Let's Talk... Blackguards

Let's Talk... 3089: A Futuristic ARPG

Let's Talk... Darksiders 2

The original Darksiders, although a great game, bordered the dangerous line between being a respectable homage to the Legend of Zelda series and just being a straight up knock-off. Vigil Games could have easily crossed that line with Darksiders 2, but with a solid formula already established and a potentially vast world to dig into, Vigil Games has kept much of the original game’s original concepts and expanded on them in a way that feels both smart and natural.

In Darksiders 2, you play as Death, one of the others horsemen of the apocalypse, as he attempts to get his mighty unpopular brother, War (the protagonist of the first game and another horseman of the apocalypse), out of a whole heap of trouble. Although knowledge of the events of the first game would make it a little easier to follow the story of this game, you wouldn't be at a major loss if you have no idea who the four horsemen are or who belongs to which faction etc. Also, instead of taking place on a ruined Earth like the first, the game is instead set in an entirely different world and is constantly switching between the land of the living and the land of the dead. The change of scenery adds some much needed variety to the environments and allows for some much more interesting and far more fantastical set pieces.  

Death looks and plays very different to his brother, War

Unlike the heavy and powerful War, Death is a significantly quicker and more agile character straight from the get-go with a trusty pair of dual-wielded scythes being the main tools of your arsenal. Of course, scythes aren’t the only weapons at your disposal. The game’s new and engaging loot system offers plenty of opportunity to frequently upgrade and replace your current equipment with armour and weapons. As with any loot-driven game, weapons are totally defined by their attack speed (there’s essentially one type for slow, medium and fast) and the various attributing stats they may wield (which include things like critical strike chance, life on hit, life on crit etc.). Naturally, the addition of loot makes Darksiders 2 as much an RPG as an action game.

The same can be said for the addition of the very standard quest system that allows you to track the main quest and side quests. The side quests are fairly standard for the most part and you’d do well to get through them all without getting bored of their repetitive fetch-y nature. These quests are usually simple tasks like searching a dungeon for a particular item, or killing X for Y, but some more interesting side content begins to open up later, such as the round-based survival arena that will offer you loot for an exit every five rounds. For some, changes like adding loot and quests, although pretty smart changes, may move the feel of the game too far away from what made the first Darksiders feel so different and it almost feels like Darksiders 2 has lost some of its identity by doing so.

The world is enormous compared to the first game, but it's easy to forget that with all the immediate fast travelling the game offers

 One of the core features of the original game that has not been canned, however, is the steady progression of Metroidvania-style items required for traversing the world and solving puzzles. The grappling hook and portal gun rip-off make a return in slightly different forms, as well as the ability to split yourself into two beings for the purpose of holding down pressure plates for opening doors and raising bridges etc. For the most part, these items open up some fun but rather rudimentary puzzles until you unlock the self-duplicating ability. The game builds some interesting and rather challenging puzzles out of this relatively simple mechanic in a pretty novel way. Also, later in the game the portal gun rip-off is upgraded to have reality-switching properties that make the last portion of the game rather tricky at times.

The combat isn’t exactly difficult but sure is satisfying when done right. The different weapon types and the variety of stats available from armour and weapons allow you to build your character in rather dynamic ways. For example, my preference was to equip the fastest weapon type, a pair of claws, and attempt to max out my critical strike chance and life on kill as much as possible, which paved the way for me to just tear through some areas. On top of the gear is a two-sided talent tree that basically has one side for ranged attacks and summoning minions, and the other for melee-focused obliteration.

Floating combat numbers aren't the only thing that make the game feel more like a standard RPG, but its a nice addition nonetheless

Overall, Darksiders 2 does a great job of expanding on the story and gameplay of its predecessor whilst still adding enough to keep it fresh and iterative enough. The change of protagonist and change of setting are both smart and natural changes that do the game a great service. However, although the addition of loot and a standard quest system are positive changes, they take away a significant part the series’ identity. Either way, with two solid games under their belt and still another two horsemen of the apocalypse to explore, Vigil Games have plenty of room for another sequel.

Let's Talk... DmC: Devil May Cry

As someone who has never been a fan of the Devil May Cry series in any capacity, DmC: Devil May Cry was a pretty great surprise. This flashy reboot moves away from the series’ traditional roots of extreme difficulty and replaces it with a considerably less challenging and more accessible experience. The game’s extremely stylish art style and excellent level design easily outweighs the satisfying yet simplified combat system, and it certainly seems to be more the focus of the game.

A satisfying and rewarding combat system is great fun, but it certainly isn't as difficult as previous DMC games

 A younger and controversially reinvented Dante takes center stage of the reboot. The story explores Dante’s past, as is the standard for reboots, and sees him team up with his long-lost brother, Vergil, to stop the demons taking over the world with a mind-numbing soda drink. It’s pretty ridiculous, and as soon as a flying pizza covers up Dante’s crotch as he flies into his clothes you know it isn’t going to take itself particularly serious. For as dumb as it is on paper, its execution actually isn’t half-bad. It manages to tell its own stupid story, somewhat build Dante as a character and makes enough room for potential sequels, whilst attempting to explore some harrowing topics like sexual assault and domestic violence (granted it’s only for a brief moment and touches on it in the lightest possible way).

When compared to the previous games, the combat certainly appears considerably “dumbed down” at face value. But as new weapon unlocks and a whole host of purchasable combos add layer upon layer, it eventually becomes pretty complex. Some enemies appear in ethereal forms that will only become solidified when using the right weapon. Some enemies require you to pull off particular combos to leave them vulnerable. And, of course, the Devil May Cry trademark of knocking up enemies and juggling them in the air with your guns is well intact. The combat is certainly no cakewalk, especially at the higher difficulties (which actually get quite creative in how they alter the challenge of the game, for example, all enemies die in one hit but so do you) and involves a lot of switching between different weapons and doing your best to look as stylish as possible.

A gorgeous art style and some great art direction elevate every inch of this game's appeal

Fortunately, the game’s reasonably deep scoring system incentivizes you to do just that, and plays its way into almost every aspect of the game. At the end of each level you’ll be given an overall score based on how fast you beat the level, your combat rating and how many collectibles you found. The score is an arbitrary completionist figure aside from the upgrade points you obtain from higher ratings, but the drive to get those S ranks is a great way to encourage you to experiment with the game’s angel and demon weaponry, which act as light and heavy attacks respectively. Although the combat is relatively easy on the default difficulty, the way that the game’s scoring system is constantly rewarding and punishing you during combat can actually make it rather brutal. An excellently executed combo can get your score right up there but your letter grade score drops a couple of levels whenever you’re hit.

The fact that all of the gameplay takes place in the demonic limbo/fake reality allows the designers to truly go crazy here. Mundane environments like warehouses or just typical streets are mutilated, twisted and transformed into the most ridiculous and just unrecognisable landscapes of such incredible creativity. As well as bringing some extraordinary environments, the game also throws some truly memorable boss sequences your way, too, which, whilst not exceptionally difficult, won’t be forgotten for a good long time. It’s difficult to explain some of the crazy environments and do them the justice they deserve; they’re certainly something to be experienced first-hand. The way that the things form and explode all around, the way that titles and information appears and overlays on screen, and wonderful usage of a varied colour palette makes for some visually stunning and truly unforgettable set pieces.

Screenshots alone don't do the crazy level design justice

Overall, DmC is a super stylish and hugely enjoyable experience with a couple of truly outstanding moments, but having the Devil May Cry name stamped all over it may in fact be its downfall. Fans of the older games will probably hate that this game even exists, whilst anyone who hasn’t played a Devil May Cry game will probably just be put off by the notorious difficulty of the earlier games. Nonetheless, DmC is an incredibly stylish reboot with some decent promise for another great sequel, and although the action is solid it’s the game’s amazing level design and awesome art direction that elevates this well-made and accessible character-action reboot into crazy levels of stylishness.