If you've ever enjoyed any games in the Darksiders or Diablo series, you should check this out

Introduction

I'll be honest, I missed out on Darksiders 3. I heard it was alright, a little hit and miss, but not as good as the first two - which were both fantastic in their own right. Darksiders Genesis changes the pace by switching from a 3rd person over-the-shoulder view, to a top-down isometric Diablo-esque camera style.

Aside from the camera change, in this game you play not as one, but TWO horsemen. Those of you who played the original Darksiders will recognize the voice of War as Liam O'Brien, who also did the voice of Illidan from World of Warcraft (he does a fantastic job in both of these roles). While I didn't recognize the voice of Strife - Chris Jai Alex, his past work apparently includes Hunter x Hunter, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and One Punch Man. The dynamic between them plays a bit like a buddy cop movie - War being the grizzled stoic type, and Strife coming off as a rogue-ish Han Solo type - and their combat style reflects this.

The dialogue feels natural, and even gets a chuckle out of me every now and then; none of the jokes seem forced. It's only available for PC at the moment, with console editions coming this February, but I can already tell this while make for a great Co-Op game - something that's been lacking from the modern market.

Story

In the Darksiders universe, the Charred Council are the be-all, end-all - kinda like a fictional SCOTUS - who have granted the four horseman (War, Death, Strife, and Fury) unimaginable power to preserve the balance between Heaven, Hell, and Humanity. Lucifer has been (Snape voice) ...up to something, and it's your job to find out what.

Only the Charred Council - not Angel, not Demon not Old One, but something other - holds the warring factions at bay. Only the Charred Council, and their fearsome servants, stand at the pivot point of all Creation, protecting the Balance from all who would see it shattered. Barely.
— From Darksiders: The Abomination Vault (spinoff Novel)

Gameplay

If I had to choose one word to describe the gameplay, it would be smooth. Toss up between 'smooth', and 'fluid'. The movement and combat feel natural and intuitive, and you can even switch characters on the fly with a simple (Lb+ A). Each character has their own weapon and combat style, and they're both equally enjoyable.

You get used to the camera angle pretty quickly

Each chapter also has a handful of side missions to keep you occupied

If you've played any of the other games in the series you'll instantly recognize the art style, and they've definitely stayed true to form - which makes sense, seeing as Genesis is directed by the producer of Darksiders II, Ryan Stefanelli. He did another game called Battle Chasers: NightWar (havn't played it), and you can see the same artistic influences.

Conclusion

Too often I find myself booting up a 40-50 Gb game, and completely forgetting how to play it. Especially with each one having their own systems and nuances - it's too much to keep track of. Genesis clocks in at a humble 10 Gb, and should run smoothly even on an older PC. If you've found yourself longing for the simpler days of dungeon Hack n Slash, this one might be for you.