Darksiders plays out in a classic adventure game style. There is a huge world for War to explore, but his progress is blocked off in some areas until he finds certain tools or abilities which give him the means to reach them. It’s not unlike Soul Reaver, The Legend of Zelda or Metroid in that respect. For instance, early on, War’s progress in some places is impeded by red barriers. War can only bypass these barriers once he gains the ability to ignite special explosive pods, which can destroy them. In some places, you might notice floating blue metal icons, which War can swing from once he gains a chain which lets him grapple onto them. Keep your eyes open, though; War gains these abilities to progress through the game, but you might find sections of areas you’ve already visited that were blocked off before. Remember these areas and go back to them once you have the right tools – they usually hide nifty secrets.
Along the way, War will face hordes of enemies. Usually he’ll face waves of average enemies, which are essentially cannon fodder, and some smaller foes which he can dispatch even more easily. Larger enemies will regularly pop up; these guys are big, tough, and can seriously hurt War if he’s not careful. War must use his special attacks and weapons properly to bring these guys down before they cause him too much trouble. All of these enemies explode into showers of souls, which come in three colours: blue, yellow and green. Blue souls are currency which War can use to buy things from Vulgrim, the yellow ones charge up War’s wrath meter, allowing him to unleash very powerful special attacks, and the green ones recharge his health. At the end of each section, War will usually face a massive boss of some kind. Each of these guys has their own unique attack patterns and powers. Figuring out how to beat them is a huge part of the challenge — but if you want a bit of advice, it usually has something to do with whichever new ability or toy War has just acquired.
War can acquire a respectable arsenal of weapons and gadgets to play with. Each of these can be upgraded to offer news attacks, increased damage and even entirely new capabilities. His sword, Chaos Eater, will probably be most players’ main form of offense, and allows him to pull off all kinds of combos and special attacks. Other highlights include a huge scythe, which is great for hitting all enemies around War in a huge arc, and a boomerang-like blade which can be upgraded to bounce back and forth off of multiple enemies. If you have the patience to look for them, you can also find ten pieces of a special suit of armour, which will make War even more deadly when it’s assembled. And of course, where would a Horseman of the Apocalypse be without a suitably impressive and ominous fiery steed. Once War acquires his horse, things really become fun.
Taking all of this into account, along with the game’s superbly-designed visuals, entertaining story and excellent voice cast, I’d easily recommend Darksiders to anyone who’s looking for a solid and engrossing action adventure game to really sink their teeth into.
