Retawes Review: Darksiders 2

Darksiders 2 - 18/20

With recent reports that THQ are in bankruptcy, does Darksiders 2 create salvation or damnation?


Story and Setting - 9.2/10

Darksiders 2 parallels its predecessor's plot. Framed for causing a universal dilemma, War -one of the four horseman- is imprisoned by the 'Council'(Reference to the original Darksiders). Meanwhile, one of his brethren Death, seeks to redeem his brother and prove his innocence. However, D2's story and lore involves more than just a family dispute. Death sees himself trapped between factions and conflicts that span from centuries past. Helping the 'Makers'; (The 'creators') travelling to and from the Underworld, City of the Dead and Earth, all of these tasks are laid on Death's skeleton shoulders.

One of the several zones of Darksiders 2

Speaking of the environment, Darksiders 2 is far larger than War's journey. With over four diverse maps, players will be  From the peaceful, native 'Garden of Eden'-esque society of the Makers, to the cursed, plague-driven world of the 'City of the Dead'. 3D textures in the foreground and nostalgic 2D, artwork as the background leaves the player with the possibility of further exploration than the game conveys.







Incidentally, throughout D2, there is a vast majority of exploring to do. Dungeons, forests, hidden caves, demonic halls, Vigil Games has just given players the opportunity and ability to endeavor in environmental inspections with a range of creative characters.

Death, grow an attitude!

Mentioning the chaotic cast, Vigil Games stage an array of figures and personas with fleshed out stories and characteristics. For instance, during the 'City of the Dead' area, Death meets an undead jury, king, chancellor, assassin and a centaur merchant who is the last of his kind. Although, these characters are more interesting than the game's protagonist. Death, does occasionally use wit and sarcasm in his speech yet, he never portrays a specific attribute. Sure, when you give him some 'epic' armour or a flame elemental hammer Death becomes more gruesome and surreal but his personality is rather bland. Even War was easier to understand his complexion.

On a side note, Death does have an engaging back story that relates to all of the four horseman (War, Death, Fury and Strife) and their nemesis, 'Corruption'.

Musically, the OST (Original Soundtrack) provides assorted amounts of tracks that span across all scenarios. From peaceful acoustics that emulate the calm atmosphere of the 'Makers' to the orchestral 'adrenaline pumping' battle pieces, D2 captivates the essence of video game music unlike much in the modern market. Specifically tracks such as "The Makers Theme", "Into Eternity" and "The Makers Overworld". The composer, Jasper Kyd should be rewarded on his creative tunes.

Remotely, the cast of the apocalyptic tale always heighten the bar. Characters such as the Satan-esque Samuel and the wise Crowfather feel like their voices are real and envision into a fantasy. Although, the 'Makers' seem to have a heavy Irish and Scottish accent.

Graphics and Gameplay - 8.8/10


Darksiders 2 separates itself from its predecessor in several ways. The first and most obvious of them is the additional RPG mechanics.

The mechanic essentially is a 'loot and stat' system where Death finds clothing, weapons and talismans within the chaotic world, in order to equip, sell and upgrade other items for his benefit. Each item is unique and there are arrays upon arrays of shoulder pads, pairs of scythes, hammers, daggers and whatnot to discover. Each of these individual equipment, gives Death different additional stats and upgrades to his strength, defense, health, damage, speed, resistance, elemental damage, etc. There is also rare gear and armour sets scattered through undiscovered dungeons and by completing quests.

In related matter, quests are another additional feature in D2. As Death aids and is assisted by several characters, Vigil Games have decided to give the player the ability to level up with quests and defeating enemies. Some quests are as simple as defeating a boss or fetching for hidden items yet some span throughout the entire game. For instance, Vulgrim (The demonic rare item selling merchant) gives you the task of finding the four chapters of the 'Book of the Dead', rewarding you as you discover each chapter. Likewise, a mysterious plant creature named 'Blackroot' demands that you search for his mystical appetite, stones enfused with enhancements.

Aside from quests, Death also interacts with other characters through purchasing items and new moves for combat. Characters such as the ghostly assassin, Draven teaches Death advanced techniques for defeating goons and bosses.

Cthulhu? As a boss battle?

Coincidentally,  Death's enemies and minions are completely varied. The minions are created based on their area and faction. For instance, there are corrupted angels in the 'Heaven'-esque society and skeleton soldiers  in the 'City of the Dead'. Incidentally, the bosses are completely unique and reflect on Darksiders 2's overall identity. Each boss, is played out with a blend of combat and puzzle formula. Just as, the (SPOILER ALERT) Colossus style boss, the 'Guardian' consists of Death using several gadgets and utilities to dismember the monstrous structure to  harm its 'weak points'. (SPOILER ALERT END)



Speaking of Death's gadgets and tools, Darksiders 2 provides a numerous amount of puzzles that the player must solve. At first, these puzzles are quite basic and just involve using one method but near the end of Death's journey, they involve all five of Death's tools (Clone/Doppelganger device, Time travel, portals, grapple hook and Strife's gun).

Lingering on to the role-playing mechanics in Darksiders 2, upon leveling Death has the option of endorsing skill points earned from leveling into the two skill trees; the magic specializing, zombie spawning 'Necromancer'; and the melee oriented, slash and clash 'Harbringer'.

"Did you just call me fat?"

Graphically speaking, the game is a mess. At times, it performs smoothly with little to no frame rate issues yet occasionally suffers from rendering, freezing  and crashing conundrums. 

Furthermore, a friend of mine had his save file corrupted as his game froze as it was saving. Although all of this can be fixed with a simple update.

Overall - 18/20

To conclude, Darksiders 2 is a surprisingly engaging game. If you ignore the graphical corruption and Death's dull personality, then you'll enjoy the creative cast, environments, tricky puzzles and in depth Role-Playing mechanics while defeating demons, completing character's conundrums, exposing secrets and proving War's innocence.

Dominatrix ALERT!