A prequel to the staggeringly lore-obsessed Darksiders series, Genesis puts us in the shoes of Strife, the moody gunslinger of the Apocalypse riders. Strife, alongside War, are kind of like celestial bounty hunters, sent out on contracts by their bosses. This time around they're tasked with investigating Lucifer because there's a suspicion that he might be up to no good (wonder what clued them in to that, maybe that he’s the literal Devil). Strife is a lot more prone to wisecracks than the other three, and that helps make him the most engaging character in the series thus far.

Genesis is yet another gameplay reinvention for the series as this game is a top-down twin-stick shooter. This actually works really well; Strife controls smoothly and you get a fair bit of customization to his abilities as you progress. War is always by your side and so you can freely switch between brothers during gameplay, leaning into some light puzzle solving that often splits the brothers up. Although it's smaller than the other Darksiders games, it's also a lot more tightly constructed and well-written, making it the best of the lot so far.

A more interesting game than you might think! Nothing groundbreaking, but solidly fun as an action game and as a dungeon exploration game. While the usual comparison is Diablo, for the isometric action rpg-ish style, but I feel the more obvious parallel is found in El Shaddai.

Two isometric hack & slash games with moveset switching and vivid color palettes? Not to mention both series are set in a kind of pop culturey Abrahamic mythology? I'm surprised I didn't see it more when researching the game honestly.

That's not to say there's no Diablo here. The levels are like individual floors from a Diablo dungeon, with a focus on exploration that El Shaddai doesn't broach at all. Somehow though, the levels seem to move past their inspirations and emerge as really wonderful little worlds, laid out in a kind of linear yet expansive (with a small bit of collectible hunting!) style that just lets the gameplay sing.

The story feels a little tired, literally being a series of like 13 fetch quests with the occasional boss battle, and that's like, in context, but I didn't find it to take much away from the game. The structure was nice, I guess. The writing is fairly cliched as well, very much drawing on the series' comic book inspirations, with a dash of MCU in Strife's dialogue, but it avoids the pitfalls those movies fall into so often by at least taking itself fairly seriously outside of that one character. Drama is never kneecapped by comedy, I guess. It works, it feels true, but it won't change your life.

But really I'm kinda surprised at how much fun I had with this game. The themeing and art design are fun backdrops for stellar, if not groundbreaking, combat and levels. If you're in the mood for a very Video Game video game, but wanna stay away from the poison in games as a service, I really highly recommend picking this one up. It's only 40 bucks full price too, which is a real boon.

Oh the switch version is a little unstable, if I left it on too long (like in sleep mode without closing the game) it would tend to crash, but otherwise felt and looked great (especially on that handheld OLED screen aha)

🚫 ONLY A SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW IS AVAILABLE. READ MISC SECTION ON WHY 🚫

Thanks to its well executed balance between a hack and slash and an RPG, as well as its system of skills, the relationship between the two main characters and its very compelling combat, there's more than enough here to satisfy those who gravitate to these kinds of games. While not all is perfect when it comes to its less than ideal performance on the Switch screen, Darksiders Genesis has proved itself worthy for everyone to try it out.
👉opencritic SUMMARY

With its fun and engaging combat, a healthy mix between hack and slash and RPG elements and an enjoyable rapport between the two protagonists, Darksiders Genesis might be the most fun chapter in the series so far. Despite a sub-par performance on the Nintendo Switch screen and a not very functional map that could be more helpful, this is a game that will most certainly marvel any fan of the genre and which deserves an opportunity by every other Switch player too.
👉 metacritic SUMMARY

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◻️ ⚠️ Review originally written for FNintendo (defunct website) and published on April 2nd, 2020. Full review is currently unavailable. Expect restored written piece translated into English.
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◻️ ✍️ in European Portuguese (Main body of text translated into English with A.I.)
◻️ 📜 Review Number 30

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We have Diablo at home. And that's ok.

All you need to know is that it's on the shorter side (like 15 hours max). Fully co-op that's playable offline. And that for a series that does it's best to rip off other games, this game comes closest to competing with it's inspiration (Diablo, though this much more in the vein of Torchlight).

It's worth a sale purchase to have as a game to play with a bud.

I… really don’t know what to make of Darksiders Genesis. I think its my favourite Darksiders game – I played the first game around seven years ago, enjoying it for what it was. The sequels, like the industry around them, packed on the numbers and I slid out of them quick. I’d guess I got maybe a quarter of the way through Darksiders II, if that (despite Death being my favourite horseman) and dropped III after only a few hours. I’ve always considered myself a fan, though, and Genesis had me considering going back to explore these entries. There’s something about the aesthetic and the world that does it for me. It might be that it’s only the allure of unfulfilled promises, but at least they’re alluring. The shift to 2D (technically not, but this entry is certainly showing off at least half a dimension less than its numbered forebears) simplifies things. Strife plays like a twin-stick shooter, while War returns with his big sword Chaoseater. They’re both fun to control, and the progression elements didn’t bother be quite as much as most do. The collecting of creature cores helped a little, I guess, even if their minor stat-boosting effects are the stuff of nightmares. There’s a lot to like here, and a lot to dislike.

The first time I played it, I got a few levels in, got stuck, and got out. Thankfully, I tried it again recently and powered through, enjoying most of the middle levels. Like many action games, the puzzles are of little interest, although the perspective shift helps both here and with platforming. There was less frustration with each than my time in I, II, and III. But ultimately a lot of these elements feel like filler, and while moving through the world is generally satisfying, puzzles are less so. Particularly finicky is the use of Strife’s tools in puzzles, which require reasonably precise aim and are activated with R3 (a side effect of giving him two ammo types at a time in combat, a welcome option but generally an unnecessary one). Such problems are exacerbated by 3D parts of the world which can get in the way. It’s enough to make one wonder why they didn’t just commit to 2D, smoothing out these issues alongside the game world. Even more of a problem is the balancing. Despite ostensibly being overlevelled, based on the blanket numbers given for War and Strife (it’s not levelling, it’s accumulation of various things, but you collect similar yet separate powerups so they’re levelled separately – yay)… what was I saying? Oh, yeah: despite ostensibly being overlevelled, I felt underpowered, engagements pointlessly long as I carved my way through bullet- and sword-sponge enemies. It stopped being fun, and was a disappointing way to end my time with the game.

Despite everything, I’d like to see Darksiders make a return. Of course, I’d want any comeback to be on my terms, not the terms it’s operated on – I’d want RPG elements stripped out entirely (fun merchants like Vulgrim and Dis can stay, don’t worry; we’ll find something for them to do) and a reduced puzzle presence. If I had to pick one to get done, it’d be the former. With God of War (alongside everything else) now an action-RPG, it would be great to see the series step into the limelight as a simplified throwback action game, with platforming spectacle to complement the violence. Perhaps a soft reboot, if necessary, with a single protagonist wielding the weapons of each horseman. I know though, as we all should, that if it returns it will be rife with industry trends and overstuffed with ideas, not a sleek challenge to an industry intent on barrelling down the wrong path. Ah, well, we can only dream.

(Whoops, broke my personal guidelines and got a little wistful there)