IntroductionThe development history of the Penumbra trilogy is one fraught with risk, betrayal, and disappointment, much like its story. After the successful release of Overture, the first installment in the planned saga, unexplained issues arose between the developers at Frictional Games and their publisher at the time, Lexicon Entertainment. Faced with the reality that their story might be cut short, the two planned sequels to Overture were condensed down to one major installment which would serve as a definitive climax and conclusion. This was the game that came to be known as Black Plague, and while Frictional would later release a third game in the series, dubbed Requiem, it would remain their crowning success until the release of Amnesia: The Dark Descent two years later. Now, with over a decade of age weighing on its visuals, overshadowed by its successors and lost in a sea of obscurity thanks to the creative explosion it helped trigger, Black Plague has been largely forgotten. For most games, this sort of fate is inevitable, as newer releases build on what makes them unique while carrying their identity into the future. However, in this case it's largely unfair, because while it might not look cutting-edge any more, Black Plague was never about the fidelity of its visuals. This is why so many more modern games have quickly dropped off the map, as they relied too much on flash and dazzle and not enough on being immersive. Atmosphere can keep a game alive long after its graphical shelf life expires, and in that respect, Black Plague is still alive and well. If you want to see for yourself, the whole trilogy is available for just $9.99 on Steam, a bargain price for such an engrossing experience. If you'd rather hear a bit more before deciding however, then read on. After all, knowing too much never hurt anyone, right? StoryPart of the big appeal of Penumbra's story is the narrative. which is ironic, since from the start, you know how it ends. The game opens with a text message from Phillip LaFresque, the protagonist, making an unspecified request for aide from an unidentified acquaintance. This vague message is accompanied by a warning foretelling the potential doom of humankind. This simple but clever setup establishes a very clear tone, one of dread and lurking horror which suggests that whatever happens, it can only end badly. However, despite this grim and preordained outcome, enough mystery remains to keep the player engaged and moving forwards, even if only out of morbid curiosity. The game's grasp of lighting and setting help to build a sense of immersion that sinks in quickly. The dirty and dimly-lit chambers of the Shelter seem haunted and full of secrets, even without the various bodies scattered across throughout: all nameless and forgotten as the purpose they once served. Continuing the pursuit of answers by Phillip regarding the fate of his recently deceased father, Black Plague picks up not long after the conclusion of its predecessor. After a tragic climax involving the mysterious miner Red, and the discovery of an even more mysterious facility known simply as 'The Shelter', Overture closes with the wayward hero resolving to penetrate the secrets of the strange and forgotten edifice, only to be clubbed over the head and dragged into the dark. Black Plague picks up not long after that harrowing conclusion, with Phillip trapped in a makeshift jail cell, awaiting deliverance to an unknown fate. One hasty escape later, he finds himself lost in the bowels of the Shelter, where it's quickly revealed that whatever the facility's purpose might have been, something has gone very, very wrong. From there, things get progressively more spooky and sinister. Gaunt and vicious creatures stalk the abandoned halls of the facility, which are littered with the decay of decades and the corpses of scientists. These unfortunate cadavers are quickly revealed as adherents of a secret society, one that counted Phillip's father among its members and which built the Shelter to study the mysterious incidents and legends surrounding the area in general, and the mine in particular. As you move from one hub area to the next, you gather more details as to what that research entailed, while keeping enough questions unanswered to maintain the air of dread and confusion that is the core of the game's atmosphere. In this way, it's a truly Lovecraftian game; compelling the player on with the hope that new information might provide hope, while more often than not it just compounds the mystery, or else opens terrifying new vistas of reality that make ignorance truly seem like bliss. It's easy to spot how Frictional learned from their past mistakes with Overture in Black Plague. Where the former relied on lengthy and often out of place notes to communicate its narrative, the latter employs visual storytelling and new characters to advance the plot, including one that resides entirely in Phillip's head. Clarence, an enigmatic and somewhat sadistic secondary personality, abruptly turns up about thirty minutes or so into the game to provide commentary on events and occasionally torment his host in exciting and frightening ways. This is actually rather genius, as Phillip remains a silent protagonist throughout the entire trilogy. By giving him a companion, it deepens and enhances the narrative, as well as adding an extra element of danger, as it quickly becomes clear that your new passenger is sliding back and forth between getting you killed and helping you survive. The often callous and sadistic monologues of your invisible friend Clarence provide a second, often-misanthropic opinion to Phillip's own observations. Most of the time they're harmless, but throughout all of them is a sinister layer of almost playful hostility that now-and-then blooms into efforts to deceive and destroy his apparent host. Another example of how the writers clearly learned their lesson is the character of Amabel Swanson, the Shelter's last human survivor. As you progress further and risks increase you're also given the motivation of rescuing her, serving as a counter-balance against the disheartening foreknowledge imparted by the game's opening message. While her involvement in your misadventures is sporadic, it's frequent enough to keep Clarence's mind games from becoming stale. The most cunning part of this setup however, is the way in which Clarence and Amabel serve as foils to one another. While the Doctor urges you on with encouraging words and emotional support, Clarence drags you down with his nihilistic monologues and petty, trollish behavior. It's a wonderful dichotomy that does a lot to simulate the mental workings of a Lovecraftian protagonist, or indeed anyone faced with the vast and fear-inspiring void of the unknown. It's a serious step up from the more one-sided relationship in Overture, and speaks to the evolution of the skills of the game's creative team as storytellers. Gameplay and Design Gameplay is probably the one place to experience the most improvement in the gap between Overture and Black Plague. The clumsy combat and sneaking system is gone, replaced by a smoother and more terrifying experience which offers you the choices to either hide or die. While this forms the core of the game's action sequences, the rest of the experience is taken up by puzzles, which are generally improved and somewhat less laborious this time around. Still, many still rely on lengthy and ponderously-written notes to solve, eschewing intuition for reading ability, which is never much fun. Thankfully a fair amount physics-based conundrums help spice up the intellectual segments, which keeps the experience from feeling like a chore. Ultimately exploration remains the core principle the game is built around, with every dark corridor and dirty, abandoned chamber offering fresh secrets and mysteries (or at least a place to hide until the monsters give up looking for you). The visual style of the whole experience is actually rather clever, as Phillip's surroundings become progressively more dilapidated and shadowy in accordance with the growing control of Clarence, whose mental abuse remains a constant motif throughout the descent into the Shelter. New discoveries raise new questions, and also usually herald new dangers, in accordance with the title's Lovecraftian themes. Similarly, darkness offer the only safety from enemies, but at the same time hides them as well as it does you. It's a double-edged sword that plays magnificently into the game's themes of knowledge bringing danger as easily as it does understanding. Some foes make a return from Overture, such as the giant worm that served as part of the previous game's finale. This time, however, things don't end as well as they did before. Just goes to show: never bite off more than you can chew. When all is said and done though, the real star of the show is the sound design. If there were a class on how to properly design horror games, the soundscape of Black Plague and indeed, all of Frictional's games, would be required reading for any aspirant. Menacing creaks and drips help reinforce the dilapidated nature of your surroundings, while the overwhelming silence in between leaves you braced for the sound of shuffling footsteps that herald your discovery by the monsters just a wall's-thickness away. Meanwhile, Mikko Tarmia once again lends his masterful skills to the soundtrack, with its pitch-perfect and haunting tunes that perfectly sell the ominous setting and dread=soaked atmosphere the game strives for. Moody corridors are graced by tense tracks, while minor choral pieces denote the brief moments of success amidst the endless creeping, hiding and pondering over what to do next. Final Verdict All in all, Black Plague remains a heavy improvement over it's predecessor, and a milestone in the survival-horror genre. The creative story-telling and masterful sound design alone make it worth your time. Does it have it's issues? Absolutely; it's over ten years old, after all. Setting aside the aging visuals and occasional hilarious physics glitch, the excessively-long notes required for some of the puzzles are probably the game's biggest sin. Too much reading can spoil the atmosphere, and frankly, nobody in their right mind sits down to read five pages on how to program a computer when there's a monster in the hall outside. However, all that being said, the soundscape, the story, and the gameplay all serve to overshadow almost any potential flaws. If you love survival-horror, you owe it to yourself to experience this, if only to see how far we've come, and how far we've yet to go. Final Score: 9.0
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IntroductionThe emergence of the 'walking simulator' as a new genre was a sticky and unusual event, as it blurred the line between games and artistic storytelling. Numerous titles sprang up in the wake of thechineseroom's seminal work Dear Esther, one of which was The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Created by three former employees from People Can Fly (better known for their development of the wacky and wild FPS Bulletstorm) it was touted as an "...adventure game that does not hold your hand.", featuring a vast and beautiful environment with an ingrained story that players would have to uncover without the help of hints, tips or tutorials. While it never won great fame, it win the Best Game Innovation Award in 2015's British Game Awards, and set a new benchmark for achievable photo-realism in graphics. Now, three years later, the game has been ported from it's original Unreal Engine 3 software to Unreal Engine 4, allowing the designers to take full advantage of the new features offered by the upgraded software. Of course, this means that the 'Redux', as it has been branded, is only a redux insofar as Half-Life 2: Update is a redux. There are numerous bug-fixes and graphical improvements, but not much new content, if any. Still, with this moment of renewal in the game's identity, it's well worth the time to take another look at it overall. If you're interested in owning it and the original version, you can pick them up on Steam as a bundle for 19.99$. Furthermore, if you have a VR headset, there's also a VR Edition you can pick up for just an extra 9.99$, which is absolutely worth it given the game's ultra-realistic appearance and heavy reliance on atmospheric immersion. StoryOriginally there was a prequel comic released prior to the game's original debut explaining the general outline of the narrative. You can still read it here if you want, but it's pretty simple and doesn't tell you anything you can't learn by playing the game. Long-story short, you are Paul Prospero, a supernatural detective whose paranormal powers include psychometry, which is the ability to see the past through contact with objects of importance. You've just received a letter from a fan of yours; a young boy in Wisconsin named Ethan, who claims in his missive that he is in grave danger, and that only you can help him. Being a hard-boiled detective, you grudgingly dress for the occasion and set out to answer his plea, even though you know somehow that this will be your last case... Paul's powers let him see into the past; a handy tool for any aspiring detective. It comes with a price though, since what he sees there are usually stuff he'd rather forget. All this background is delivered in pure noir-style monologue as you arrive at Red Creek Valley, the source of Ethan's message. From there, the story gets very strange, as is fitting for a work inspired by the weird fiction of the 20th century. The core plot revolves around uncovering what happened to Ethan and his family, who seem to have turned against the boy, seeking to sacrifice him to an unknown figure called the Sleeper. Orbiting around this central thread are details and objects that help flesh out the characters, the largest of which are fragments of short stories written by Ethan himself. The bulk of the game is spent investigating these, with each revealing a key feature of the people who surround the boy and their role in his life. From Ethan's kindly and tired grandfather to his abusive uncle and brother, every person has a role to play. The plot twists and turns, keeping the player guessing constantly, with every new discovery shedding further light on a double-decked narrative about the dynamics of Ethan's family and the events that befell them. In addition, Paul's grizzled gum-shoe commentary as an outside observer serves as a glaze of thoughtful, reflective frosting on this rich cake of a story. There's really not much to complain about with the tale except perhaps for the ending, which some people might find dividing in terms of how it impacts them. Also, while the plot is technically non-linear, and the various points that make it up can be approached in any order, the way they are arranged leaves little room for experimentation, and doesn't do much to prevent the experience from feeling very linear. However, given the overall quality of the writing, it's not really that big of an issue with regards to the greater experience the game aims to convey. Gameplay and DesignAs with most 'walking simulators' of course, a large chunk of the plot also lies in the environment itself. This is especially true with Ethan's short stories, which are the obvious products of a young, creative mind stifled by his relations, but invigorated by his surroundings. The sprawling, verdant landscape of Red Creek Valley, with its run-down structures interspersed with wide tracts of wilderness, seems wholly alive and full of potential stories despite the mostly linear path offered by the main story. A random cliff-side house becomes a magician's sanctum, and a lonely tree-house becomes an astronaut's space-ship in Ethan's young mind, serving both to demonstrate his creativity, and his desperation to get away from his family and be left in peace. A fair chunk of this atmosphere is thanks to the fidelity of the graphics. It is entirely possible for a game to be great without photo-realism, but in this case, the result is astounding. Every scene seems like it was pulled from a high-definition photograph, and every location is made all the more vibrant thanks to merely its looks. It's easy to see why this is a perfect game for use in VR; the scenery alone makes you feel as if you're actually in Red Creek Valley, with the branches of the trees swaying above you and the river rushing through its course below. Yes, this is a screenshot directly from the game. The power of Unreal Engine 4 has ensured that Paul Prospero's journey can now take place in such glorious environmental detail that it's almost a crime not to experience it in VR. Also worth mentioning is the music and sound. As in any adventure game, both are crucial to the development of a strong atmosphere, and if there's one thing The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has in spades, it's the power of immersion. The soundtrack, while unobtrusive, is hauntingly beautiful and suited to its surroundings. It's subtle application amplifies the sense of mystery that permeates the valley, while also providing a solid support for the sense of tragedy that runs through the center of the narrative. It promotes introspection, and underlines the reality of Ethan as a victim, misunderstood by his family and whose sole escape is his creativity. In the end, the biggest stumbling blocks in the game's design are minor when you consider how much the story overshadows them. Still, it wouldn't be a good game if there weren't at least a couple. As previously mentioned, the game is actually supposed to be non-linear, and you can skip over as many of the concealed segments of plot as you want. However, if you want to do them out of order, then it can get pretty frustrating. The base player speed is pretty slow, which is understandable given the pacing of the game, but which also makes it murder to try and go back through the expansive environments to get something you missed. You can sprint, yes, but there's a concealed stamina meter that will mean Paul gets winded and you sink back to slowness again. Hence it's generally preferable to proceed in a linear fashion and pick up anything you missed on a second playthrough. While this adds to the game's longevity, it subtracts from its efforts to be a more fluid narrative experience. The other crucial flaw, if you can call it that, is the game's difficulty. To be fair, it tells you right off the bat that it is not going to hold your hand, and while that's a bold decision from a design perspective, it does mean that many players might be put off by how hard it is to work things out. Then again, this is a detective story, and most detectives don't have all the evidence neatly plotted out before they arrive, or a handy device that tells them where the body is hidden. Stumbling over clues rather than being led by the nose makes for a more authentic experience. Still, the amount of time most players will spend wandering aimlessly looking over every rock and tree might be enough to make some people put the game down and never pick it back up. Just remember: you were warned. Final VerdictThe core of the story of Ethan Carter is it's ability to draw you in with mystery and intrigue. The very air oozes secrets and suggests that something terrible has happened, and it's up to you to find out what. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is less of a game and more of an interactive novella, written in a post-modern style. Beneath Paul Prospero's over-arching search for Ethan and the truth, there spans a multitude of smaller fragments that flesh out a second narrative; that of Ethan himself, and his search for happiness in a frightening, unkind world. It's a tragic story told through an experience that is a struggle in itself, perhaps as a metaphor for what the characters are going through. All in all, it's just a very strong piece of work, whose sole flaws are some minor patches where form clashed with intent. The game is very short, and if you skip over everything except some crucial plot points, you can finish it in two, maybe three hours. That said, where it shines is how it makes you work for the rest of the plot. It gets you invested, then reels you in, leaving you wondering what else there is to find. All in all, it was a very satisfying experience, and while it ended all too soon, so do most good stories. After all, you have to leave room for the next one, right? Final Score: 8.7IntroductionDear Esther started as a free-to-play stand-alone modification for Half-Life 2. Released in 2008 to minimal fanfare, it soon garnered critical acclaim as word of mouth allowed it to gain recognition for its avante-garde approach to game design and storytelling. Later redeveloped for commercial release by the developers, who had by then formed their own studio dubbed The Chinese Room, the controversy surrounding the 'game' has survived intact, all the way up to the release of this latest Landmark Edition, which serves as a sort of celebration of the game and the effects it had on the world indie developers. Frankly, there's not a huge world of difference between the original commercial release of Dear Esther and this new version. The changes are minor, with most of the graphics receiving only subtle alterations and a few new lines of narration that were originally left on the cutting room floor serving to separate the two versions. All in all though, the divide between new and old isn't worth discussing so much as the game's message and impact, which the Landmark Edition serves to highlight. What those are exactly has been discussed over and over, perhaps just as much as whether Dear Esther deserves the title of 'game' rather than say 'interactive art piece'. It's a highly subjective piece of work, but for the sake of this equally-subjective review, I'll do my best to offer what I think. Dear Esther is an unusual game for unusual players. Despite years of controversy, its precise nature and greater meaning remain a hotly debated topic among those who study games as an emergent form of artistic media. Afterwards, if you're so inclined, you can go and pick the game up on Steam for just $9.99 (or less if it's a sale). The Landmark Edition is now the only version available, but as I stated, don't feel you're missing out on anything. Like everything from The Chinese Room, the experience and story are the meat of the material. With that in mind, let's dig in. StoryOne of the first things that sets Dear Esther apart that it is not told as a linear story. Rather, it is a collection of plot points which can be assembled in almost any fashion to produce a narrative of one's choosing. This complements the starkly-real yet subtly-unreal environment by leaving the player in a perpetual state of confusion as they struggle to find a way that everything they are seeing and hearing fits together. Unreality is very much an unstated theme of the game's plot, which weaves together the strange sights and odd narration into a bizarre piece of post-modern story-telling that is less a progression of events from point A to point B and more of an effort to provoke introspection and specific feelings, like a piece of art. This is where a large part of the controversy surrounding Dear Esther stems from, since many argue that since it has no classically defined goals or plot, it cannot be referred to as a 'game'. Perhaps the best counter-argument to this is that the experience isn't so much about finding an answer or achieving a goal as it is about seeing what you do when you realize that neither of those things exist. Dear Esther's 'goal' is to make players sit and think; about the setting; about the story; and about what it all means to them. In this way, it bestrides the boundaries between media, leaving those disinclined to accept that some things cannot truly be categorized struggling for purchase. Indeed, the term 'walking simulator', which many early reviewers coined as a form of denigration, is a very shallow label that has been slapped onto Dear Esther and other games sharing its features as a way to try and name the unnameable, placing it under control. The truth is though that Dear Esther isn't about control. In fact it might be argued that it's about the complete opposite of that. Barren, dirty and weathered by time, the island itself is as much a character as the Narrator and his past connections. A large chunk of the narrative is actually concealed in the landscape and its strange phenomena. On the surface, the initial setup suggests that the whole game takes place on an unnamed island in the Hebrides, an archipelago of barren rocks off the coast of western Scotland, remembered to those that know of them for their stark beauty and harsh weather. Players follow the narrator as he wanders across this empty environment, listening as he details the events that presumably lead him to arrive in this desolate environment. A car crash is mentioned, and hospital visits, as well as a relationship with a woman called Esther, presumably his wife. Just as a pictures starts to form however, he goes off on a tangent about the island and its history. This jarring shakeup in narrative leaves any prior assumptions that might've formed stumbling as they try to catch up, while with every passing second, the narrators words grow more and more confusing. As the journey continues, moving at a sedate pace across the starkly beautiful environment of the island, the cohesion of the plot begins to grow more and more loose, and the diction of the narrator grows more and more poetic. New elements enter the mix, including a long-dead goat-herder named Donnelly, whose name becomes tangled with Esther's, and a man named Paul, who may or may not have driven the car that seems to have killed her. At the same time, things begin to crop up in the environment that speak to the air of unreality that seems to hang heavy over everything. It starts innocently at first, with things like circles of standing stones or garbage strewn on the beaches, but quickly progresses to things like a pile of books washed into a dark crevice where any paper should've rotted away long ago, or strange chemical and electrical diagrams scrawled on the rocks in luminescent paint that look strangely like synapses. All of this bleeds together as the journey approaches its climax, when, after a jaunt across the island and a brief descent into its stony depths, the narrator reaches the ultimate destination of his travels: a radio tower on a high bluff. This final terminus remains visible for a good chunk of the game, serving as a reference point in an otherwise chaotic and hilly landscape, and its disappearance during the time spent in the undersea caverns about half-way through the journey is marked by even more psychedelic phenomena, including a full-blown hallucination of the mysterious motorway where Esther was presumably killed. Upon finally reaching this beacon of reason, the narrator climbs to its top, then hurls himself off, ending his voyage and his life (at least so it seems). The underground caverns halfway through the game have an unearthly quality that contrasts sharply with the craggy, sparsely-green landscape of the surface. It's really quite breath-taking, even for a game. This ending is part of what might leave most people scratching their heads. The disjointed narrative might be solvable if it had a precise beginning and end, but again, it has neither, its only certainty being uncertainty. This is because, and I say this in speculation, Dear Esther is not a story, so much as a parable about grief. The narrator's story of the loss of his wife and the knotty mess of tangents it tangles with is a reflection of the eternal struggle made by those who have suffered loss to try and put the world they thought they knew back together in a way that makes sense, only discover that it's an impossible task. DesignThe design of Dear Esther is very much inspired by bleak games such as S.T.A.L.K.E.R., where the landscape does as much storytelling as the characters that populate it. Everything in the game's world is designed to have meaning and purpose, even if it's just to confuse the other meanings. Art doesn't mean the same thing to everyone, and neither does Dear Esther. It's slow and steady pacing is there to provide room for thought as the player lopes their way between locations, providing time for people to ponder the deeper significance of the things they are seeing. In these ways, the game is very much an art installation; made to be consumed by a large audience to produce a variety of perspectives. Some people will see meaning in the search for the hidden urns scattered through the 'game', while others will tussle with the story itself, trying to find a way that it produces a narrative they can understand. Both will be validated in their pursuits, and neither will be. Despite it's age, Dear Esther retains a stunning beauty thanks to the power of the Unity 3D graphical engine. Every vista is worth a thousand words, and offers a scenic backdrop to the abstract tragedy being told. The primary distinguishing feature of the game from its past iteration is the inclusion of an audio commentary by the creators, which goes into details about the game's past versions and its origins. Jessica Curry provides background on the soundtrack, while Dan Pinchbeck and Robert Briscoe commentate on the art and aesthetic design. It really is something of a surprise to learn that a creation which had so much impact and sparked so much controversy was the product of so few. But then, innovation rarely comes from large factories in any field. Apart from this new addition, and some virtually unnoticeable graphical- and software-fidelity patches, Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is still the same game that was released in 2012. What changes is the player's perspective every time they play, as new dialog offers new structure with its florid prose and superb voice acting. In that way at least, the game has stayed very fresh. Final VerdictIs Dear Esther: Landmark Edition art? Is it a game? Is it something between? The debate will probably continue forever. But with regards to whether or not it's worth buying, that's up to you. If it's a linear story with action or even puzzles, you might want to look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for something new that isn't what you've come to expect from the world of video games, then this is definitely worth picking up. While the game itself won't last hours, it will make you ponder both its nature and meaning long after the credits, and that in itself is a triumph of narrative design. So for those who seek fresh experiences in a world of clones and curiosities, come to the island...you might just find what you're looking for, and then some. Final Score: 8.5TItle: Darksiders 2: Deathinitive Edition Developer: Vigil Games Publisher: Nordic Games Music Composed by: Jesper Kyd Release Date: October 27, 2015 IntroductionThe original Darksiders was an unusual success in that it combined elements from a variety of different games to create something that felt surprisingly good, if not fresh. Using the Legend of Zelda dungeon-crawling pseudo-RPG format as a base, it told an engrossing and thoroughly metal-inspired tale of the end of days, in which the first horseman of the biblical apocalypse, War, is a accused of triggering Armageddon early and causing the extinction of mankind. The ensuing adventure followed War's quest for redemption and his discovery of a conspiracy involving both Heaven and Hell that threatened the balance of the universe. Standing on well-executed God of War-esque gameplay and an art style by the accomplished comic book artist Joe Madureira, Darksiders rose from the 'above average' bracket it might've otherwise occupied and established itself as a force to be reckoned with Thus, in 2012 (ironically enough, given the game's apocalyptic themes), Vigil Games produced Darksiders 2, a sequel whose story ran alongside that of the first game and followed the adventures of the Pale Rider, Death. The game won considerable acclaim, repeating the success of its predecessor while expanding the scale of its world by several orders of magnitude. Were it not for the financial woes of THQ, owners of Vigil Games and by extension, the franchise as a whole, we might've seen a Darksiders 3 far sooner. Unfortunately though, the company went under soon after the game's release, with the IP being purchased by Nordic Games. It was expected that the saga of the Horsemen would end there, but thankfully it was not to be. Three years after the game's initial release, Nordic Games announced the release of the oddly-titled Deathinitive Edition, as a prelude to a potential continuation. This compendium version of the game incorporated all the previously-separate downloadable content and raised the aspect ratio to the more modern standard of 1920 by 1080 pixels. It stands as a road-mark on the map towards Darksiders 3, and a gift to all the fans of the original for their dedication. Death is the most feared of the Four Horsemen, and dresses accordingly; wild hairstyle and all. The game gives you the option to customize his outfit, but he always manages to look mysterious, badass, and utterly radical. However, with the third installment finally on the horizon at the time of this writing, it's more important than ever to take a good look at the series. Does the Deathinitive Edition retain the charm of the original? Have the changes improved anything? Is it still worth buying? If you decide the answer to that last one is 'Yes!' by the end of this article, then you can find it in the Steam store for just $29.99, along with the soundtrack, if that interests you, for a mere $4.99 extra. For now though, let's take a look at Darksiders 2 as a whole. StoryAs previously stated, Darksiders 2 follows events that run parallel to the story of War in the first game. Death, the fourth and most powerful rider of the Apocalypse, sets out to redeem his brother by resurrecting humanity, thus nullifying the crime. The game starts with him riding out to meet the Keeper of Secrets, a reclusive figure who he thinks might be able to help. As the plot progresses, the history of the Horsemen as a group comes into play, while the narrative universe initially created by the first game is fleshed out. I enjoyed this world-building quite a bit, as it doesn't stick too heavily to scripture for its lore, and overall has a feel that can only be described as 'metal', in that it has the feeling of epic events and scale bound up in raw badassery. Death's initial quest to redeem his brother War takes him to numerous locales, including the land of the Makers; a race of Scottish-sounding giants with a thing for stone-carving and building REALLY big statues. Unfortunately, the main plot itself, while cool in concept, lacks the urgency and snappiness of the original. This is probably because the game's world is so much huger than that of the first Darksiders, resulting in a conflict of length versus content. If often feels like the story is trying to be as quick-paced as War's story, but is being stretched out over a length of time and space that should really have a deeper, more complex plot. Sadly, it's entirely possible that this is a result of the developers running out of time. Evidence of this can arguably be found in the DLC dungeons, which unfortunately remain divorced from the main campaign and must be access via the loading menu. Needless to say, this is incredibly irritating, especially given the amount of effort obviously put into generating an atmosphere of immersion, and the fact that these extra areas could've easily been tied in with just a bit more effort on Nordic's part. Argul's Tomb in particular seems like a missed opportunity, since it's narrative is linked to two major background characters. Sadly however, it seems that Nordic took the easy way out, limiting themselves to minor changes for the sake of time and money. It's understandable, given that the Deathinitive Edition was probably conceived as a test of how much interest still existed for the franchise as a whole, but it's still disappointing. All that said though, Death is still more interesting and developed as a character than War (not exactly a difficult feat, but hey, it's not about tugging on heartstrings), and the environment around him tells most of the story in any case. As a sequel Darksiders 2 is about building on the universe created by its predecessor, trusting in massive set-pieces and visual storytelling to create a world of what might be termed as biblical science-fantasy, a place where angels, demons and all manner of creatures live and fight and have histories you can only speculate at. All in all, it's a vibrant, colorful adventure that's also coincidentally about redemption and atoning for past sins. GameplayWhen it comes to the actual experience of playing, Darksiders 2 takes everything that worked from the first game and spices it. As many reviewers have noted the fighting is reminiscent of God of War with emphasis being placed on juggling enemies and landing consecutive strikes. Unlike War, Death is more agile and nimble, allowing him to dodge and side-roll to bypass incoming attacks. He also cannot block attacks, making this new speed and maneuverability your only defense against the swarms of enemies you'll face. Overall it's not exactly anything that hasn't been seen before, though the addition of a loot-drop system featuring gold (gilt in the game's terms) and randomized items does mix it up, giving Death the ability to wield a variety of scythes and secondary weapons ranging from spears to arm-blades. On the subject of the loot system, it should also be mentioned that the game does take some creative risks in its implementation. For example there's also a special class of weapon termed 'Possessed', which is something handy you'll want to hang onto when you get it, since you can feed it useless items to increase its stats, essentially allowing you to custom-build your own weapon with enough care and experience. The Deathinitive Edition also includes all the legendary DLC items that were originally sold separately from the base game, scattered throughout the main campaign and New Game + for the determined player to locate. It's one of the more significant alterations Nordic Games made, and it's something that anyone who hates micro-transactions will be happy to see. Of greater note is the inclusion of a two-sided skill tree which allows Death to invest skill points earned from leveling up in new powers, such as the ability to summon ghouls to distract his foes or perform a teleporting slash to bypass incoming attacks. These powers are fueled by Death's Wrath gauge, a meter that fills back up based on chaining strikes to foes, resulting in a very interesting mix of magical mayhem and murder as you freely combine abilities with combo-laden assaults. Added to the gear that Death gets later in his voyages, such as a pistol called Redemption and a long-range grabbing power much like the Abyssal Chain from the first Darksiders, and the battlefield starts to feel full of options, which is just as well, since you'll need them all. The higher your combo-meter goes, the more mana, er, Wrath you recover, allowing you to employ various special abilities to keep Death on his feet and your enemies off theirs. Beyond the combat, the heart of the game lies in it's dungeon-crawling elements, to which there's a heavy element of puzzle solving that again hearkens back to the Legend of Zelda series. The button pressing and lever-pulling is also accompanied by a whole lot of level architecture designed to show off Death's skills at acrobatics, with wall-running, beam-climbing and ledge-hopping all much in evidence. It's all very fun and engaging, making you feel like you're really digging in and exploring the various dungeons that have been laid out for you. The open-world design of the zones in Darksiders 2 are full of secrets and side-areas to delve into for extra chests full of loot, among other things. In this manner, it's far more expansive than the original, with many areas encouraging back-tracking once you get new abilities later on. Of course, some powers get more attention in this way than others, like the previously mention long-range Death-Grip power, which serves a purpose outside combat in that it allows Death to seize onto and swing from special hooks on the walls and ceiling. Meanwhile, items like the Voidwalker and its time-traveling cousin, the Phase Walker, only really remain useful in the latter half of the game's content, which is just further evidence of the budget constraints Vigil Games had to deal with. While it would be quite out of the ordinary for Nordic Games to step in and correct this, especially for a mere compendium edition of a game as old as Darksiders 2, it would've been nice to get some more mileage out of the old magic portal gun and other such tools. On that note, it's also important to point out that while the immensely-increased scope of the game's landscape is a boon to its replay potential, it also has its drawbacks. The game's world is divided into four major zones that unlock as the story progresses, and which are so vast that riding around on Despair, Death's mighty steed, is almost a necessity. This is very cool, since it's not something you got to do as much of in the original Darksiders, with War only getting his horse Ruin back about halfway through the game. Unfortunately, riding around the world is fun, but also a tad slow, and the experience is hampered somewhat by the inclusion of a fast-travel system, which truthfully makes sense given the game's desire to be fast-paced. However, it also suffers from a lock-out bug that requires you to reboot the game to resolve, and in some cases it just detracts from the immersion the world is obviously trying to instill. Also most people will probably agree that reaching the end of a dungeon only to discover you can only leave by teleporting out using the over-world map stinks of poor level-planning. Sadly, Death's loyal steed, Despair, doesn't get much more use than Ruin did in the first Darksiders. While riding around and poking people with your scythe as you go past is fun, it quickly gets old when it's not for a higher cause. Ultimately if there's one thing Darksiders 2 suffers from more than anything else, it's repetition. There's too much reliance on collectible-based quests as a means of encouraging backtracking, and gathering three of something happens so often it begins to reek of a lack of imagination. This may be a bigger problem for some people than others, but it's still worth pointing out, since it's probably the one place where Vigil Games had no one but themselves to blame regarding missed opportunities. They might've had some bigger plans, but unlike many other things in the game, this is one place where there are no loose ends to tug on. Setting that aside though, there's still enough vigor in the adventure and the combat itself to warrant trying New Game + once you complete the main story. Sadly, Nordic Games goofed again here by allowing the limitation of only one New Game + playthrough per save file to remain intact, but they made up for it somewhat by including a new fifth tier of difficulty called Deathinitive (tougher even than Apocalyptic, if you can believe that). Also contributing to replay value is the Crucible, an arena where Death can fight waves of enemies for ever-increasing rewards and the right to appear on some shared scoreboards. It's not much, since the Soul Arbiter's Maze (a secret dungeon found in-game) is already pretty much like this, but it does offer a challenge for those seeking it once they've triumphed over everything else. Granted, Darksiders 2 wasn't and isn't the first to use the features that it employs. It's efforts to introduce more RPG-like elements such as a loot system and a skill tree are somewhat hit and miss when taken overall, but on the whole, they contribute nicely the combined experience well enough that whatever flaws they possess can be overlooked. Sound and DesignUnfortunately, while the Deathinitive Edition retains everything that made the original Darksiders 2 good (and bad), its own share of problems that it adds. Despite all the work that went into upgrading the textures and graphics for a modern audience, the game suffers from numerous bugs, including the odd crash to the desktop. On some occasions, the audio will cease working entirely, forcing a restart. Granted, the base version of Darksiders 2 had its own problems, some of them worse, but given the fact that this was supposed to be a re-release aimed at getting people interested in the franchise again, and how smoothly (for the most part) the original ran on PC, its hard to forgive Nordic Games for not putting the extra time and energy into optimizing the experience for returning and new players alike. Of particular frustration was the fast-travel system, which often became stuck and refused to work when called upon, again forcing a restart to resolve the issue. I used to be a hero like you! Now I run the Crucible, where I can watch other heroes fight for loot! What? No, I didn't take an arrow to the knee, you idiot! I don't even have legs! Apart from these humdrum software issues, which while aggravating aren't quite enough to detract from the overall experience, Darksiders 2 remains a glorious journey through a vast open world...at least at the start. One of the major drawbacks that can definitely be attributed to the budget-crunch the game was developed under is the fact that the game front-loads most of its content. Compared to the initial sections offered in the Kingdom of the Dead and the Maker's Vale, the latter half of the game lacks much of the sheer scale and depth that the former does. There are almost no side-dungeons to explore apart from the DLC after passing the midway mark, and while there's a great deal of backtracking for the sake of collectibles, it's not balanced out by that sense of discovery that comes with exploring new terrain, making it feel mostly like a slog through puzzles you've already solved. Overall though, Darksiders 2 lacks for nothing in terms of basic content from an aesthetic perspective. The combat sounds and feels snappy, with Death dodging and rolling while whipping his twin scythes about like a combine harvester powered by flashy magic. Meanwhile, the artistic powers of Joe Madureira lend the world a serious heavy-metal vibe on a par with the crazy pseudo-Norse and Gothic architecture of Brutal Legend, but without all the over musical references. Each area feels very distinct, with its own color palate and eye-catching set pieces which range from the absurd, to the monumental, and to the monumentally absurd. One good example is the Eternal Throne, a massive floating structure pulled chariot-style through the land of the dead by a pair of colossal, serpentine Leviathans, each beg enough to squeeze an aircraft carrier into junk in its coils. Everything about the world is just so jaw-dropping that it's hard to find things to complain about (though the skull motif could use a bit of a rest). Final VerdictDespite bringing little to the table that wasn't already there, the Deathinitive Edition does enough right that it manages to balance out whatever fresh problems it brings. It's still the same Darksiders 2 experience, just without the paid DLC and items sold separately, and with a fresh coat of paint. If you enjoy character-action games and RPGs, it's definitely worth your time and money, especially since as of this writing, Nordic Games, now re-christened as NordicTHQ, have announced their work on a sequel that many thought might never appear. Until that happy day of release, however, Darksiders 2: Deathinitive Edition remains a worthy addition to any collection. So what are you waiting for, Horseman? The seals are broken! Ride hard...and may hell follow with you! Minimum System Requirements
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I'm a blogger. I review games, mods, or whatever else I feel like, and voice my thoughts for your entertainment (and my portfolio). Reviews
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