combat, with Strife hanging around and blasting enemies from afar while War makes sure enemies are constantly focused on him. Combat becomes more engaging later in the game, when players have access to more abilities that they can use to strategically partner in their co-op. That doesn’t mean the combat isn’t fun in the early game, though. Darksiders Genesis starts players off with a ton of combat options, to the point where it’s a bit daunting at first how to do everything.
War and Strife’s different play styles are a highlight of the Darksiders Genesis experience, but their uniqueness is also evident when it comes to puzzle solving. The Darksiders games are known for their Legend of Zelda-inspired puzzles, and Genesis is no different, with War and Strife collecting various gadgets to help them solve period puzzles. of adventure. For example, War gets a gauntlet that can destroy certain crystals in the game, while Strife gets an item that allows him to create portals. Some of the best puzzles in the game force players to combine the abilities of War and Strife, which really elevates the co-op experience.
Darksiders Genesis is clearly a game built with co-op in mind, though solo play is perfect too. There are some adjustments made to the game world to accommodate single players, though we highly recommend playing in co-op if possible. Darksiders Genesis is more fun when playing in co-op, and it makes it pretty easy to do so. Darksiders Genesis supports both online multiplayer and split-screen, the latter of which is much appreciated as developers sometimes drop split-screen support when it comes to PC versions of games.
There is one small annoyance when it comes to Darksiders Genesis co-op, though, and that’s the way it’s accessed. Instead of only allowing instant drop-in/drop-out co-op, players instead have to visit special stones in the game world to start co-op sessions. Now, this is usually not a big deal, since these stones are placed at the beginning of levels and in the hub area, but there are some specific instances where it can be annoying.
Unfortunately, Darksiders Genesis has some technical issues that will occasionally force players to restart the game, and in these cases, their co-op partner may be left behind for a while until as the players get to another stone. This isn’t something that’s going to be a consistent issue, but we did experience it a few times during our playthrough of the game, and so those interested in Darksiders Genesis will want to be aware of that.
Darksiders Genesis is more polished than Darksiders 3, but there are still some serious technical issues that plague the game and really keep it from reaching its full potential. We experienced things like enemies not spawning when they needed to be killed to advance to the next room, co-op partners being blocked out of boss rooms, and straight-up game crashes in some cases.
Darksiders Genesis also suffers from a bad camera, which is one of the game’s frequent problems. Walls often block the camera, obscuring the view of players when they are in the middle of a fight. Other times the camera hides upcoming cliffs or hazards, leading to cheap deaths. Other times, the camera will suddenly zoom in on a seemingly random spot, which can mess things up for players.
The camera also has a negative effect on the platforming in Darksiders Genesis, but the platforming also creates its own problems. The platforming in Darksiders Genesis is imprecise and doesn’t work well with the isometric camera. Some of the most annoying sections of the game come when the platforming is mixed with climbing, as War and Brawl tend to leap from pillars and walls to their doom regardless of which direction they are pointed. of sticks. Fortunately, platforming isn’t a huge focus of the game, and players will spend most of their time enjoying the great puzzles and combat.
Aside from combat and puzzle solving, Darksiders Genesis also has strong exploration elements, with many levels featuring open-ended environments that encourage players to go off the beaten path. There are some great rewards for doing this, sometimes players stumble upon new abilities for War and Skirmishes. Other upgrades for War and Strife come in the form of Creature Cores, which are obtained by killing specific monsters, and knowing the best Creature Cores to maximize War and Strife’s potential is very -useful in itself.
Darksiders Genesis players have plenty of upgrades to unlock, though doing so requires them to shell out some in-game currency. This can be done by repeating story missions, but there is also an Arena that players can check out where they can fight waves of enemies under specific stipulations in exchange for rewards. The Arena is a great feature in Darksiders Genesis as it allows players to fully immerse themselves in the battle, letting them test their skills against a variety of deadly enemies and mini-bosses. without having to worry about platforming or anything.
While there are some mini-bosses that appear perhaps too many times, the main boss designs in Darksiders Genesis are all pretty creative, and the fights are memorable. Each of them have their own gimmick to help make their battles interesting and noteworthy, though players should be warned that some of the bosses in the game are incredibly tough Darksiders Genesis isn’t a Souls-like game by any stretch of the imagination, but there are certainly some battles that will give players a run for their money, including some bosses that can easily kill players in one hit.
The challenging boss fights, engaging combat, and emphasis on co-op in Darksiders Genesis still make it worth checking out despite its technical hiccups. Fans of the Darksiders franchise worried that the game will be too different from the others can rest easy knowing that Darksiders Genesis is a true Darksiders experience from start to finish.
Darksiders Genesis launches on December 5 for PC and Stadia, and is coming to PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on February 14, 2020. Today Technology reviewed the game on PC.