Join two of the four horsemen of the apocalypse in this action rpg. Was Darksiders Genesis worth it?
Table of Contents
Background
Darksiders Genesis is the fourth entry in the franchise, but serves as a prequel. In this series, the horsemen aren’t harbingers of the end as much as they are bumbling edgy cartoon characters. This particular title is a buddy-cop isometric hack and slash action rpg. Yes, it’s a Diablo clone.
You’d think that the games would have found their identity now, but that’s not the case. The characters and game styles have changed over each game, so don’t be surprised if you’ve lost the plot. The four horsemen are supposed to show up to herald the apocalypse, but that seems to be up for debate in this series.
Did you ever watch a movie or cartoon as a kid and then recreate it with your favorite toys? Apply that concept to game design and you have the Darksiders franchise.
The games in this series are a mishmash of other titles. To say they’re derivative isn’t really accurate, because they that would imply that they have their own identity outside of wholesale copying mechanics from other games, be it Zelda, God of War, Bayonetta, etc.
The Best Creature Cores in Darksiders Genesis
Early on, just use whatever cores you have so that you can get some stat boosts. Eventually, you’ll want to prioritize some of the better cores.
Here’s a quick list of some of the best creature cores to help your build. This list also assumes you have the cores at level 3. Very few of the cores are useless, this is just the ones that I personally recommend.
Minor Creature Cores:
- Spectral Angel – extra hot streak bullets for Strife, extra tremor gauntlet damage for War (really only good on Strife)
- Stormcaller – Wrath+ Health-
- Nephilim Brute – Attack+ Health-
- Armored Flea – Attack+ (it’s pretty weak but you can max it very early)
- Armored Legion – Improves War and Strife’s Block/Evade Counters.
- Fallen Hound – Attack+
- Gholen – Attack, Wrath, HP+
- Flea Hulk – Longer Chaos/Anarchy form time
- Phantom Guard – Improves Strife’s Shadow Clone and War’s Blade Geyser
Major Creature Cores:
- Nephilim Vindicator – Chance to deal AOE on attack; Extremely underrated, especially if using Strife’s electric ammo
- Ashworm – Attack/Wrath+
- Legion Shieldbearer – Gain a shield based on your max HP
- Mammon – More drops – Ammo, HP, Wrath, and Souls
- Belial – Lifesteal. One of the best cores in the game.
- Grinner – Improves Shadow Clones (spawns another clone) and Blade Geyser (heals War)
- Angelic Beast – Increases your window to evade/parry
Special Mentions:
- Void Magus, Ghoul – Great for farming
- Scarab Queen/Fallen Husk – Health+, Attack/Wrath-; Health is not a great stat to prioritize but these are still substantial boosts
What does Darksiders Genesis do well?
Character Playstyles
Strife and War feel like very disparate characters. Initially I preferred the “dodge and kite” style of Strife, but began to warm to War’s bruiser playstyle as I unlocked more moves and abilities. Once I got further into the game, I found that each character was better suited to taking on different mobs, so I felt rewarded for taking the time to learn both horsemen.
Character Progression
You don’t level up or gain experience in this game. Instead, you collect creature cores, which are slotted onto a character tree. These cores come in a variety of flavors, from the vanilla (base state upgrades) to the exotic (change or improve abilities).
What could Darksiders Genesis do better?
Polish
Polish is a nebulous term. I believe it applies when you encounter something in a game that makes you think “why didn’t they playtest this?” I can’t speak to the level of quality across the franchise, but Genesis could have used a bit more care before hitting shelves.
Here are some examples:
- Enemies, including bosses, getting stuck and ignoring me (easiest boss fight of my life, lol)
- Can’t interact with or open items while mounted
- Occasional crashes
- Getting stuck on terrain while moving or dashing
Optimization
I played on the Switch, and while the game runs fine most of the time, there were a few slowdowns, especially on horseback. It wasn’t ever dire and I never died as a result of slowdowns, but it was particularly jarring since the game generally runs smoothly. There aren’t any options to turn off extra particles and the like, so your options are to slowly walk over large areas or to ride your horse and deal with occasional FPS drops.
Level Traversal
The platforming sections in Darksiders Genesis are like so many flies in the ointment (there’s a Biblical idiom for you). Fundamentally, I’m here for the combat, and the platforming sections break up the fun. Fortunately, the game is forgiving when you inevitably fall to your death, but it’s still annoying.
There were many times I would jump toward a ledge or climbing plank and my character (generally Strife) would react as though they were trying to latch onto it, but would still fall. Considering that both horsemen have wings, I don’t see why the game is so enamored with making the player jump and climb through so many areas. In areas with grapple spots, it was common to see Strife start shooting instead of grappling to the spot, which also led to a lot of deaths.
Was Darksiders Genesis fun?
Janky platforming aside, I had a great time in the combat sections. While there isn’t a traditional leveling system, I enjoyed collecting creature cores and experimenting with builds. The two characters have very different and distinct playstyles that lend themselves well to taking on different enemies.
Was Darksiders Genesis worth it?
This was an easy game for me to write about, as the highs and lows are incredibly obvious.
Darksiders Genesis is a competent hack and slash with some janky platforming elements. The characters are fun to play as, and the fights are fun. This is a gameplay-driven game, so don’t think too deeply about the plot. This game isn’t going to change your worldview, but it fits comfortably into the category of “games you play when you’re waiting for something else to come out”.
This title has been out for a while, and can be found cheaply. A physical copy goes for less than $20, and the eShop version has gone for as low as 12.99. At that price point, Darksiders: Genesis is worth it, but don’t pay more than $20 for it.
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