No Phil Collins in sight, but is this prequel worth a look?
Darksiders: Genesis is an action/adventure that tears its way through hordes of demons, angels, and everything in-between on its way to Hell and back with guns blazing and swords swinging. Genesis gives players their first look at the world of Darksiders before the events of the original game, as well as introduces the horseman Strife.
I’ve been a big fan of Darksiders from the first game, I really enjoyed the Zelda/God of War mix of gameplay alongside the storyline, which I also found epic. Switching from this to an isometric co-op experience wasn’t my first idea when I thought of the 4th game, although this is a prequel and many would argue, a spin-off. Genesis finally introduces the 4th Horseman Strife’s personality and traits almost like Cayde-6’s from Destiny, which I have no problem getting behind.
Switching from the original games’ perspective to this new isometric view will take some getting used to, but it will become second nature after a while. I still prefer the original type of games, but it was a good attempt at remixing the formula and it does work well overall. Combat feels fluid and satisfying, while the levels are nicely designed and has plenty of hidden items scattered around. Strife relies on his guns, while War handles almost like he did in the original Darksiders. The good news is that you can switch between them in-game if you wish to handle battles differently on your own and like I said, you can even have someone else either locally or online hop in either in the game’s lobby or at certain areas of the level to give you a helping hand.
Visually, the game is impressive and runs at a steady framerate. The levels are nicely detailed and the character models are impressive overall. It’s not on the same level visually as the other games in the series, but its still fairly impressive overall. The soundtrack is also pretty decent and the voice-acting is great with some decent dialogue between Strife and War to name a few key moments.
The Verdict
Darksiders: Genesis is a new take on the series and it works well, as well as finally giving us a glimpse of the fourth horseman. Now if we can just get Darksiders 4 where they all unite, that’d be amazing…