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‘Darksiders II’ Review: This Is No Place For A Horse
If you’re like me, then your nights are undoubtedly plagued by bloody fantasies that have you riding a ghostly horse into the field of battle, where demons and angels are warring over whatever it is the two sides can’t seem to agree upon. Just as you force your way into the frenzy, you whip out your scythes and start ruining every goddamned thing that moves. When things start to get a little hairy, you decide to unleash your true power–a terrifying grim reaper form that throws your badass factor through the roof and up into the sky above. Angels and demons alike quickly learn to fear you, and just as you’re making your way up the pile of bloodied corpses that were begging for their lives just a few seconds earlier, the alarm clock goes off and you wake up only to remember that you’re a geek with no real physical ability. If you haven’t had this dream, I suggest living vicariously through my review of Darksiders II.
The Baby Factor: If the action packed Darksiders joined The Legend of Zelda, God of War, and Diablo for a hot night of playing Sheathe The Sword, Darksiders II would be the result.
The original Darksiders was a great game, even if it did borrow heavily from numerous other titles. It took the much of what God of War and The Legend of Zelda did great and brought it over to a post-apocalyptic world where the demons and angels are at war and the four horsemen of the apocalypse are caught in the middle of it all. It proved that imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, though that’s not to say it didn’t bring with it a few novel ideas of its own.
The art style for one, is very over-the-top with exaggerated characters and almost comically large weapons. The game was driven by the concept of bigger is better, and this same theme can be seen in the sequel, though on a decidedly grander scale. Everything is bigger in Darksiders II; many of the weapons are twice Death’s size, the environments range from claustrophobic corridors to wide open vistas, and even several of the bosses are impressive in how big they are.
When it came to the bosses, I only have one complaint, and it comes from a fight with a massive stone golem during the first third of the game that was unapologetically taken from Shadow of the Colossus. In it, you’re supposed to use your horse to dodge its attacks so you can climb up it and stab its glowing blue weak points. This isn’t the first game to do this–Castlevania: Lords of Shadow did pretty much the same thing, though it might have hidden it just a wee bit better.
Is the above screenshot from Darksiders II or Shadow of the Colossus? Who knows?
I hate starting off the review so negatively, because overall, I really loved this game, and it’s out of this love that I wish developer Vigil Games would try harder to be a little more original. Surprisingly, it’s not the combat, loot, monsters, or story that ended up being my favorite thing about this game. It was the music. The soundtrack here, courtesy of the immensely talented Jesper Kyd, is easily one of my favorite video game soundtracks of all time. It’s fantastic. Kyd successfully manages to flow between epic, sweeping orchestral scores and more ambient, even haunting tracks. It’s in your face when it needs to be, then it fades into the background, if only so it can jump back into your welcoming ears to remind you just how good it is.
I was ready to be critical about the loot, because really, loot is one of those things that’s difficult to get right, especially on your first go. Now, I’m not saying it’s perfect, because I threw away a lot of crap, and it would’ve been nice to see more unique bonuses and special abilities on the gear, maybe even sets of gear you can collect for more powerful bonuses, but as it is, it’s more than satisfying. You have your common weapons, followed by the enchanted and rarer unique items, but my favorite are the possessed weapons. These things require you to sacrifice your other equipment to make them stronger, and most of the time it’s worth it.
The first Darksiders took the hub world approach to world design where you would return to a familiar area to refuel before you set off on your adventures. The sequel is very much an open-world game that lets you freely explore wherever you damn well please. A neat little addition are the dungeons that have been sprinkled about the game world, where you can fight powerful bosses and plunder their loot. Just be careful, because you can go wherever you want in a world you’ve unlocked–in Darksiders II there are several worlds connected by portals–you also run the risk of going somewhere you’re not prepared to be in. On more than one occasion I tried to beat down a boss only to get swatted like a fly.
The main story can take as many as 15-20 hours to complete, and that’s not including the side quests that can easily double that number. There’s more than enough content here to keep even the most scrutinizing of gamers entertained, and the addition of leaderboards and sending/receiving gear to your friends is a nice touch. For the unfamiliar, Darksiders II follows Death, who’s on a mission to find his brother War a little redemption after the events in the first game. This is the mission that drives him, and you’ll rarely do anything that doesn’t progress that goal.
Death’s adventure will take him to a variety of areas, ranging from the verdant world of the Makers to the darker realm of the undead, and even the gates of heaven, or its equivalent in the Darksiders fiction. Each of the worlds are beautiful and unique, and brimming with a few legions worth of demons that want nothing more than to tear Death in two. Little do they know, that because he’s Death, he can’t actually die. That’s right, Darksiders II takes the Prince of Persia (the cel-shaded one that came out in 2008) approach to failure by bringing you back to where you were a few seconds earlier, should you make a bad move and “die.” On one hand, this keeps the game from getting too frustrating because there’s a very good chance that while you probably won’t die during the combat, there’s a distinct possibility that one of the many platforming segments will kill you eventually. On the other hand, because there’s essentially no punishment for failure, that eliminates the fear of it.
Think you can jump over that chasm filled with spikes and the impaled corpses of those who thought they could cross it safely? Go for it! If you don’t make it, you’re just going to teleport back to safety! Hell, why don’t you try it a few times bro, just to be extra sure the jump isn’t possible!
If you played the first game, you’re undoubtedly already familiar with the series’ mixture of puzzles, platforming and combat. All three are very present in Darksiders II, only this time it seems the puzzles have been promoted to a more pivotal role. You’re going to be solving a lot of puzzles. It felt like every room in the game was designed to break your will to live, and while a majority of them are clever and fun to figure out, a few become frustrating only because some of your abilities aren’t explained as well as they should’ve been. For example, there’s an ability you get later in the game that lets you split yourself into two ghostly forms of Death. These two guys can be controlled separately to solve some puzzles that would usually require multiple people. There’s a puzzle late in the game that requires you to get a bomb across a gap, only you can’t jump over the gap with the bomb in hand because apparently, Death can’t multitask. However, what you can do is toss the bomb from one Death specter to the other and he’ll automatically catch it, even if you aren’t controlling him at the time. I didn’t know this was possible, and it was a little annoying not to have been given even the slightest hint that this was something that could be done.
I feel like I could dedicate an entire article to praising Michael Wincott’s portrayal of Death, because the match is perfect. Wincott’s voice is exactly what Death should sound like. His voice is comprised of two parts “total badass”, one part “I don’t give a fuck”, with a dash of “fuck yeah! I’m Michael Wincott!” to really round out the flavor. What I’m trying to say is he’s great as Death, and the chances are high that I’ll be quoting him randomly during conversations for some time.
Unfortunately, like many games of this size, odds are you’re going to run into a few glitches. Surprisingly, the ones I ran into weren’t the type of problems you can easily ignore. A few times I fell out of the game world and there was a part near the end of the game where a cut-scene didn’t initiate when it should have, leaving me with a bewildered look on my face and an urge to give up and throw in Sleeping Dogs. Luckily, Darksiders II was amazing enough to keep me going, and after a little Google research I was able to remedy the issue.
The Final Word: Darksiders II might not be terribly original, but it’s still a fantastic open-world action game with an fluid combat, clever puzzles, tons of loot, and an art style that’s really starting to grow on me.
This review is based on a retail copy of the PS3 version of Darksiders II, which was provided by the publisher.
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We are now one full month into Spring 2024, which kicked off on Tuesday, March 19 and comes to an end with the start of Summer on Thursday, June 20. This year’s summer movie season has a whole bunch of exciting horror highlights, including A Quiet Place: Day One, MaXXXine, and Alien: Romulus, but let’s hold that particular thought until June rolls around.
We’re here today to talk about Spring 2024 and the many horrors we still have left before the weather gets warmer and we find ourselves in the heat of one hell of a spooky summer.
Here are 12 horror movies you don’t want to miss in Spring 2024!
STING – April 12
Two words: SPIDER HORROR. Writer/Director Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood) hopes to induce eight-legged terror with his brand new horror movie Sting, only in theaters April 12.
Of particular note, Sting features practical spider effects from 5-time Academy Award Winner Weta Workshop, with the spider in this one inspired by H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph!
In Sting, “One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider. The creature is discovered by Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl obsessed with comic books. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting.
“But as Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases, so does its size. Growing at a monstrous rate, Sting’s appetite for blood becomes insatiable.”
BLACKOUT – APRIL 12
Indie darling Larry Fessenden is back with new horror movie Blackout this Spring, Fessenden’s third movie – following Habit and Depraved – to put his own spin on classic monsters.
While Habit was centered on vampires and Depraved was a fresh take on Frankenstein’s Monster, Larry Fessenden’s Blackout is the filmmaker’s contribution to werewolf cinema.
The film follows Charley, an artist whose drinking binges blur with his sneaking suspicion that he might be a werewolf. He distances himself from those he loves and sinks deeper into solitude, his flashes of memory of his nighttime grisly acts manifested through his artwork.
ARCADIAN – APRIL 12
If Nicolas Cage is covered in blood, you better believe we’re going to be watching. Cage gets his own A Quiet Place with Arcadian, a new creature feature coming to theaters April 12.
In Arcadian, which also comes to Shudder later this year, “After a catastrophic event depopulates the world, a father (Nicolas Cage) and his two sons must survive their dystopian environment while being threatened by mysterious creatures that emerge at night.”
Jaeden Martell (IT 2017) also stars in the post apocalyptic monster movie.
ABIGAIL – APRIL 19
If you’re bummed about Melissa Barrera being fired from the Scream franchise, you’ll definitely want to get out to your local theater this month to support Abigail, the new VAMPIRE BALLERINA horror movie from Scream and Scream VI directors Radio Silence.
Barrera stars alongside fellow horror favorite Kathryn Newton (Freaky) in Abigail, which is actually the latest horror movie in Universal’s relaunched Universal Monsters Universe.
In the film, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – APRIL 19
One of the most talked about horror movies of Spring 2024 has been the Halloween 1977-set Late Night With the Devil, which has been playing in theaters since its premiere on March 22.
Late Night with the Devil will begin streaming at home on April 19, 2024, less than one month after arriving in theaters. Shudder will be the exclusive streaming home of the movie.
David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in Late Night with the Devil, set on Halloween 1977.
In the found footage-style film that captures a period aesthetic, “A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.”
INFESTED – APRIL 26
Spring 2024 is all about SPIDERS – sorry, arachnophobes! – with the previously mentioned Sting being followed by the French creature feature Infested (Vermines) later this month.
What’s particularly exciting about Infested is that its director, Sébastien Vaniček, has been hired to direct the next installment in the Evil Dead film franchise, so this will be our first taste of what Vaniček is capable of within the genre. And the buzz for this one is strong.
In his review out of Fantastic Fest last year, for starters, Bloody Disgusting’s own critic Trace Thurman raved that Infested is “one of the best spider attack movies in years.”
In the upcoming horror film, “Fascinated by exotic animals, Kaleb finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap.”
HUMANE – APRIL 26
The daughter of horror master David Cronenberg, Caitlin Cronenberg is making her own mark in the genre filmmaking space with IFC Films’ Humane, coming to theaters this month.
The film is described as “a dystopian satire taking place over a single day, months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to reduce the earth’s population.”
The wild premise? 20% of the world’s population must VOLUNTEER TO DIE!
“In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.”
I SAW THE TV GLOW – MAY 3
Fresh off the haunting and singularly creepy indie We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Jane Schoenbrun is back with A24‘s I Saw the TV Glow, releasing only in theaters this May.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for BD, “I Saw the TV Glow offers a layered and authentic portrait of identity, wrapped in ’90s nostalgia and surreal imagery that embeds itself deep into your psyche.” Meagan continues, “Schoenbrun delivers a singular vision of arthouse horror that entrances for its fevered dream style and insanely cool imagery.”
In A24’s latest, “Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.”
TAROT – MAY 3
Originally titled Horrorscope, a much better title if you’re asking me, Screen Gems returns to the big screen with studio horror movie Tarot this Spring, a Tarot-card themed spookshow.
When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings – never use someone else’s deck – they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards in the upcoming Screen Gems horror movie Tarot. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death to escape the future foretold in their readings.
The hook for this one? Artist Trevor Henderson designed the film’s eight monsters!
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 – MAY 17
Bryan Bertino’s 2008 home invasion classic The Strangers spawns a brand new reboot trilogy this year, with first film The Strangers: Chapter 1 kicking things off in theaters on May 17.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is expected to follow in Fall 2024.
Madelaine Petsch is the lead of the new reboot trilogy, playing a character who drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest.
When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE – MAY 31
Slasher fans who have been hungry for a new Friday the 13th movie won’t want to miss In a Violent Nature, which plays out like a Friday movie… entirely from Jason’s perspective!
IFC Films will release In a Violent Nature exclusively in theaters on May 31.
In the film, “When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back – along with anyone in his way.”
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for Bloody Disgusting, “In a Violent Nature may offer slasher thrills and a delightfully gory rampage across the wilderness, but the approach captures the carnage through ambient realism. It results in a fascinating arthouse horror experiment that plays more like a minimalist slice-of-life feature with a grim twist.”
THE WATCHERS – JUNE 14
M. Night Shyamalan returns with the new thriller Trap this coming August, but the road to that film’s release will be paved by the feature debut of his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.
Ishana Night directed The Watchers, in theaters from WB/New Line on June 14.
The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
Which Spring 2024 horror movies are YOU most looking forward to?
4 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘Late Night with the Devil’ at Home
‘Ready or Not’: Radio Silence Filmmakers Tease the “Absolute Banger” of a Sequel That’s Taking Shape
‘Sting’ Review – Throwback Creature Feature Entertains With an Impressive Practical Monster
“We Built Every Creature” – ‘Alien: Romulus’ Goes Heavy on the Old School Practical Effects!
‘Terrifier 3’: Filming Has Wrapped on Damien Leone’s Christmas Slasher Sequel!
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