#Darksiders 3 bridge puzzle series#

For larger foes that couldn't be juggled, I leaned on the timed dodge counters to do most of the damage. As I played, I found myself spamming a particular set of attacks again and again, because I'd always win.įor physically smaller enemies, I'd time my dodges to hit them with a counter attack and leave them open an easily repeated uppercut/juggle move that shredded most threats in seconds. Even with Hollows in the mix, there's only a shallow pool of attack combos to draw on. Watching Fury spin, twirl, and flip her way through each encounter like some kind of murder ballerina makes for great eye candy. Unlocking Hollows gives you even more options there are four, and each one opens up new attacks on a second button as well as additional options for exploration. It's fueled entirely by one-button combos, so you can dish out a lot of impressive-looking punishment with minimal effort. Fury's main whip-sword is fun to use and easy to master. I didn't start to feel like I was encountering remixed versions of earlier foes until the latest stages of the game. The environments are teeming with creatures that want to kill you, and the forces of heaven and hell arrayed against Fury are impressive in both number and variety. Thankfully, the apocalyptic Earth of Darksiders III isn't a boring place to explore. It makes tracking down the final gauntlet of Sins a tedious process. Was the portal to Pride's domain in the Bonelands? Or was it somewhere in the Hollows? If you can't remember and the compass isn't helping, you've got to just backtrack along familiar paths until you find what you're looking for. It would be a forgivable issue if Darksiders III offered other signposts or resources for keeping track of your progress. A skull icon might point you toward a doorway only to flip around and point you back in the opposite direction the moment you walk through.ĭarksiders III isn't a total success, but it's also not defined by its 'Dark Souls-iness.' The compass is meant to remain your North Star all throughout, but it becomes less and less dependable as different paths layer on top of one another. You can take a somewhat open-ended approach with the first handful of Sins, but you're expected to backtrack once you reach the late stages of the game. Or, failing that, a more thorough accounting of what can be found in each of Vulgrim's fast travel locations.

But as the map grows larger and an increasing number of paths intersect, your simple compass is no longer enough.Ī world map would have helped. Getting around and finding your next boss fight with a Sin is straightforward at first: Simply follow the skull icon on your compass. The execution falls apart in more subtle ways. It's an idea cut from a newer breed of games where you're always meant to be on your toes. And the risk/reward tension of gambling your amassed progress with each new combat encounter is constantly engaging.

#Darksiders 3 bridge puzzle series#

Both of those games transcended their influences to deliver something that felt wholly unique.ĭarksiders III isn't as successful, but it also isn't defined by its ' Dark Souls-iness.' The mechanical shift is an unsurprising turn for a series that hasn't ever been shy about displaying its influences proudly. Darksiders II leaned more in the direction of God of War, but with some Diablo and Zelda thrown in. Darksiders, the first game, had a distinctly Legend of Zelda vibe. I wanted to get those Souls comparisons out of the way up front because it's easy to get lost in those details. You are Fury, one of four horse riders of the apocalypse (the previous games followed Death and War), and you've been sent to an apocalyptic Earth on a mission to defeat and capture physical manifestations of the Seven Deadly Sins. The story plunges players into the end of the world. You then have the option of fighting your way back to that spot and recovering them. If you die between Vulgrim checkpoints, any unspent souls you've collected are left behind. Most Dark Souls-y of all: Your ability to progress and level up is tied to Vulgrim, the demon merchant who only accepts payment in souls. 'Return of the Obra Dinn' reinvents the murder mystery game