Review: Darksiders II — Life From Death

Darksiders II, developed by Vigil Games, follows Death, a nephilim and rider of the four horsemen, who seeks to absolve his brother War of annihilating the entire human race and prematurely bringing about the apocalypse — not something easily swept under a rug (no matter the size). Death is clearly the most obvious “person” to vouch for a professional mass murderer’s innocence. After all, killing is his job. The sequel coincides with the original’s timeline, although the game is not a rehash — it’s a tale of hope in the bleak guise of reified despair. Death’s adventure spans multiple worlds, explores the expansive lore within the universe, the riders’ origins, and breathes life into a familiar trope. The game succeeds admirably at creating a unique and distinctly different and dystopian story for Death.

“Gross. I got gum in my wings again.”

Unlike the two dimensional personification of War, Death oozes style. A supreme confidence and sassy condescension comprise the bulk of Death’s characterization, though subtle hints of doubt and regret build as the game progresses, thus generating a dynamic character. While Death seeks to absolve his brother, grim-daddy doesn’t know whether or not his ally is innocent. Consequently, succeeding would restore the balance between Heaven, Hell, and humanity, even though that isn’t Death’s primary goal. It’s merely a boon. Also, there’s the issue of Corruption. The main quest in the game is to revive humanity, but it quickly becomes apparent that to achieve the first goal, Death must free dying lands from the choking grasp of a malignant infection.

Dungeons filled with cogitative puzzles and locked doors await exploration and a good ol’ fashioned loot reapin’ and key findin’. You receive special abilities as the game progresses that you must use to solve puzzles, which become increasingly complex and require the use of multiple powers in conjunction as the game progresses. The bulk of your main otherworldly objectives (i.e. the plot) are fetch quests (“go into that other dank tomb to get me another draconian artifact”), but a few tricky side quests break up the monotony. These side quests range from tracking down a creature in its lair and slaying it to collecting three crystals to wake some other scary creature up. Boatman coins and pages from the Book of the Dead are hidden through all of the dungeons and overworld. Make sure every pot is broken and attempt each stupid “just maybe” jump. At a certain point in the game, the Crucible — an arena (survival mode with rewards) — is available to for the player to trounce. Each level becomes more challenging and features a set of monsters, each more difficult than the last, begging Death to take their lives through reverse psychology.

Darksiders II subtly slinks away from the adventure genre and into the cluttered realm of action RPGs. Hit points explode off of the enemies as Death witnesses the precise amount of bodily harm he inflicts. The equipment within the game scales based on the player’s level, thrusting them forward into a lurid hunt for the next legendary lightning scythes. A loot system also introduces variety in the deliverance of mayhem, slaughter, and the avatar’s appearance. As more monsters drop cool clothes and murder toys, Death becomes more visually threatening and deserving of his name.

“Where’s my money?!”

Weapons and armor are found on slain foes, treasure chests, as quest rewards, or even as a special boss drop. The loot system is easy to manage and simply displays differences between worn and carried equipment. Vendor trash — I mean lower level items — can line the player’s pockets with gilt (gold). A few ways to spend money exist: buying new equipment or replacement potions from a merchant, purchasing skills, or for the true baller, the you can spend your stack of hidden boatman coins on random weapons from a familiar and ever so creepy merchant. An appreciated balance exists between finding and selling loot and how much vender items cost. A vendor might have a spectacularly awesome item that you crave and generally players will have enough money, but after buying a couple of items, Death is dead broke. This economic dynamic balances the monetary system making gilt worth picking up.

Death can level up distribute skill points in a skill tree now. Two branches offer two different flavors of play: necromancy and harbinger. The necromancer tree focuses on minions (short-lived pets), whereas the harbinger builds a teleporting warrior reaper. Putting points in both trees isn’t a bad thing; playing as a frenzied teleporting warrior reaper with a necromantic shield while flaming ghouls and frost crows pre-wreck your enemies is definitely more fun than just regular homicide. Throw in different weapon types ranging from beastly looking gauntlets, an axe bigger than my door frame, and even escalating to a hammer bigger than the player (in game or otherwise).

Ethereal skeletons are much easier to vaporize.

The game feels solid , but it needs to be played with a controller. Controlling the camera with a mouse and maneuvering through combat with WASD is a nightmare. That aside (buy a PC controller), combat is fluid and satisfying; simplistic combos string together murderous spells, weaving the most impressive web of violence. The diversity of the different weapons is greatly appreciated and the vibrant monster models helped keep the combat fresh. You can also purchase new moves at trainers to better prepare for a series of life-changing decisions. Alternating between scythe combos while the alternate weapon sings and the spell casting screams.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kYAIJQT0XQ’]

Darksiders II takes players on a fantastical joyride through a variety of interesting and impressive worlds, each aching to be explored and all are scattered with monsters, collectables, and treasure chests. Time was well spent on generating breathtaking landscapes, yet wringing more playtime out of the vibrant zones through said fetch quests felt repetitive. Environments are large, but they whittle down as the game progresses. It’s almost as if at the end of the game, the developers ran out of the fetch quests. This is a good thing. The game is huge. It’s easy to get lost in the scenery, but optional fast travel reduces any tedium while completing side quests or exiting confusing dungeons. Combat is entertaining and swapping out equipment for newer loot never gets old because the designs are intricate and incredible. If one play through of this game isn’t enough, you can keep all of your old equipment and levels via new game plus.

This game has style, wit, charm, and feels great to play. Ignoring a bit of legwork, solving puzzles to rummage through a dungeon’s treasures and slaughtering thousands of freaks through a variety of murder-zones never felt this expansive and well thought out. Darksiders II is absolutely worth playing, maybe even twice, if power gaming as Death is as appealing as it sounds.