Horsing around

The original developers of Darksiders may have taken a few liberties with their interpretation of the four horsemen of the apocalypse but they also created a unique universe, one that fans were eager to see more of. The ending of that game also promised an epic battle, one that included all four Horsemen. That promise almost went unfulfilled when THQ went bust and the original development team disbanded. However, after the rights were purchased by what is now called THQ Nordic and most of the team got back together in the shape of Gunfire Games and Airship Syndicate, the dream was back on.

Having already focused on War, Death and Fury, it is now time to shine the spotlight on the final cast member, Strife. A duel gun wielding wisecracker, Strife is unlike his siblings in his attitude. The other three take their duty seriously and seem to wear their past like a heavy piece of armor. Whereas Strife has taken his guilt and hidden it away, covering it with jokes and insults. This contrast is highlighted in Genesis, because it is here that we get to see both Strife and War working together.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Price: $29.99

Set before all of the prior games, Genesis is the story of one of the first real tests these two Horsemen have had to undertake and one that will shape the future of all three realms; Heaven, Earth and Hell. The Council, having gotten wind that one of the lords of Hell, Samael, may be up to something charge War and Strife with the task of investigating. After confronting Samael, the Horsemen learn that it is, in fact Lucifer who is looking to gain the upper hand against the other realms and that in order to stop him they must work together, along with the Demon Vulgrim.

Genesis is not intended as a main entry to the franchise, it is more of a spin-off. As such the story is more of a compliment to the overarching tale, giving us more insight to the Horsemen and to the events that lead up to the first game. It is also nice to see two Horsemen working together. The difference between Strife’s carefree attitude and War’s by-the-book work ethic highlight the way in which both of these men have dealt with their past in very different ways, with them playing their part in the Nephilim’s destruction being the only thing these two have in common. As the story progresses, they start to understand one another a little better and we get a better insight in to these two champions. Overall, I liked the story a lot. The characters are all well written and well-acted, with all of the actors reprising their roles. If I had one complaint, I guess it would be that the story just seems to end. I felt like there was a chapter missing, but given where the story was going, it made sense to end it there. It was just a little abrupt.

Another reason that this is a spin-off as opposed to a mainline entry is its gameplay. Although Genesis has a lot of features it pulls from the games that came before it, it plays very differently indeed. Genesis is a Diablo style action game, with more of a top down style of view. It isn’t a loot game though, with your abilities and strength being tied to collectables. First up are your story based abilities. You will recognize most of them if you have played the previous games. These are items that are found at certain points in the story and allow War and Strife to gain access to areas that they previously couldn’t get to; in the vein of a Metrovania game. These include a circular spinning glaive, a thunderous power glove and a strange electric flying orb. These encourage you to go back to previous chapters to find hidden secrets and other collectibles. Both Strife and War’s power attack moves are mostly hidden away in harder to reach areas, so it is worth going back to find them all. Instead of leveling up the normal way, by defeating enemies and unlocking upgrades, the Horsemen need to collect Creature Cores.

These are dropped randomly when a demon is killed and can then be slotted in to an ability grid that the Horsemen share. Depending on where you slot the cores this will increase their stats such as strength, speed and wrath, giving them an overall strength number (much likeDestiny) which can be used as a guide to selecting one of the 5 difficulty levels for each chapter. The more cores you collect the more powerful you become. Genesis also sees the return of the Boatman’s coin. These can be found scattered everywhere and are used in conjunction with souls to exchange for upgrades and new moves and combos. But the biggest differencewith the gameplay comes from the fact that it is now Co-op. Hop online or enjoy local, Genesis allows both War and Strife on the battlefield at the same time. Strife is more focused on long range with his two pistols, and War likes to get up close and personal with his Sword. Because all of the ability items you find are locked to either War or Strife, both are needed to progress through any particular chapter. But don’t worry if you don’t have any mates, because swapping them mid-game is just a button combo away. It also means that anyone is open to play whichever character they prefer at any time.

I did encounter a few issues throughout my playthrough. Firstly, there were several audio glitches; mostly during the still animated cut-scenes. These involved missing audio and even the wrong character portrait appearing when dialogue was spoken. Although odd, these were inconsequential to my enjoyment of the game as a whole and will probably be patched later down the line. The only other problem I had was how unresponsive the button prompt was for summoning your Horse. In some of the larger areas both War and Strife can summon their horses to make it easier to traverse the map. This is done by pressing both the L1 & R1 buttons at the same time. But would it ever work first time for me? Nope. It always took me several times to summon the horse. Yes, this complaint is just me being a little too picky, but it was something that stuck without me through the review process. The other thing that this game could have done with is an on-screen map. At the start of each chapter the map is blank, that is until you find it somewhere in the level. It then lights up all the locations of the collectibles. Unfortunately, the only way to access the map is through the main menu, and even then the game did not show me exactly where I was, only the specific area I was in. I can understand wanting to make the collectibles a little more challenging to find, but I would have definitely preferred an on-screen map to help.

The Darksiders universe has always been an intriguing one, filled with larger-than-life characters, a deep, if not slightly confusing storyline and a glorious aesthetic that seems to come straight off of a 70’s prog-metal album cover. Genesis may position itself as merely a side story; just a small alternative look at one part of this universe. But it is so much more than that. It offers a more personal story and one that may seem insignificant at first, but has wider implications to the story as a whole. Tied to that is gameplay that is both fun and chaotic in equal measure and offers replay value to those who want to go back again and again.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.