{"id":181515,"date":"2019-12-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/?guid=32ce654ad54e307bb92a57fbb7c0a307"},"modified":"2019-12-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T16:00:00","slug":"darksiders-genesis-review-exodus-of-excitement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/12\/05\/darksiders-genesis-review-exodus-of-excitement\/","title":{"rendered":"Darksiders Genesis Review \u2013 Exodus Of Excitement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\tPublisher:<\/b> THQ Nordic\n\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\tDeveloper:<\/b> Airship Syndicate\n\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRelease:<\/b> 2019\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\tReviewed on:<\/b> PC\n\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\tAlso on:<\/b>
\n\t\t\tPlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Darksiders is a shape-shifting franchise. The original game offered a fun mix of combat and\u00a0puzzle dungeons, like a fusion of God of War and The Legend of Zelda. Darksiders II added Diablo-inspired loot into that equation. When Darksiders III released in 2018, it incorporated elements of From Software’s Souls games. Darksiders’ experimentation\u00a0continues with Genesis, a co-op friendly, top-down action game. For this prequel, Developer Airship Syndicate repackages\u00a0many of Darksiders’ signature aspects into a new container just in time for the holidays, but this delivery is filled with more packing peanuts than presents.<\/p>\n

From the start, Genesis allows up to two players to control\u00a0Strife and\u00a0War (solo players can\u00a0freely switch between the two). Each character feels impressively unique\u00a0in combat.\u00a0War is a slow-moving, close-quarters tank, with\u00a0many\u00a0sword combos reminiscent of his abilities from the original Darksiders. In contrast, Strife darts around the battlefield and rains fire from the barrels of his twin pistols. I enjoy\u00a0the mix of abilities that both horsemen provide, and Genesis generally succeeds at\u00a0emulating\u00a0Darksiders’ fast-paced action from a\u00a0new camera perspective.<\/p>\n

Click image thumbnails to view larger version<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/p>\n

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The joys of combat quickly turn to anguish as the difficulty escalates. War and Strife level up by equipping creature cores, which boost your horsemens\u2019 strength and health pools. Cores also\u00a0offer other added bonuses, such as giving your attacks a chance to restore your health. Unfortunately,\u00a0these enemy cores drop randomly, which means you can fight entire enemy hordes without a guaranteed reward. The problems with this system are exacerbated when you need to grind for cores \u2013 and you will need to grind. Each level has a recommended power rank, and those\u00a0requirements quickly outpaced my horsemens’ abilities. This forced me to return to old levels (or a repeatable combat area) to tear through endless fodder in the hopes of finding more cores \u2013 an incredibly soul-sucking process.<\/p>\n

Genesis offers some respite\u00a0with a handful of environmental puzzles. In co-op, these puzzles ask War and Strife to work together to throw a series of switches, or use their unique skills to send electrical orbs across the room to power ancient artifacts. In single-player, these puzzles require a little more legwork,\u00a0since\u00a0you have to use bombs to trigger multiple timed switches or make use of other environmental tricks to navigate a space. Whether solo or with a friend, Genesis\u2019 puzzles are never mentally taxing, but I was usually thankful for a break in the action.<\/p>\n

The biggest shift for Darksiders Genesis is its fixed\u00a0overhead camera. The view makes it easier for friends to play together, but it also means the action feels distant and less intense. More importantly, large environment objects\u00a0(like trees and\u00a0cliffs walls)\u00a0can come between you and the camera, obscuring your view of the action. The environment itself is also a pain to navigate, since\u00a0few onscreen markers point\u00a0you forward, and the map doesn\u2019t display your exact position. At times, I was confused about where to go, and\u00a0when I turned to the map to gain my bearings, I only felt more lost.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Click here to watch embedded media<\/a><\/p>\n

Genesis\u2019 narrative also left me disoriented. Most of the events of the Darksiders series have revolved around the war between the kingdoms of heaven and hell, which ultimately lay waste to the planet Earth. However, Genesis is set before the events of the previous games and deals primarily with the political affairs between the horsemen and a few demonic figures, which ultimately adds little to the Darksiders universe. This lackluster story feels like a missed opportunity, especially since it\u2019s the first chance fans have had to control the horseman Strife. Unfortunately, Strife\u2019s constantly jokey demeanor is off-putting, and the dialogue between him and the stoic War feels forced.<\/p>\n

Overall, Darksiders Genesis fails to take advantage of the series’ strengths. Since Darksiders\u2019 inception, fans have imagined what it might be like to team up as the different horsemen. Darksiders Genesis finally offers a\u00a0co-op experience, but its offbeat design and forgettable story don’t deliver on the fantasy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Score: 6.5<\/h2>\n

Summary: <\/b>Darksiders Genesis repackages many of the series’ signature aspects into a new container, but this delivery is filled with more packing peanuts than presents. <\/p>\n

Concept: <\/b>A top-down, co-op friendly take on the post-apocalyptic action series <\/p>\n

Graphics: <\/b>Darksider\u2019s stylized anime-inspired characters and environments still look great <\/p>\n

Sound: <\/b>The score is stirring and dark, but the voice performances are cheesy <\/p>\n

Playability: <\/b>Combat is energetic, but the environment sometimes gets in the way of the action <\/p>\n

Entertainment: <\/b>Playing with a friend is more fun than solo, but odd design brings down both experiences <\/p>\n

Replay: <\/b>Moderate <\/p>\n

Click to Purchase<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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