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Darksiders It is a veteran multiplatform saga that combines action and adventure whose original title was released in 2010. Two years later its second installment, called Darksiders II and in 2018 came the third, Darksiders III. The review of their first two deliveries are available on Nintendo Switch (Darksiders Warmastered Edition and Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition) since April and September of last year respectively.
This time it is the turn of Darksiders Genesis, a spin-off with an isometric view that a priori reminds a lot of Diablo, but at the same time it is very different, presenting a very Darksiders soul. This delivery, not belonging to the main saga, is developed by Airship Syndicate and distributed by THQ Nordic. Surely many of you will hear your developer, since it is the same as Battle Chasers: Nightwar.
This is a study founded by veterans of the disappeared Vigil Games, and with Joe Madureira (artistic director of the saga and CEO) at the head and Ryan Stefanelli (original founder), who worked on the first two deliveries of Darksiders. Genesis was released on December 5, 2019 on PC and this February comes to PS4, Xbox One and Switch
Will it be up to the rest of the deliveries? Let's check it out!
Argument
The first thing to note is that we are facing a prequel which tells us the origins of the saga, that is, the events before the first game. From the dawn of creation, the advice has watched over him Balance. To accomplish that task they have the Riders, Nephilim (beings begotten from the unnatural union of angels and demons) who, for this, have been granted immense power.
In this adventure we will embody two of those Riders, War Y Fight, to which they have been assigned a new mission: stop Lucifer, the enigmatic and deceptive demon king, who is planning to alter the Balance. To avoid this, both must gather information and make their way through a tangled demonic conspiracy that threatens to alter it forever.
Playability
There is no doubt that we are facing a game very different from its three installments of the main saga. One of its main characteristics is that in addition to being able to play in lonely, this title also has local and online multiplayer for 2 players. In the case that we play alone we will only see a character on the screen, although we can change whenever we want from one to another. If on the contrary we play with another person we can change the character as long as the other agrees. In the different chapters we will have some stones that will allow us to be another player.
As for its protagonists, we will count as I have previously commented with two riders: Fight Y War. The first uses his guns, Mercy Y Redemptionwhile the second uses his sword Devour them. In addition each one presents a very different fighting style. Fight is more focused on distance combat, with different types of bullets, while Guerra is more focused on melee, being able to make combos and get improvements, in the purest style hack and slash. Both can perform different Actions: attack, block, dodge, plan, etc. But that does not end there, because as we move forward in the adventure we will be unlocking abilities for each one of them that will not only help us to fight, but also to solve the different puzzles that appear. Empowering both characters will be important to be able to face the different enemies that we will find in our path (before entering each chapter they will indicate the recommended figures for each character) and we can also select the level of difficulty.
Fight and War can discover new types of ammunition and improvements respectively throughout the missions that improve their battle skills and can give them an advantage. On the other hand, both characters will fill in their anger meters while fighting, picking up souls of wrath. Each rider has his own anger skills, which serve to inflict damage and control the masses of enemies.
Another important element to highlight in order to move forward with guarantees in our journey are the creature cores that are obtained from enemies and that can be added to slots to activate unique increases that raise the statistics and abilities of Fight and War. There are two types of creature cores: secondary that are obtained from small enemies, and main, which are obtained by defeating superior bosses and enemies. The creature nuclei we get are never lost, and each one does something different. At any time we can remove a core from a slot and change it, or replace it with a different core. Therefore we can try different combinations. Each creature core belongs to one of these three categories: attack, anger and health, which correspond to the types of statistics. If the creature core category and the selected slot category match, we will get a match bonus, which guarantees an increase of that statistic in the characters.
Also, from a certain point of the adventure, Lucha y Guerra can adopt their definitive forms: form of anarchy and form of chaos respectively. Such forms will grant them an instant invincibility and improved destruction, although to be able to use them the chaos meter must be full.
But the differences don't end here, since it also changes the camera. This time we do not have a third person view, but a isometric view, in the purest Devil style. Does that mean that it changes its traditional gameplay? Well, the truth is that no, Darksiders Genesis in a different game than traditional Darksiders, but still maintaining its essence. This means that we have a lot of action, platform, puzzles and exploration.
As for exploration, it is important to note that not all areas will be accessible from the beginning, so the backtracking (revisiting scenarios that we had previously visited) will be the order of the day, since we will need certain skills to access them and thus be able to get different items (keys, boatman's coins, cores, etc.) In order to move faster by these scenarios both riders may invoke their respective horses
Once we complete the first chapter we will go to the Empty, a place that will act as a base from where we can buy different objects and access the different chapters of the game. From there we will be commissioning the different main missions that we will have to complete (at the beginning we will get a series of artifacts) and once inside each chapter some of them will also appear side missions (optional), in addition to the main one. If we manage to complete them we will get interesting rewards. Although most levels of the main story are somewhat extensive and require exploration to find all the various collectibles, there will also be some very short ones, in which we will simply have to defeat a boss.
Another aspect that can never be missing in all Darksiders worth its salt are the puzzles. To solve them we must make use once again of different objects such as Vorpal Leaf, which can be launched at multiple targets: enemies, wall switches and surrounding objects such as torches or explosive outbreaks. With longer loading time, the Vorpal Leaf will reach targets several times and if it reaches a flame, the fire will be transferred to the following targets. On the other hand we must also use a skill that allows us to create portals not only to transport the characters from one place to another, but also objects, such as bombs, which will allow us to detonate them in places inaccessible in another way and thus be able to continue moving forward.
In addition to the main story chapters, from a certain point of the adventure we will unlock a new way: Sand. In each category of the arena we must fight against 10 difficult hordes of enemies and we will earn points. The higher our score, the more sand rewards we can claim. Each category of the arena will be unlocked as we complete chapters of the story, and we will have a mix of creatures from those chapters. As we complete the sand categories, our maximum score for each category will be saved.
Finally it should be noted that this title, like most Switch games, Can be played in portable mode, desktop mode and TV mode. Also also is compatible with the Nintendo Switch Pro remote and the cloud data save service.
Graphics and sound
On a graphic level, we are facing a title that, without being a technical leader, stands out for its great artistic design once again from the hand of Madureira
In general the title is shown fluid to 30 fps (compared to the PC version that was going to 60), although its image rate per second is somewhat unstable. This shows especially in portable modewhere the fall of framerate It is more pronounced at specific times. Another aspect to highlight is that in portable mode the game looks very dark by default, which makes it difficult to see where we are going and that we can fall down a cliff losing a portion of health. Luckily this can be easily solved by increasing the brightness in options. Also on some occasions, some textures take time to load. Refering to camera Sometimes you can play a trick on us, since being fixed is sometimes difficult to see our character when he is behind a structure and is being attacked.
Regarding its sound section, it presents good melodies, although none is particularly memorable, although they perfectly fulfill their mission. As to its sound effects are at a high level and both the sound of the attacks and the screams of enemies and explosions are convincing.
Finally, it should be noted that the title has the following languages: Japanese, English, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Russian, Korean, Chinese (Simplified) and Spanish. Also also is dubbed into our language, which is always appreciated. In fact one of the aspects that I liked most about the game are the dialogues between Fight and War loaded with humor.
Duration
Darksiders Genesis is a title that can be completed in about 13-15 hours. As always, the time it takes to complete it will depend a lot on each player and the way they play. If we dedicate ourselves only to moving forward, it can obviously be completed in less time, but the usual thing will be for us to entertain ourselves in thoroughly exploring the scenarios, especially if we want to find all the collectibles.
In our first game it is impossible that we get all of them, so if we want to get them all we will have to replay the levels already completed, which makes it a replayable title for the most complete players. In addition we also have the Arena mode that can extend the game many more hours if we intend to overcome all its levels.
Curiosities
Darksiders Genesis has a Collector's Edition call Nephilim Edition for Nintendo Switch (also available on other platforms) and this is the content that includes:
- Standard game in physical format
- Premium Box
- Board game
- 23 cm figure
- High quality metal case
- Stickers
- Art book
- Official soundtrack
conclusion
Darksiders Genesis, despite being a spin-off and change to an isometric view, it maintains the essence of the main saga combining a great artistic design and action, platforms, puzzles and exploration of the house, being a very entertaining and rejugable title if we want to get all of its collectibles.
On a technical level, it is improved by presenting a problem with the camera, specific drops in the framerate (especially in portable mode) and late loading of textures, but that does not tarnish that we are facing a good title that although improvable, it will surely delight fans of the saga.
Darksiders Genesis is available in physical and digital format, through the Switch eShop, from February 14 at a price of € 39.99. You must have a free space on your 10 GB console to download it.
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