Darksiders Genesis

A cynical, low quality cashgrab that's nothing like the other games and sullies the Darksiders name - well, until you actually play it and it turns into honestly one of the better titles in the franchise.

Awesome game different from the First Three, they made it Diablo like Isometric view a bit disappointed actually

This was the first game in the series I played and it got me interested to try out the whole trilogy next! I played the whole campaign in co-op mode and I played with War through out the whole campaign and the game is an overall 6.5-7/10
The pros:
- Story seemed interesting and a good set up for Darksiders 1
- The combat is fun as hell and very satisfying
- Arena mode is a very good addition that compliments the best parts of the game
- The puzzles although some simple were mostly fun to engage with.
- Progression system is fun and an interesting take, especially for war and all his different sword abilities.
The cons:
- The traversal is awful due to the top down camera, when doing climbing/platforming puzzles it felt like playing a PS2 game.
- Trackback game design choices: There is a lot of elements in the levels towards the beginning of the game that are locked behind mechanics that you unlock later in the game, causing you have to replay levels you've already beat to get this upgrades/collectibles. This would work great if the whole game was open world but on a level based game it felt awful and very infuriating.
- The core system felt like it had no impact on how I played my character, the cores although an important part of the progression system, I just haphazardly put cores in slots that had the most benefit towards my overall power without noticing too much difference in the combat itself.
- Buying combos from Dis (merchant you unlock around the first third of the game) felt very unnecessary for War (again this is the character I play all of the story with), I just bought everything and button mashed my way through the game.
- There was dissonance between the characters where almost all characters are very serious and broody and very much felt in place for the world they are portrayed in except for Strife, which is weird since he is one of the playable characters. For most of the game he felt very out of place, like a wanna be Deadpool character with "funny" one liners through out the whole campaign except for some sections where he gets serious and seems to fall in line with the other characters. This can be very hit or miss with players (was a humongous miss with me), because it felt like the lines for the characters were written by 2 different writers (or 2 different teams of writers) where one tried to push the character towards more a comic relief, quick witted, one liner character and the other team tried to make him feel like more part of the world he is in more broody serious.
All in all it was a fun experience but without having the context of the other 3 games in the franchise (although I know the general gameplay of them) this was a different take on the franchise with a new camera angle (although it was very clunky for traversal sections of the game) and more of a Diablo like feel rather than DS, but it was more of a fun Co-op game rather than a fun DS game.

Recommended but with caveats. It's buggy, including some progression bugs that lost us an hour+ of gameplay. Also the platforming is janky and bad, but hey, it's more Darksiders and playing in co-op makes the bad parts more tolerable.

whoever designed the leviathan precision platforming stage and the aether spark should be put on trial for crimes against humanity. ACTUALLY horrible, I am SO FOR REAL. WHO was put in charge of that feature? and WHO approved it?? what the actual #[%!. I really want to invite them for dinner at my place, I am serving KNUCKLE SANDWICHES
great game otherwise <3

Darksiders Genesis manages to successfully twist the series formula by offering a ton of engaging puzzles and treasure hunts that are enhanced by good mission and area design. The repetitive combat, lack of a real loot system, and the view/camera on your controlled character are annoying and make the game much harder. This is my biggest complaint about the game. Overall, Darksiders fans will definitely have a good time, especially if they have a friend to play with.

This is the most average game I have ever played. This game is just fine.
The combat is fine. A few flashy moments, some bad ass bosses and combos but nothing too special or innovative. It took a bit of time for me to get used to the controls but eventually it clicked. The world design is serviceable, with each level featuring a linear structure and added side puzzles to incentivize exploration for rewards. Nothing fancy or unique, it’s all just decent. The RPG mechanics are also good enough. You get two stores filled with upgrades to buy and you get currencies and perks by exploring maps and killing monsters. Everything about this game is good. Average. It’s alright.
The only thing that stands out in this game is its story, backed up by some shockingly excellent voice acting and entertaining writing. The two main characters have a very fun dynamic between one another and its kept me invested in the dialogue and story throughout the gameplay. This characterisation is even more interesting when combined with the simplistic but entertaining narrative that does well in giving intrigue to a much needed universe. If it wasn’t for these aspects, I most likely would not have finished this game.
Aside from that though, I’m not sure why anyone would pick this game up when there are much better options in the market. I suppose if you’re a huge darksiders fan, this would be of interest to you. But otherwise, I’d suggest skipping this in favor of other better games with better offerings.
Basically, this is the most 7 out of 10 "7/10" game to ever 7 out of 10 in the "7/10" rated category of games.
7/10