As a huge fan of Darksiders, I was very disappointed when I heard that the next game in the series was going to be radically different. No longer was it a 3rd person Zelda style action-adventure game. instead, Darksiders Genesis was going to be an isometric style dungeon crawler kind of game. Well, never judge a book by its cover because this is pretty awesome!
How to Download Darksiders Genesis
You can download the game for your Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One or Windows machine. Click on the Download button to make your choice.
The Game Review
Despite the radically different point of view, Darksiders Genesis is still most certainly a Darksiders game. I would say this one though has more in common with a game like Diablo III than it does Zelda and that is not necessarily a bad thing in all honesty.
The game is a prequel to the first game and Lucifer the Demon King is up to no good and two of the four horsemen are sent to investigate. War from the first game is once again playable, but so is Strife the final member of the four horsemen the series has been waiting for. These two are great together and the banter between the two is just flat out awesome and the best part of the story.
Gameplay-wise, you have a pretty brutal and fun hack and slash style adventure that is going to take you around 15 hours to get through. War and Strife both feel very different, War (despite the change in the game style) actually feels just like he did in the first game. Strife, on the other hand, is more of a ranged (although he can get in close) kind of character with his badass guns.
There is a great progression system at play here. The creature cores that you can collect can enhance your abilities and give you buffs. You also have plenty of items to get and make use of and the game is great at keeping an area closed off until you have an ability or are ready to deal with what lays ahead. You always feel like you are moving forward in this game and that is something I really like.
While this is an isometric viewpoint game, the action really does feel just like it should in a Darksiders game. With tons of enemies to fight, bosses to kill and puzzles to solve it really is a great adventure. My only gripe with the new viewpoint is that you cannot freely move the camera which can sometimes cause you to get lost behind something or make a jump harder than it needs to be.
You can play through the game by yourself. You can switch characters which is great, but you can also play with a buddy which is even more fun. While it is fun online, playing with a friend next to you in some good old-fashioned couch co-op is awesome. It is probably one of the best couch co-op experiences I have had in 2019.
So far, the game is only available for PC and Google Stadia. PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch owners have to wait until February to play this which is a damn shame as it is the perfect game to play with a friend or family member over the Christmas holidays.
I will fully admit I just kind of dismissed this one and thought it would be average at best. Well, more fool me as this is a truly great game and one of the biggest surprises of 2019. It is just a really fun game to play and if you are a fan of the Darksiders series do not be wary of the change in viewpoint. Darksiders Genesis is most certainly a Darksiders game through and through!
