Darksiders Genesis

Action-slasher with RPG elements, Darksiders Genesis is a prequel to the Darksiders trilogy. The events start decades before the first game, and the main character is Strife, the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, with his brother War being a playable secondary character.

No matter what other games Genesis may remind you of, it plays and feels like Darksiders due to the use of similar hero models and attack animations, level completion methods, items, and NPC characters. Genesis features a cooperative mode for two players in split-screen or online.

The events of Darksiders Genesis unfold in an alternate reality, where the balance of many existing worlds is maintained by the Charred Council, and its will is executed by ancient and powerful warriors — War, Strife, Fury, and Death. The Council's task is to punish anyone who dares to disrupt the universal balance in the Universe through the hands of the Horsemen.

Although Darksiders abounds with races, the events of Genesis concern only demons. The strongest among them, Lucifer, wants to bestow his power and unite all demons, which would forever disrupt the balance of creation. The Council sends War and Strife to hell, where they must thwart this plan while clearing out the most dangerous lords of the hellish hordes.

The plot is structured in a "there and back" adventure journey format of two partners with different characters and temperaments. War is a tough, battle-hardened warrior, following orders throughout the game. Strife is a "Deadpool on a budget" — a jester and a troublemaker, treating the Council's missions with a lack of seriousness.

Genesis does not claim to fully reveal Strife's backstory, how he became who he is, and how many skeletons he has in his closet, but paints his image as a whole. War receives less attention; players are familiar with this character from Darksiders and are unlikely to learn anything new.

The story is presented with static images stylized like a brutal comic or cheap and cheerful chatter against the backdrop of the heroes' avatars. Numerous bickering between the brothers will serve as a relief between the intense onslaught of waves of enemies crashing upon the heroes. One should not expect a deep plot, unexpected twists, or dialogues with consequences from Genesis. The game is completely linear, and its essence is reflected in the phrase "to hell and back."

The creators of Darksiders Genesis, who worked on the original duology, have made significant improvements. Instead of a prolonged narrative — dynamic action, constantly pushing the player forward through the plot and locations. Instead of souls-like elements from the third part and complex bosses — arcade battles and very simple leveling up. The third-person camera has been replaced with an isometric view, significantly improving the visual perception of locations.

The game has flexible difficulty settings. On low, players can desperately rush into the thick of enemies with a bold plan to spam everyone with a couple of button presses. On high, tactical and smart actions are required — shredding enemies using a solid set of skills, chaining attacks into simple combos, and swiftly dodging (thankfully, the characters' speed allows for this).

Upgrades simple: we crush enemies, earn skulls, and buy upgrades for active abilities and passive modifiers that change the weapon's functionality or add some features to skills. No legendary sets of weapons and armor, nor a deep role-playing system.

In addition to the main quest, you can take on a few secondary tasks, which often unfold in already explored locations, encouraging you to re-explore them.

Darksiders Genesis can be fully completed solo, as both characters are available simultaneously. However, much relies on the joint actions of two players—each hero has special skills necessary for progressing through the level. The differences in playstyle between characters encourage switching roles and replaying everything.

Strife is a typical shooter, using a submachine gun to take down agile foes and a powerful revolver for slow and strong enemies. In close combat, he can fight, but he is not particularly good at it.

However, War is immediately recognized by Darksiders fans—besides retaining his iconic look, he still wields a massive sword, utilizing the same moves, fully unleashing his potential in close combat. To pick up the pace, in Genesis you can pull enemies towards you and quickly finish them off with various executions.

Each character has a large set of unique skills, from which everyone can choose something to their liking, and the heroes level up separately. Killing enemies and especially bosses drops cores—there are several types, and when installed in the upgrade tree, they provide their own bonuses.

The level designers of Genesis used all possible templates—from small arenas and winding corridors to spacious open levels. There was enough imagination for the ambiance of the levels; expect factories with boiling steel, prison basements, rotten dungeons, desolate ruins, and other hellish landscapes.

Almost everywhere, the characteristic Darksiders verticality is implemented—characters cling to ledges, climb along cornices, crawl over chasms, ascend or descend chains and ropes, and use mechanisms. The isometric camera successfully captures mesmerizing views.

Mobility options are expanded. There is a running jump, double jump, and gliding using wings. And since a rider cannot exist without a horse, Strife and War received their hellish steeds and can travel long distances, while mounted, they have special combat moves.

Genesis is a bit of a metroidvania—over time, players gain abilities that allow them to access new areas on already explored maps, and overall, searching for secrets, uncovering hideouts , and solving puzzles is encouraged.