He went forth conquering, and to conquer.
After laying dormant for six years Darksiders by Vigil Games is getting the remastered treatment. I have fond memories of Darksiders but I don't ever remember there being an outcry amongst gamers for it to get the remaster treatment. So is this just another game jumping onto the remaster any game trend of 2016?
Having played the original when it was first released I enjoyed it. I wasn't blown away by the gameplay but I remember playing through it on its hardest difficulty setting and it being a fair old challenge. There was never any additional levels released for it and that's exactly the same here. So if you're thinking of buying it for extra content you'll be wasting your money. The only difference here as with most remasters are in the graphics department. Darksiders: Warmastered Edition has been given a bit of an upgrade and it now runs at a smooth 60fps. Improved textures, shadows and rendering do their bit to enhance what was an already striking looking game. The colours really pop out of the screen and the character you play, War really stands out with the him looking a lot sharper and looking a lot more detailed. Simply put everything you remember from the original now looks as expected for a next generation remaster a lot sharper and vibrant.
For those of you who have never played Darksiders before the game begins ever a conspiracy causes a battle between Heaven and Hell which spills out into the world. As you would expect, mankind is quickly wiped off the face of the earth and War of The Four Horsemen is falsely accused of leading the assault on earth. After being imprisoned for over a century he strikes a deal with the Charred Council to return to earth and proud his innocence once and for all by slaying the demons who have made earth their own.
When you start the game your a tour de force of pure destruction. However,shortly after the opening level you are stripped of all your powers and you must scour the earth to rebuild what was lost. As you begin to rebuild your tools of destruction an option to upgrade each weapon becomes available to you by visiting Vulgrim the demon at various points during the game. Each weapon can then be upgraded with a myriad of new moves which bring down even more wrath upon the demons. Each weapon is allocated a specific amount of slots which allow you to insert all manner of enhancements to boost your attacks.
You won't spend your entire time just wandering around on foot either because Vigil Games likes to keep you on your toes. One such section sees you riding a Griffin in a sequence that wouldn't be amiss in Panzer Dragoon and that's always a good thing. These on the rails sections are blisteringly fast and really keep you on use edge of your seat. Another section let's you go to war using just your guns in a third person shooter section as you attempt to keep back wave after wave of demons. There sections may be short but they certainly add a little spice.
I always find myself struggling to recommend remastered versions of old games especially when they only offer a graphical improvement over the original. Darksiders Warmastered Edition is still a solid bang for your money and I did enjoy playing through it again. It's sub £20 price point is also in its favour but it's just a pity Vigil Games couldn't find the time to add a little extra gameplay.
Developer: Vigil Games
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Website: Darksiders Warmastered Edition
Twitter: @THQNordic / @darksiders
Darksiders - Warmaster Edition is available now for £15.99
Review code supplied by Dead Good Media