THQ Nordic and Gunfire Games have spent the last few years keeping the Darksiders franchise alive and well. It started with both Darksiders and Darksiders II getting the remastered treatment for current generation consoles and then continued with the release of Darksiders III last November. However there is another pretty popular platform right now that the franchise had yet to appear on, until now. Darksiders: Warmastered Edition marks the first appearance of this franchise on the Nintendo Switch which means you can now take Darksiders with you wherever you go.
If you are a stranger to the franchise Darksiders plays like a mix of a Legend of Zelda game and the old God of War games. It’s a third-person, action-adventure RPG about War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, who ends up being framed for bringing upon the end of the world too early. War then has to set out to restore the balance between heaven, hell, and the living world and to clear his name. I really enjoyed the story of this game back in 2010 and playing it again I was reminded just how good it is. War isn’t the only great character as he is joined by a cast of other interesting characters like an angel and the watcher which is this spirit like creature binded to War. All of the characters deliver top notch performances as well thanks to the awesome cast of voice actors like Troy Baker, Mark Hamil, Liam O’Brien and more. Mark Hamil in particular does a fantastic job as always.
The gameplay itself is great and has lots of variety as you progress through the game. As you explore the world of Darksiders you’ll travel through more dungeons that steadily get more complicated. You’ll gain new tools as you go that you’ll usually have to use in each said dungeon just like you would do in a Zelda game. Combat is fast and fluid and even more so now that the game has gotten some improvements. On the last generation platforms this game ran at 720p and 30fps including on the Wii U. The Switch version actually has two graphics modes to choose from with one being Quality and the other being Performance. Quality mode while docked runs at 1080p and 30fps while in portable mode it runs at 720p and 30fps. If you switch over to Performance mode while docked the game runs at around 810p with an unlocked frame rate and in portable mode it runs 540p with an unlocked frame rate. The frame rate in Performance mode usually stuck to around 60fps for me but there were times where it would fall quite a bit. Now while the Switch version doesn’t look as good as the PS4 or Xbox One versions it still looks good on the TV and solid in portable mode.
When this remastered version released on PS4 and Xbox One it was only $20 which I found to be a great asking price for an almost ten year old game. The Switch version starts at $30 though which is a bit high in my opinion but we’ve seen this a lot with Switch ports. The game is still a pretty good value though as it’s a 15-20 hour adventure that is just plain fun to play and you get the ability to take it on the go now. Some of the later parts of the game were still tedious and annoying to go through again but that ending is just as good as ever. Getting there was just as fun too exploring all the dungeons again, upgrading my various weapons, and squaring off in some fantastic boss battles.
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition marks the franchises first appearance on the Nintendo Switch and makes quite the first impression. While the game is a bit higher in price compared to PS4 and Xbox One versions, it still offers a ton of value and offers two different graphic options so that you can experience the game on the Switch the way you prefer. Being able to help War take revenge on those who framed him on the go was awesome and I hope this isn’t the only appearance this franchise makes on the Switch.
*Darksiders: Warmastered Edition is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Reviewed on Nintendo Switch. Review copy provided by the publisher for this review.
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition
$29.99
Pros
- Fantastic Fantasy World and Characters
- Offers the choice for Better Graphics or Performance
- Superb voice acting
- Being able to play Darksiders on the go
Cons
- Late game area is still annoying
- Visuals, while better, do show their age
