![]() These four abilities allow Fury to evolve into different Forms, which is a rather pretentious way of saying her hair changes colour and she can wield a new weapon. Hollows are Darksiders III’s central mechanic, and they save the game from being rubbish. Then I unlocked my second Hollow, and the game suddenly clicked. Indeed, after about three hours of this, I was ready to chuck the whole experience in the bin. Hence, I spent my first couple of hours bouncing in different directions, getting eviscerated by pretty much every enemy I met, and then throwing a small tantrum. There’s also no map, which doesn’t help matters. Instead, it points you to the nearest Sin you need to fight, which obviously changes depending on where you want to go. But the game doesn’t point you to a specific objective. Many of these pathways only become usable later in the game, which is fine in and of itself. The world is highly interconnected, with lots of different pathways that gradually unlock as you progress. Darksiders III is largely a linear experience, but it pretends not to be. Compounding my frustration was that I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to be going. The dodge felt too short, while the fact that enemies stagger you with almost every strike means you really need to avoid getting hit. Hence, fighting is mainly about aggression and evasion, trying to deal as much damage as possible while avoiding enemy claws and teeth using Fury’s speedy dodge.Īt first, I hated it. She can’t block enemy attacks, however, and most opponents can kill you in a handful of strikes. Fury’s main weapon is a long, serrated metal whip, which she can use to effectively crowd-control opponents. Instead, you spend most of the early game running through large, boxy environments, trying to get to grips with the ferociously difficult combat. Like the original Darksiders, Fury is a horseman without a horse, while many other systems features seen in Darksiders II, such as loot and customisable armour, have been excised. This is just as well, because for the first couple of hours, the presentation of Darksiders III was all I enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed her withering exchanges with her Watcher companion, which keep the game feeling alive while I was navigating to the next boss fight. Fury herself is also a thoroughly enjoyable protagonist, cutting through the web of conspiracy like a knife, always oozing confidence and violent potential. Darksiders’ stories may be nonsense, but they are generally well-told nonsense, with excellent voice-acting and sharp, sparky dialogue. In storytelling, at least, Darksiders III is 100 percent Darksiders, insofar as I had no idea what was going on but was quite happy to go along with it anyway. Above this, however, is some twelfth-dimensional conspiracy nonsense involving the “balance” between good and evil, and ridiculous plots that masquerade in complexity. With her brother War imprisoned for betrayal, and Death missing in another realm, Fury is given the task of tracking down the Seven Deadly and restoring them to their ethereal state by, naturally, killing them. The third game takes place after the apocalypse has occurred, in the process letting loose the Seven Deadly Sins upon the earth. Trying to make sense of Darksiders’ story has always been an exercise in futility. Indeed, it’s never properly explained why Fury is viewed in this way, although it might have something to do with her highly uncomplicated view of existence, which is namely to batter absolutely everyone she encounters into a fleshy mulch. Fury is also the only female horseman, which makes the game’s whole framing of her as the lowest of the four a mite uncomfortable. Players assume the role of Fury, the third and, in the game’s own words 'least' of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Darksiders adopting a more liberal interpretation of the horsemen at this point). Unfortunately, for quite some time it feels like a step back, and it’s only when Darksiders III leans more towards its origins that the game start to work. It’s an interested step sideways, and I think one that ultimately prevails. The sequel eschews the broader scope of its predecessor, which featured horse-riding and complex puzzle-platforming, in favour of a much more pointed focus on challenging third-person combat. What that is, namely, is a Darksiders take on the Dark Souls format. And finally, appreciation for what Darksiders III actually is. Acceptance that this is not the sequel that I had hoped for. Anger on account of the game’s terrible navigation system and wildly varying difficulty. Disappointment that it is a slimmer and far less varied game than Darksiders II. Over the course of playing Darksiders III, my feelings toward it have evolved from disappointment to anger, acceptance, and finally appreciation. ![]()
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