The plot has the same focused confidence that War himself does, with dialogue so cheesy that it would come across as funny if it wasn’t for the excellent voice cast backing it up. But with a story involving the flawed denizens of Heaven and Hell, rife with betrayals, hubris and corrupting ambition, War’s single-minded goal to restore the balance comes across as admirable. As a character, War is almost brilliantly one-dimensional in his goals, and I honestly thought he’d turn out to be just another gruff video game protagonist during the first hour or so. The story had us taking on the role of War, our first playable horseman. The original Darksiders in particular is laser-focused in its pursuit of pulpy entertainment above all else - it knows exactly what it is, and this confidence flows through the entire game, starting with the script, penned by Marvel Comics writer Joe Madureira. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a little late to the party here, what with the original game having come out just over ten years ago - but playing it for the first time recently endeared me to the series immediately. Hence why I’ve been playing a load of Darksiders during the quiet first months of 2020, and bloody loving it. I’m all for games aiming for realism and immersion, don’t get me wrong - but with the industry leaning so very heavily into the feeling of Hollywood-style cinematic experiences, playing something more anachronistic can be paradoxically refreshing. When you can walk into a wide open, arena-shaped room and know that you’re about to get drawn into combat, or when you descend into a dungeon only for the game to wrest control from you and pan the camera around, giving you a glimpse of the puzzle you’ll need to complete to move forward. ![]() There is something endlessly appealing to me about a game that feels videogame-y.
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