One of the best franchises to ever spring out of the last generation of gaming was undoubtedly Darksiders. It’s just a pity that it only lasted for two games, thanks to THQ backing the wrong horse and finding itself in financial doldrums.
Darksiders 1 and 2 are completely different games however. Two sides of the same coin, the original was a tighter and focused homage to The Legend of Zelda series of dungeon explorers, but with a refined sense of combat and exploration.
Darksiders 2 went open-world, packing in influences from MMORPGs and other big exploration games. But the two still retained a signature art style, courtesy of comic book legend Joe Madureira. And it’s the Darksiders sequel which is looking rather good.
Here’s a bunch of comparison shots of Darksiders 2 on old-gen and the upcoming, silly-named Deathinitive Edition. There’s a definite sharpness to the upgraded edition, which also looks slightly brighter to me. See for yourself:
“When we thought about what we wanted to do for the “Deathinitive” edition of Darksiders II, obviously we wanted to run in native 1080p and increase the resolution of the textures,” Gunfire Games Design Director John Pearl said in a press release.
Additionally, we decided to rewrite the renderer to be physically based like a lot of other current generation game engines. What this means visually is metal, leather, stone and skin look and respond to light as you would expect them to in the real world.
This new rendering method meant we revisited every texture and surface in the game, reworking and re-authoring them for the new renderer. To take full advantage of these texture changes, we’ve also gone back and relit the entire game.
Thing is, I’d gladly play Darksider 2 again. It’s a massive game, that didn’t get nearly enough love on release. It’s a genuinely good game if you’ve got the hours to sink into it, and I’m curious to see just how different it is with the gameplay being rebalanced and enemies being fine-tuned.
Last Updated: June 30, 2015
Jonah Cash
June 30, 2015 at 22:59
This series gives me a pain…. in the heart! Would love it if they would do a third game and give us all 4 horseman to play co-op with like THQ planned. I remember watching a dev diary for this game and the one guy explained that Death had a more feral movement style to War and man did they deliver. If you watch him climbing a wall he looks like an animal. Loved the game and would love to play a shinier version. So yeah sign me up, I will get this!
Nikola
July 1, 2015 at 10:26
Maaaan wish the 3rd game gets made somehow:(
Hammersteyn
July 1, 2015 at 07:41
The last screen shot screams Soul Reaver
Rock789
July 1, 2015 at 07:43
Glad I’m not the only one who saw that. 🙂 Man, now that’s a game I’d LOVE to see on current-gen!!
The Sten
July 1, 2015 at 09:21
Never played Legacy of Kain, but all i could think of when looking at that pic was…
Hammersteyn
July 1, 2015 at 09:38
LOL!
Johann
July 1, 2015 at 08:08
Really enjoyed both Darksider games. Lets hope this re-release gets enough sales so that they can do a third one.
Grid10ck
July 1, 2015 at 08:11
I rate those of us who have the CE of this game should get this version as a free upgrade :p
HairyEwok
July 1, 2015 at 08:38
If you want to go remaster games, then remaster Crash Bandicoot….
Admiral Chief's Adventure
July 1, 2015 at 08:47
Or Blackthorne!
Hammersteyn
July 1, 2015 at 08:57
Or System Shock 2!
Admiral Chief's Adventure
July 1, 2015 at 09:26
^This
Deceased
July 1, 2015 at 10:52
^ How to get this up there where it would be noticed? 😐
Hammersteyn
July 1, 2015 at 11:02
Moar votes!
Hendrik
July 1, 2015 at 09:04
One of the best games I ever played.
Hendrik
July 1, 2015 at 09:04
One of the best games I ever played.
Derrich Schleich
July 1, 2015 at 09:05
Why not put this much effort in a Darksiders 3? I understand remasters like the final fantasy remake – but a game that’s only 3 years old ? Loved both of the darksiders games – but the story is unfinished and requires more titles, not remakes.
Nikola
July 1, 2015 at 10:27
Totally agreed:) Like I am getting the uncharted remasters since I never played them but at the same time they are also working on a new game so it’s good!
Nikola
July 1, 2015 at 10:26
Awesome game if u did not play it I would highly recommend! I just do not double dip on remasters if I never played it then would definetly get it!
HammerOfTruth
July 17, 2015 at 21:01
Love this franchise. I felt the artists and developers poured their soul into it. Would love to see the third installment, and how Nordic Games will continue the story of the Horsemen!