Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (Video Game)
Published by Nordic Games
Developed by Gunfire Games
Rated M for Mature
Available for Xbox One (reviewed), PS4, and PC
When Darksiders II came out in August of 2012, we fell in love with it. Now a remaster which has been poorly dubbed with the worst pun imaginable – the Deathinitive Edition – is here three years later, and it’s home to the game and all of the DLC. So, how does it fare? Are fond memories exactly that? Or is there something to be said here that makes it unique?
Truth be told, the game looks better, but only slightly. The graphics are on par with the high-end PC version years ago, but is that enough to warrant another purchase? If you haven’t already played the game, absolutely! If you have… unless you really want it on your Xbox One or PlayStation 4, not so much.
Remasters have become the new norm now, and truth be told they have benefited some titles such as The Last of Us or, more recently, the Uncharted series and God of War III. Speaking of the latter, watching Kratos maim his enemies at a full 60 frames per second remains magical. Too bad the same cannot be said for Darksiders II because the game is still locked at just 30. That doesn’t mean it looks bad. Hell, because of the game’s art style, it looks damned gorgeous, but an upgrade to the frame rate would have at least made this feel a bit more worth it.
In the end, despite being The Deathinitive Edition, the remastering of Darksiders II feels like just an excuse to remind people that this game existed and the franchise should carry on. Still, at an MSRP of 30 bucks, it’s kind of a hard sell to anyone but newbies or diehards. If only the original game had been included. That REALLY would have been “Deathinitive.”
Original game review below:
Darksiders II follows the story of the previous title as players assume the role of the horseman Death trying to clear his brother War’s name. In the first Darksiders War is blamed with prematurely starting the apocalypse and wiping out all of humanity. You start this game off on your trusty steed as you head toward one of the many sprawling areas – The Tower of Secrets.
Death’s main goal is to retrace War’s steps from each city and dungeon he entered as a means to try to find some type of clues to clear War’s name and restore humanity. The story unfolds through well designed (if not a bit graphically antiquated at times) cut-scenes and dialogue that is carried out with NPCs. Every location you venture to has its own side quests and dungeon areas, and the duties you’re tasked with as the most feared of all the horsemen range from finding hidden treasure to destroying enemies to your standard fetching quests.
In Darksiders II the best part of the experience is exploration. It is simply massive in scope and dwarfs anything presented in the first game. Traveling through the many creepy dungeons, each with its own hidden dangers, is a harrowing task; but Death is easily up to the challenge. Darksiders II combines several elements of combat, platform, and multi-level puzzles with an already satisfying combat style. The combat is fluid, making Death seem more agile and responsive. As you travel, you will also come across rare possessed weapons that are fully upgradable. The skill tree ties in to the combat system with two main trees, Harbinger and Necromancer. Players have the choice to upgrade at will to either of these trees as they progress through the storyline. Essentially one player’s rendition of the character of Death will likely be drastically different from another’s. The character is fully customizable from head to toe so you can tailor your horseman specifically to your liking.
Another area in which Darksiders II shines is its boss battles. All of the questing and fetching you have to do to complete the game will seem all the more worth it when your eyes fall upon some of the most gigantic bosses to ever be featured in a video game. We’re talking giant-sized and gory fun!
Darksiders II’s soundtrack sets just the right mood with various rock and ambient elements. The soundtrack adds just the right touch to the mostly amazing visuals that work together to give an overall sense of despair and horror.
There is hardly anything to complain about in Darksiders II as it creates a dark, nasty, and near perfect overall experience. It has great replay value with all of the side quests and the Crucible mode DLC, which will have you battling waves of enemies back-to-back for hours. If you loved the first Darksiders, then you will have no trouble falling in love with possibility one of the best sequels ever made.
-
Remastering Score
-
Original Score
Categorized:News
