Darksiders: Warmastered Edition Review (PS4)
Introduction
This is remastered version of Darksiders, with better graphical performance and the inclusion of a preorder exclusive weapon back on the original release.
Story
This game takes place in post-apocalyptic Earth. War is one of the Four Horsemen, who is accused of bringing the Apocalypse to Earth prematurely. War must clear his name by finding the real perpetrators, albeit with dangerous obstacles that he must face against in his journey.
The story is simple and easy to understand. Not many plot-twists, but easy to understand and follow. The lore is actually quite interesting, such as the truce between angels and demons, the lore of the Four Horsemen, and etc. Most of the characters are static and flat, but they have interesting personalities. War is a decent character, with good sense of honour yet love to battle and being vengeful at the same time. At the same time however, he didn't get much character exposition and development. Samael is an intriguing character, but does not have much exposition, possibly to make him more enigmatic. The true villain in this game is also particularly interesting, with decent motivations.
Gameplay
This game is a hack-and-slash adventure game. Most of the time, you will fight tons of demonic and angelic enemies in different areas.
The progression is simple, as you can need to go to your next objective marker. You can check the marker at your map. As many areas in this game are interconnected, you have to do some exploring before you can proceed to the next area, such as solving puzzle areas or complete platforming sections. Once you have reached an important area, it is up to you to explore and defeat the boss of that area. As War, you may run or walk to your destination, but you may unlock fast travel points as you progress in the game to backtrack to previous areas.
The game includes puzzle sections, platforming sections, and combat sections. You will need to complete a mixture of these if you want to proceed in the game. Puzzle sections require you to think and use certain objects to complete them, and platforming sections require you to do some platforming to traverse to new areas. Combat sections are direct combat sections. There are many mandatory fights in this game, so be prepared. You may also encounter enemies while exploring the game outside of story areas, but you can safely skip them if you want to.
As you progress in the game, War will find new tools that allow him to defeat enemies or to solve certain puzzles. He can also buy new moves from the vendor by spending enough Souls, which obtained by defeating enemies. You may also increase War's Health and Wrath gauges by finding enough shards respectively, which can be found by exploring areas in the game, opening certain treasure chests, and get them as rewards by finding enough artifacts for the vendor.
War's weapons also gain experience points by hitting enemies with them. Once they gain enough experience points, they will gain a level, increasing their effectiveness as well as allowing you to buy advanced combat moves from the vendor. Wrath Skills can also be upgraded by buying from the vendor, but they are expensive, so buy wisely from the vendor.
The combat is simple. War can deal a melee combo with his sword Chaoseater. He may also launch enemies to the air, hit them with a thrust attack, and etc. He may also learn new combat moves by buying them from vendors, as well as use different sub-weapons to defeat his enemies. Some enemies can also be defeated by pulling an execution move of them, or by throwing objects at them. Straight forward hack-and-slash combat.
War also has access to Wrath Skills, which consumes War's Wrath bar. Wrath Skills are powerful, and each of them has different effects. At first, you will have access to one, but you can buy other types of Wrath Skilsl by buying them from the vendor.
You will fight a variety of enemies, such as zombies, angels, and many demonic enemies. You will also fight a few mini-bosses as well, who have more dangerous attacks and more health than the generic enemies. Boss fights are also present in the game, as most of the time you are tasked to defeat them and retrieve something from them to proceed in the game's story.
No weak hinges on the gameplay itself. Good combat system, good exploration, good progression, good balance of sections variety, and satisfactory completion time. Although, I dislike the lock-on feature, as it changes the camera perspective in a weird way. Overall, solid gameplay.
Graphics
This game has pretty good graphics. The colours pop out, nice details, distinct looking characters, and good environment designs. The artstyle in this game really distinguish.
No bugs and glitches encountered after installing the latest game update, so I highly suggest players to download the latest update to avoid any possible issues while playing this game. I also notice there are missing subtitles during certain cutscenes. Not gamebreaking, but noticeable.
Sound
This game has great voice acting. Excellent voiceovers by the voice actors who make many characters in this game memorable. The soundtrack is pretty fitting, but not particularly memorable to me, personally.
Replay Value
This game has average replay value. You may attempt to complete this game in harder difficulty modes, collect all collectibles, level up all of your weapons, and obtain all Trophies. It is also to be noted that there is no New Game Plus mode in this game, but you may use the secret armour for War in new playthroughs if you have unlocked it before.
Conclusion
This is a solid remastered game, with improved graphics. The game itself is pretty good as well, with intriguing lore, good combat system, and etc. Recommended for action hack-and-slash fans adn personally, this is the definitive version on PlayStation consoles so far.
Score
Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Final Score: 8.0/10 or 32/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Interesting lore.
- Some good plot twists.
- Solid combat system.
- Good progression.
- Good balance of sections such as puzzles and platforming.
- Great artstyle.
- Improved graphics.
- Great voice acting.
Cons
- War doesn't get much background story or development.
- Lock-on camera perspective can be a nuisance.
- Missing subtitles during certain cutscenes.
- Not much replay value after beating the game.
**Screenshots are from RPGFan site.
This is remastered version of Darksiders, with better graphical performance and the inclusion of a preorder exclusive weapon back on the original release.
Story
War is framed for the fall of Mankind, and he must clear his name.
The story is simple and easy to understand. Not many plot-twists, but easy to understand and follow. The lore is actually quite interesting, such as the truce between angels and demons, the lore of the Four Horsemen, and etc. Most of the characters are static and flat, but they have interesting personalities. War is a decent character, with good sense of honour yet love to battle and being vengeful at the same time. At the same time however, he didn't get much character exposition and development. Samael is an intriguing character, but does not have much exposition, possibly to make him more enigmatic. The true villain in this game is also particularly interesting, with decent motivations.
Gameplay
You are going to meet the shady merchant many times.
The progression is simple, as you can need to go to your next objective marker. You can check the marker at your map. As many areas in this game are interconnected, you have to do some exploring before you can proceed to the next area, such as solving puzzle areas or complete platforming sections. Once you have reached an important area, it is up to you to explore and defeat the boss of that area. As War, you may run or walk to your destination, but you may unlock fast travel points as you progress in the game to backtrack to previous areas.
The game includes puzzle sections, platforming sections, and combat sections. You will need to complete a mixture of these if you want to proceed in the game. Puzzle sections require you to think and use certain objects to complete them, and platforming sections require you to do some platforming to traverse to new areas. Combat sections are direct combat sections. There are many mandatory fights in this game, so be prepared. You may also encounter enemies while exploring the game outside of story areas, but you can safely skip them if you want to.
As you progress in the game, War will find new tools that allow him to defeat enemies or to solve certain puzzles. He can also buy new moves from the vendor by spending enough Souls, which obtained by defeating enemies. You may also increase War's Health and Wrath gauges by finding enough shards respectively, which can be found by exploring areas in the game, opening certain treasure chests, and get them as rewards by finding enough artifacts for the vendor.
War's weapons also gain experience points by hitting enemies with them. Once they gain enough experience points, they will gain a level, increasing their effectiveness as well as allowing you to buy advanced combat moves from the vendor. Wrath Skills can also be upgraded by buying from the vendor, but they are expensive, so buy wisely from the vendor.
Fight against many demonic enemies.
War also has access to Wrath Skills, which consumes War's Wrath bar. Wrath Skills are powerful, and each of them has different effects. At first, you will have access to one, but you can buy other types of Wrath Skilsl by buying them from the vendor.
You will fight a variety of enemies, such as zombies, angels, and many demonic enemies. You will also fight a few mini-bosses as well, who have more dangerous attacks and more health than the generic enemies. Boss fights are also present in the game, as most of the time you are tasked to defeat them and retrieve something from them to proceed in the game's story.
No weak hinges on the gameplay itself. Good combat system, good exploration, good progression, good balance of sections variety, and satisfactory completion time. Although, I dislike the lock-on feature, as it changes the camera perspective in a weird way. Overall, solid gameplay.
Graphics
Colourful graphics.
No bugs and glitches encountered after installing the latest game update, so I highly suggest players to download the latest update to avoid any possible issues while playing this game. I also notice there are missing subtitles during certain cutscenes. Not gamebreaking, but noticeable.
Sound
Great voice acting and fitting soundtrack.
Replay Value
Average replay value.
Conclusion
Solid hack-and-slash game and solid remaster.
Score
Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Final Score: 8.0/10 or 32/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Interesting lore.
- Some good plot twists.
- Solid combat system.
- Good progression.
- Good balance of sections such as puzzles and platforming.
- Great artstyle.
- Improved graphics.
- Great voice acting.
Cons
- War doesn't get much background story or development.
- Lock-on camera perspective can be a nuisance.
- Missing subtitles during certain cutscenes.
- Not much replay value after beating the game.
**Screenshots are from RPGFan site.
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