Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (PS4) – Review

Developed By: Vigil Games

Published By: THQ Nordic

Release Date: November 22, 2016

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4 (Reviewed), Wii U

Price: $19.99

Back in 2010, Vigil Games created a game that mixed together the combat of God of War and the exploration of Zelda. Set against a backdrop of Heaven vs. Hell, Darksiders focused on the first horseman of the apocalypse, War, and found a way to make a very serious character entertaining.

After THQ’s closure, it seemed unlikely War or his compatriot Death would ever show up on consoles again, but THQ Nordic has changed that with remasters of both Darksiders and Darksiders II. The definitive edition of Darksiders II sneaked onto store shelves back in October, yet Darksiders: Warmastered Edition is receiving quite a bit more fanfare with its November release.

For those who aren’t familiar, Darksiders follows War on a quest of revenge against the forces of Hell. Apparently, a mysterious figure tricked War into kickstarting the Apocalypse, resulting in a gigantic slaughter of humans and angels alike as demons took over earth. Because of this screw up, the Charred Council–beings that keep the universe balanced–stripped War of all his powers and tasked him with finding the responsible party.

The Charred Council

This quest took War and his trusty steed, Ruin, through apocalyptic landscapes and fearsome dungeons, killing demon leaders known as the Chosen and searching for a route to The Destroyer. This big baddie was responsible for almost everything terrible that had happened before and after War’s arrival, so obviously he needed to die in the most violent fashion possible. 

There you go: the quick and dirty explanation of Darksiders’ plot. So how does the remaster compare to the original, especially in this day and age?

Let’s be honest here: many remasters fail simply because they feel dated on new consoles. Developers can gussy up the visuals all they want, but a boring game still plays like a boring game. Fortunately, Darksiders doesn’t fit into this category. The combat is still great, and the puzzles are just as confusing the second time around. Plus, you can pick up random environmental items and use them as weapons. 

Batter up.

Like multiple action games before it, Darksiders relies on timing based combat and strategic blocking. Think of it as a ballet of death. Only instead of pulling off a Grande Jete or a Pirouette, War rips out a demons heart. As an added bonus, you get thousands of souls to use as currency for upgrades, all of which can be purchased through a demon named Vulgrim. 

Time to buy some stuff

In order to make battles entertaining and complex, War employs an arsenal of deadly weaponry. Sure, he only starts out with his standard sword but quickly gains a scythe, a throwable weapon in the Crossblade, and a pistol named Mercy. All of these weapons can be mixed together to create some absolutely devastating attacks, and that’s before you include War’s powerful gauntlet that destroys ice and stuns enemies. The best part is that properly eviscerating enemies with these weapons builds up War’s Wrath and unlocks special attacks and a devastating Fury mode. Having trouble with a boss? Just trigger the Fury mode and transform into a gigantic sword-wielding dragon that can quickly destroy everyone.

When War isn’t murdering thousands of angels and demons (kills are tastefully tracked by the gallons of blood spilled), he is solving various puzzles. While fairly simple in design, these puzzles require you to blow up bombs in the right order, raise the correct platforms, and find special keys. It’s a mixture that never truly feels frustrating.

Of course, not every level revolves around running between violent battles. War actually spends a bit of time swimming around big underwater levels–which are gorgeous–and flying on the back of a Griffin. This airborne level is more unique in that it’s an on-rails arcade style shooter with dozens of flying enemies to shoot down. Quite the refreshing change of pace, at least for a few minutes.

I’ll fly away old glory…

So why did THQ Nordic remaster Darksiders? Basically, the new publisher wanted to introduce new players to War while showing off improved visuals. Plus, THQ Nordic also aimed to prove that the game could run natively at 1080p and 60 frames-per-second. And for the most part, Darksiders does just that. During the early levels, Darksiders: Warmastered Edition runs buttery smooth even during big battles. However, I did find that certain boss battles (Tiamat and The Griever) were quite sluggish at best. Every time Tiamat flew across the screen, the game would start chugging along. Additionally, throwing bombs and subsequently aiming the Crossblade just dropped the framerate to the point that it was difficult to control War during a few battles and puzzle sequences.

These little bombs are handy

Apart from those boss battles, Darksiders runs very well as long as you don’t put the PS4 into Rest Mode. Apparently this version is one that needs to be shut off and started fresh every gameplay session. All too often, I would turn on the PS4 only to have the game perform like garbage. The second I quit and started Darksiders anew, it would run like a champ.

Despite the fact that most remasters don’t really need to exist, Darksiders proves that it belongs on the new consoles. Vigil’s action experience was fantastic on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but there were a few performance issues that couldn’t really be fixed with that hardware. The Xbox One, PC, PS4, and Wii U fix the majority of these issues and provide previously unreachable framerate figures during big battles.

Falling through the level isn’t great

Darksiders: Warmastered Edition may not be the most essential remaster of all time, but I’m glad it exists. War’s violent adventure is just entertaining to play, and the improved visuals make it easier on the eyes. Now if only there was hope for a Darksiders 3.