2. Darksiders
Starting back at the beginning is the original Darksiders, which was released all the way back in 2010. With little hype or fanfare, it became something of a cult hit, with enough word of mouth generating more sales and eventually a sequel.
Immediately off the bat, Darksiders introduced you to its world with a heavy amount of God of War inspire combat. It’s punchy, flashy and most importantly – gory. The opening hours of this game ease you into the onslaught of blood and guts you’ll be spilling over the course of your adventure.
Eventually it opens up to reveal that its more than a simple God of War clone, but a hybrid of said series with the DNA of Zelda rushing through its veins. It’s a world complete with dungeons, constant upgrades and visceral combat that beautifully marries the two games into one lovely blend.
Darksiders sees you in a conflict between heaven and hell with Earth caught in the crossfire. The adventure takes the Earth as we know it and twists it into something unrecognizable with fantastical beasts and mass destruction that’s completely wiped the land. Despite its dark nature, the world is a joy to explore and more upgrades allow you to advance to new areas or previously discovered ones now accessible with the given tools.
The dungeons themselves also hold their own and are strong enough to rival a large amount of the ones found in Zelda. Mixing in the puzzle elements that Zelda is known for with fast-paced combat is a perfect concoction for success. Though, the world does take the open-ended nature found in some of the games it’s based on and funnels you through a fairly linear experience. Still, it manages to make the world feel larger than it indeed is which is commendable.
Darksiders came at a time where very few games were rivaling the likes of God of War and Zelda, but managed to use those properties to blend itself an identity of its own. It remains a consistently fun ride, with fantastic dungeons, excellent combat and a wonderful sense of world building. It also paved the way for a superior sequel…
