Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition (NSP, XCI) ROM

Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition A remastered version, titled Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, was published by Nordic Games for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows in 2015, ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2019, and released in Google Stadia in 2021. A parallel sequel, Darksiders III, was released on November 27, 2018. After that came Darksiders Genesis, the game was released for Stadia and Windows on December 5, 2019, and was released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on February 14, 2020. The story follows the efforts of the player character Death to clear the name of his brother, War, who stands accused of wiping out humanity. On a total budget of $50 million, it was one of the most expensive video games to develop of all time. Unleash the dread that strikes fear into all and offers no escape. Stirred to action by the arrival of the End of Days, Death, the most feared among the legendary Four Horsemen, embarks on a quest to vindicate his brother’s honor. Along the way, Death uncovers an ancient grudge that jeopardizes the very existence of Creation. Behold the essence of Death!

GAMEPLAY

Players take control of Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The core gameplay is an action role-playing hack-and-slash style. The game makes frequent use of interactive puzzle elements, requiring the player to think their way through a series of levers, doors, elevators, portals, etc. to traverse areas and reach objectives. Which most of the time requires a key or a specific power to pass through. Maps are vast and each contains open-world regions that can be explored freely on foot or by his horse Despair, along with numerous dungeons where quest objectives are generally carried out. There are main and side quests, with main and side boss fights. Worlds can be traversed via fast travel, whereby the player can teleport to certain map points instantly. While inside a dungeon, the player is allowed to fast travel back to the overworld while saving their dungeon location for continuation later without losing progress.

Death is aided by Despair, a horse that is available for use in open areas of the overworld for faster travel, and Dust, a raven that guides him to his objectives. Death’s primary weapons are two scythes, one wielded in each hand. Secondary weapons include melee weapons like hammers, axes, and maces as “slow” options; “fast” options are generally gauntlet-style weapons that provide the player with claws and other bladed arm extensions, at the expense of less range and power than the slow weapons. There are several different movement options, including swimming, running along walls, and climbing options that are available on specially placed wooden elements, such as wall pegs and beams. In the course of quests, Death acquires “Death Grip”, which operates as a grappling hook on certain objects; and “Voidwalker”. Other abilities like “Soul Splitter” and “Interdiction” are acquired, which allow the player to control multiple characters to traverse puzzle areas.

Health, Wrath, and Reaper resource meters display on-screen whenever they change, along with an experience meter that shows how close the player is to the next character class level. Wrath is the game’s mana-type system, being a resource used for special abilities. Reaper is a separate resource used for the Reaper ability, and when full, Death can transform briefly into his grim reaper form, which is more resilient and deals more damage. There are eight player statistics, including a character class level that increases at various experience levels. Each new level gives the player a skill point that can be used in a skill tree that contains new abilities. Other statistics can be increased by equipping items, with each item having various stat-altering characteristics. The player’s inventory contains seven different pages of equipment classes (primary and secondary weapon, shoulder, armor, glove, boot, and talisman, with an additional page for quest items).

New equipment can be acquired via enemy drops, looting chests, or purchasing from vendor characters.  New combo moves can also be purchased from “Trainer” characters. “Stonebites”, which are colored stones hidden throughout the world, can be collected (after several quests have been completed) and traded to a character named Blackroot, in groups of three, in exchange for various permanent statistic upgrades. There are three Stonebite types, indicated by their color, and the particular combination traded determines which upgrade is received. Money is dropped by enemies and chests and can be acquired by selling items to vendors. Special “Possessed weapons” are rarely acquired, which provides another more unorthodox mechanic for trading in unwanted items, whereby the possessed weapon can be upgraded by “sacrificing” other lesser items to it.

PLOT

Darksiders II is parallel to the previous game. The Four Horsemen – War, Strife, Fury, and Death, the player character – are the last of the Nephilim, cursed fusions of angels and demons who waged war on all Creation for a place to live. To preserve the balance of the Universe, the Four received power from the Charred Council in exchange for slaughtering their kin. Death personally cut down the last of their brethren, Absalom, the first Nephilim, but he secretly preserved the souls of the Nephilim in an amulet, defying the Council, and gave it to the Keeper of Secrets, known as the Crowfather, for safekeeping.

While War is charged with his crimes, Death, sure of his brother’s innocence, sets out to erase his brother’s ‘crime’ and resurrect humanity. He first travels to the Icy Veil to seek the Crowfather for proof of War’s innocence and a way to restore Earth. The Crowfather tells Death to go to the Tree of Life and demands that Death take back the amulet. When Death refuses, the Crowfather attacks him in the shape of War. Death kills the Crowfather, who shatters the amulet and embeds the fragments in the Horseman’s chest before sending him into a portal. Death wakes up in the Forge Lands, a world populated by the Makers, physically imposing beings who are the Architects of Creation.

He learns that their world, and many others, has been overrun with Corruption, a dark force that has blocked off the Tree of Life and has taken over many of the Makers’ constructs, among which a massive Guardian made to combat the Corruption. With the help of a Maker named Karn, Death reaches the tainted Guardian and destroys it, allowing it to be reassembled free of Corruption. The Guardian clears the path to the Tree of Life, which allows Death to reach his goal. Upon reaching the entrance, however, Death is seized by Corruption and dragged into the Tree. There, Death is accosted by the shadowy form of Absalom, whose hatred birthed the Corruption. Death is transported to the Kingdom of the Dead, where he encounters the merchant Ostegoth, who explains he must find the Well of Souls to bring back Mankind, and to that end, he must speak with the Lord of Bones.

After completing trials to gain an audience with the Lord, Death is transported to the City of the Dead to find a soul who knows about the Well: the Crowfather. The Crowfather tells Death that the souls of humanity have been transported to the Well, which is where the spirits of all things living are cleansed and renewed before they are sent out to be reborn. To access it, Death needs two keys, held by Heaven and Hell. The Crowfather adds that the Council feared that if the Horsemen learned about the Well’s power, they might resurrect their kin. Death first seeks the key held by the angels and is sent to an outpost of Heaven called Lostlight.  At the Ivory Tower, he meets the Archon, who directs Death to the Ivory Citadel, which has been claimed by Corruption.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Darksiders 2, including all DLC, seamlessly integrated for over 30 hours of gameplay.
• Refined game balancing and loot distribution.
• Enhanced Graphic Render Engine for improved visual quality, particularly in lighting and shadows.
• Reimagined level designs, character models, and environmental graphics.