Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition

Genre: Spectacle Fighter / Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Darksiders II, like its predecessor, is a Spectacle Fighter with Action-RPG elements, although this time around those Action-RPG elements have been strengthened and made a much more significant part of the game. Originally this game was released in 2012 on multiple platforms, and then in 2015 re-released on multiple platforms in the remastered “Deathinitive Edition” with improved graphics, balancing, and all of the original game’s DLC content included in the package, with this version finally coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2019.

Being a more recent game (and not a cross-generation title this time) seems to have led to the port of this game to the Nintendo Switch being a mix of positives and negatives. Simply put, this is a good port, but nowhere near as high-quality as the port of the first Darksiders game. Gone are the Performance and High-Quality options, instead replaced with a variable resolution that can lead to some very noticeable aliasing in some areas, particularly the more open areas in the game. And unlike the first game, you’ll find yourself encountering occasional (thankfully brief) load times when transitioning between areas. Where the first game felt like a pretty minimal downgrade from the version other platforms got, this time it’s pretty clear that more significant compromises needed to be made to get the game to fit on the Nintendo Switch.

That having been said, darned if the game doesn’t look gorgeous, even with those cutbacks. In part this is due to the change of scenery this game offers – where the first game took place mostly on a drab post-apocalyptic Earth, this one has you jumping between otherworldly realms that are exploding with color and diversity. What’s more, even with the downgrade in the port, the improvements to the graphics over the first game are still very noticeable, with more detailed environments and character models, and some good lighting effects throughout.

The story this time is also a bit easier to digest, in part because early on the game takes you away from the extensive and overly-complicated lore of the first game. Players take the role of the Four Horsemen’s Death, brother to the first game’s protagonist War, in a story that takes place during the events of the first game. War is currently imprisoned under the accusation of starting the biblical apocalypse early and getting all of humanity killed, and Death is seeking to clear his brother’s name by undoing the crime, seeking a way to resurrect humanity. However, his attempt to find out how to go about doing this unexpectedly sends him to a dying realm with more questions than answers, and now in addition to his original quest he must seek a way home, all with epic events unfolding around him and even larger questions from his past looming in the shadows.

Given that much of what’s happening here is a mystery to Death, players learn about the lore in this game at a much more natural pace than in the first game. What’s more, I feel like the personality of this game’s protagonist shines through much better here, with Michael Wincott lending Death an Ian McShane-like wry gravelly tone that makes him hard not to like even though he’s kinda’ a jerk of a character. Oh, and with the change in locations for this game comes a change in music to more stirring orchestral scores that make this feel like a more traditional fantasy-themed game, which is a huge shift from the subdued and melancholy tones of the first game, but it’s hard to take issue when it when it’s all excellent.

While I very much appreciate the change in setting and story pacing for this game, the changes I appreciate the most are the improvements made to the gameplay, of which there are many. Firstly, where the Action-RPG elements in the first game took a back seat to the Spectacle Fighter-style action, in Darksiders II these elements get an overhaul in multiple ways that really helps them to feel like a stronger part of the game. The map is less confusing and more open, doing a bit more to encourage exploration, which now plays like the platformer-style puzzles you see in games like the Prince of Persia series. And even if you don’t find anything useful while exploring, you’ll be rewarded more for battles thanks to a new loot system that’s like a simpler version of something like Diablo.

However, it’s not just the Action-RPG elements that received an upgrade this time. The combat this time around feels a lot more fluid and moving Death around is simply more fun than playing as War in the first game, with some unique abilities for the genre, such as summoning minions to fight with you and distract enemies. While still not quite on the level of games like Devil May Cry III and Bayonetta, at the very least this time combat was genuinely fun in a way that’s unique and engaging, well beyond the first game.

Overall, I feel that Darksiders II is an improvement over the first game in virtually every way except the quality of the port to Nintendo Switch. The world is more visually interesting, the story flows better, the Action-RPG elements feel like a much more integral part of the game, and even the action has improved. And while the port isn’t on par with the quality of the first game’s port, it’s still decent. For players looking for an excellent cross between something like a Zelda game with hints of Diablo, and something like a Devil May Cry-style Spectacle Fighter, Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition should absolutely be something you consider getting.

tl;dr – Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition is a game that mixes Spectacle Fighter and Action-RPG elements, and it does so much better than the first game, with improvements in pretty much every area of the game, save for the quality of the port from other platforms. While decent, it’s not quite up to the high bar set by the port of the first game. Still, it’s not a bad port, and any disappointment there is outweighed by just how much better virtually every other part of this game is than its predecessor. If you’re looking for a great game that mixes elements of Zelda-style Action-RPGs, Diablo-style loot collecting, and Devil May Cry-style combat, you should definitely give Darksiders II a look.

Grade: A-

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