The End of Days has come and gone and War lies at the feet of the Charred Council as brother Death hopes to redeem his brother’s name and restore humanity.

A significant task to say the least. While Darksiders 2 may not commence proceedings with a bang on par with that of it is forebear, the player is yoked with the most demanding mission imaginable: undo the end of humanity and save he who incorrectly instigated the apocalypse. No simple feat.

War, one of the Four Apocalyptic Horseman, has been found guilty of prematurely bringing about the end of the world. As Darksiders 2 kicks off, his brother Death must venture out into the Abyss between realms to discover what really happened from the mysterious Keeper of Secrets, a man who knows much about the Horsemen and their origins, and find the Tree of Life, the only means by which humanity might be saved.

From the outset Darksiders 2 feels distinctly like War’s story continued from a new viewpoint – Death, the protagonist in the sequel, playing second fiddle to the absentee hero from the first instalment in the franchise. As the first few hours tick by and Death’s personality emerges, he seems to develop into a champion in his own right. Nevertheless the initial emphasis on the first game’s lead character throws you off balance as you control an interloper in what feels distinctly like War’s epic yarn.

The fingerprints of classic Zelda gameplay remain on Darksiders 2 as they did Darksiders - by no means a criticism. Hub world environments fall away to large open expanses to take Despair, your skeletal horse, for a gallop. These in turn take you to dungeons and new missions. The open areas are packed with treasures, ruins, monsters and fun. Bounding from story mission to story mission is broken apart as treasure icons pop up on the map and glittering gems twinkle in the corner of the screen begging you to stop and investigate.

Hub worlds come packed with interactive characters all keen to send you on fetch quests and side missions – a chore which Death holds nothing but contempt for – “I’ve fetched that…dish…you wanted!” – a slight twist on the formula which breathes a little vitality in to the well-trodden trope of fetching the bizarre items which littler the fantasy landscape. There is a big world to explore in Darksiders 2 and it wants you to see every inch. These areas also house Tomes – an in-game messaging system in which NPCs you encounter will update you with information and send over a weapon or two.

Death walks into this world as armed to the teeth as brother War. Duel scythes hang from his belt but quickly connect at the ends or merge to form the traditional weapon of the Grim Reaper at a moment’s notice. Heavy or light attacks are mapped to the second weapon slot – a personal choice between the slow earth-shattering blows of a hammer, or the swift, but weaker, blows of smaller arm-mounted blades. Range comes thanks to brother Horseman Strife’s pistol – the third person prospective easily switches to an over-the-shoulder view at the click of a button.

Combat utilises all three mixed. Be warned though – just because an enemy drops a shiny new pair of scythes does not mean you are high enough level to use it. As you level up and new weaponry becomes available to use, additional combat utilities can be unlocked. These magical abilities range from new moves to shields to ghouls to summon at whim to help you in combat. Levelling up is a deliberately slow process – unusable items piling up in modest quantities in your inventory calling for you to roam around the open world a little more, kill a few more monsters, and reach the appropriate level to gain access to them. You are not underpowered – you just want to be stronger.

New armour and weapons can be purchased in hubs, scavenged from the numerous chests, or picked up from downed foes. Death visibly changes his appearance as new and stronger equipment is donned – his scantily clad form wrapped in impressive, bulky armour after only a few hours of gameplay. This said, Death does not keep this form forever and periodically transforms into a fear-inducing, winged creature during certain combat segments and cutscenes. He is not to be underestimated.

Counter-point to the combat is traversal of the dungeons – a roster of moves familiar to Darksiders players and those who played the likes of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Shimmying down wooden pillars, wall-running, and climbing feature heavily, even a small amount of swimming is thrown into the mix. Getting lost or turned around is difficult, with discoverable maps hidden away in the depths of the dungeon, and if you get really stuck Death’s trusty Raven will alight on where you should be heading.

Simple-to-grasp puzzle sections hide within the dark recesses of the dungeons – moving objects into place, moving objects out of place, using bombs to clear certain obstacles – familiar impediments to progression which are easy to overcome but which provide a wave of satisfaction once completed. It might not be revolutionary – but then it does not need to be, it’s fun!

…and fun is what will push you through those opening hours of the game. Lingering confusion about just which Horseman is your Horseman abates after the initial excursions as DEATH, brilliantly voiced by Michael Wincott (The Crow), comes into his own as the protagonist. Those first few dungeons and first dozen battles hammer home that Death is just as formidable as War when it comes to dealing out justice.

Death steps out from under the shadow of War and Darksiders to define himself as a Horseman worthy of the name. Now all he needs to do is resurrect human kind – should be easy, right?

 

This preview is based on the first four hours of Darksiders 2 courtesy of THQ.

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