Imagine a take on the “Legend of Zelda” formula that is much more mature and has a death metal tone to it. That is essentially the “Darksiders” series. The main characters however are “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” War, Strife, Fury and Death.
The story of “Darksiders” is that Heaven and Hell have been fighting each other for ages with neither side gaining an advantage over the other. This was starting to upset the balance in the universe, threatening to destroy everything. To stop this, The Charred Council, keepers of the balance, have recruited a brotherhood known as “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
It was their job to enforce their laws when necessary. During this conflict, humanity was born. The forces of Heaven and Hell agreed to a truce so that the Kingdom of Man could grow and prosper. Seven seals were created and meant to be broken when it was time for the End War.
“Darksiders I” takes place in modern times. People in a city see a news broadcast saying that meteors have hit the Earth. We watch one of them land but is revealed to be a large demon killing an angel. Now the forces of heaven and hell are fighting again with humanity caught in the middle.
One horseman, War, intervenes but wonders where the others are at. During the conflict he is defeated by a demon named Straga. He is however saved from death when the Charred Council summons him and accuses him of starting the apocalypse prematurely since the seven seals were still intact.
War protests his innocence and strikes a deal to find out what really happened with two conditions. He is stripped of his powers and is monitored by their watcher who will kill him if he strays from his mission. War goes back to Earth to find that he’s been gone a century. Humanity was destroyed. Now War must set out to make things right.
In “Darksiders II”, we learn that these Four Horseman come from a race called the Nephilim. A fusion of angel and demon who destroy every world they go to. Four of them grew tired of this slaughter and made a deal with the Charred Council. Enforce their law in exchange for unimaginable power, becoming “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
Their first task was to slaughter the Nephilim to extinction for they were upsetting the balance. Death’s job was to destroy their souls afterwards, but he doesn’t have it in him to destroy the amulet that bounds the souls of his kin. Though he denies it, he does feel some sense of remorse for his actions.
Fast forward to the events of “Darksiders I” where War is being held by the Charred Council. Death also protests his brother’s innocence and sets out on a personal quest to resurrect humanity to clear War’s name.
Now we get to play as Fury. From what we know, this also takes place when War is being held by the Charred Council. She must set out to fight the Seven Deadly Sins for the council considers them to be enemies of existence.
This will be different from past “Darksiders” games. The enemies will be fewer, but more technically challenging. The dungeon design is also going to be different. Instead of going from one dungeon to the next, it will be one huge dungeon where everything is intricately connected in some way, making you feel like it never ends.
We haven’t seen much from the Darksiders series since the publishers, THQ and developers, Vigil Games were shut down due to financial troubles and were forced to auction off many of their assets. Now Darksiders is owned by THQ Nordic and is being developed by Gunfire Games which is largely composed of the original developers of the “Darksiders” franchise. “Darksiders III” is set to come out sometime this year.
Samuel Christian
Intern
