Darksiders

Play Magazine

If ever there was a pure gamer’s game, Darksiders is it.

BigPond GameArena

Darksiders is an absolute must have game, and the best possible way to start off gaming in 2010. In a year where almost every anticipated game is a sequel, Vigil Games has delivered a brand new IP the only way possible - flawlessly. The combination of action and puzzling is so perfectly calculated it screams 'gamer' - there's a gamer at Vigil with some power and s/he knows exactly what we want in a game.

Console Monster

How shocked I was to find that the more hours I spent investing into Darksiders, the more rewarding it felt. Darksiders feels like a breath of fresh air, a step in the right direction and a reinvention of formulas that are sorely missed when used at this level of quality.

WonderwallWeb

Darksiders is a great way to start the New Year, it offers high quality action and brain teasing puzzles topped off by wonderful presentation. Don't miss this game.

Gamers' Temple

Darksiders is a complete game experience, and if you have even the remotest of fondness for action games you should make a point to play it.

Absolute Games

All in all, Darksiders should be considered a triumph. Simultaneously old skool and brand spanking new, it has enough variety in terms of atmosphere, gameplay and imagery to match any action/adventure game on today’s market.

ZTGameDomain

One of the biggest highlights is the voice acting. With a slew of games having a great voice-acting cast, Darksiders is up there with the best.

Game Chronicles

I can only imagine the sequel and hopefully the chance to play as one or more of the other Horsemen, but until that day arrives, Darksiders is the ultimate quest for vengeance and a heavenly way to dispatch the endless demon hordes, proving once and for all that it is better to serve in heaven than rule in hell.

Gaming Nexus

A solid, well written, well executed game. If you're looking for something new and original, Darksiders is your game.

TeamXbox

Finishing Darksiders was one of those great reliefs quickly followed by a refreshed desire to play it again.

Digital Chumps

For me, my bottomline is that Darksiders is a tremendous amount of fun because it's very well designed from top to bottom with just a handful of drawbacks. None of these drawbacks are critical enough to thwart an epic, and truly enjoyable experience.

GamingExcellence

Masterfully crafted, Darksiders is clearly a work of passion, and though it borrows a lot of elements from other games, they come together in such a way that will keep you entertained from start to finish.

Planet Xbox 360

What a great and “fun” way to start the New Year of video gaming, developer Vigil Games have a true action experience on their hands with Darksiders.

Totally360

Overall Darksiders is an amazing game. They did borrow the best things from some of the most popular titles out there, however, they did a great job combining that with their own ideas.

MS Xbox World

Without a doubt, Darksiders is a game that stands on the shoulders of giants, and Vigil Games clearly could not be more proud of this fact, as their passionate yet careful design demonstrates that they both respect and know how to borrow from the best

Da Gameboyz

It is cleverly crafted on what are some tried and tested ideas, mixed with a healthy dose of epic storytelling and good old fashioned gore.

IGN AU

A great action RPG. Solid, ever-evolving combat meets solid, ever-evolving puzzles in some really evocative environments. There are a few clumsy or lacklustre moments – the flying sequence is dull, for instance, and this isn’t in any way a revolutionary game, but it is good fun and it is well-designed.

Gaming Target

This is no cash-in. What at first seems like a God of War clone turns into a grown up version of Zelda - a bloody adventure with dark themes and settings, and it actually works. The puzzles are clever, the combat is visceral, there are a good amount of items and upgrades to be had and the world is convincing.

Destructoid

Darksiders is one of the best action-adventure games of the current generation. Everything in it, you've played before, but never has such a collection of game mechanics been stitched together so well, not to mention feel like part of a coherent game world.

Gamer Limit

Despite the same-day release as Sega’s pivotal action adventure title, Vigil Games’ debut is a fine introduction to their future repertoire. The bar for 2010 has been raised a little early, but hey, so did the Apocalypse - and look what that got us.

Cynamite

Drown your enemies in their own blood and besiege hell itself!

IGN UK

It's bold and recklessly inventive in ways that games rarely are these days, and virtually ever[y] aspect of Darksiders shines with quality, making for an experience that, while not exactly original, still feels fresh, satisfying and, above all else, enjoyable.

GameFocus

A unique storyline, amazing art direction and simple combat mechanics, Darksiders does things differently enough to distinguish itself as the first great game of 2010 even though its not a perfect game. If you’ve got some money burning a hole in your pocket, Vigil Games’ first effort is worth every dollar.

MondoXbox

Darksiders is revealed to be a very good game and an authentic surprise, showing the true passion of the developers for many classical gameplay mechanics, managing to avoid any "clone effect". The game is only lacking that magic and pathos that could have guaranteed it a place in the games pantheon. It is however an unmissable title for every action-rpg lover.

3DJuegos

Skillfully designed to appeal all kind of players, Darksiders is a great action adventure.

SpazioGames

Darksiders is a great start for this 2010. A long story, a complex and engaging gameplay and a beautiful character design make this games a big debut for Vigil Games. It lacks of originality, but it's recommended to everyone.

Worth Playing

It's true that it merges the parts of other outstanding games, and some may call that derivative. However, I think its characters, level design and puzzles were enough to help it stand out on its own.

9Lives

Darksiders is surprising on every front. The right balance between story, a solid fighting system and challenging puzzles will make you want to finish this game. Add the unique graphical style and Darksiders is the first must-own of the year.

ActionTrip

A very entertaining and challenging game that tells a good story.

XboxAddict

Overall, Darksiders has a crap ton of content, and it has quickly become a new and exciting intellectual property for THQ.

XGN

Darksiders brings you everything you expect. A beautiful post apocalyptic world combined with excellent audio and a real cool gameplay, deserves nothing less than a high score.

InsideGamer.nl

Darksiders is a game with a number of different gameplay elements. We love the fighting and puzzles, but the pace of the game could have been a bit faster. Nevertheless, Darksiders is a great way to start off the new year.

Game Over Online

Darksiders could use a few overhauls to its combat system before it's a truly great game, but what's here is an entertaining series of shameless thefts.

GamerNode

Darksiders is a triumph in game design, a platform to build upon, and something everyone who truly loves video games should try, because you'll likely love it.

Vandal Online

Darksiders is above all a very comprehensive game. It fits elements from many other games, without going in depth in any of them nor having its own style, but maintaining a balance which makes it a great action-adventure game.

Gamervision

Darksiders starts 2010 off on the right foot, and sets the bar for the rest of the year in gaming.

Official Xbox Magazine

Satisfying, fast-paced combat. [Feb 2010, p.82]

Game Informer

Even without a clear narrative purpose, Darksiders never wavers from being an enjoyable adventure. I had a blast playing it, and strangely enough, the obvious nods to other games added to the fun. Despite a lame last boss fight, the setup planted for the sequel has me counting the days until it arrives.

Meristation

Darksiders is a great game, fun and entertaining. A lengthy action-adventure game, with some good ideas taken from other titles. Overall is great, but it lacks its own gameplay and ideas.

Gamer's Hell

As you battle through the four Guardians and work out mild puzzle segments, Darksiders unveils itself as a franchise-worthy title.

Xbox360Achievements

It may lack a certain level of polish, but for sheer fun you will be hard pressed to do much better, as the combat and puzzles are spot on and hark back to the classic Zelda games. The story does let things down a bit and the graphics are ragged in places, but as a slice of entertainment, this does a damn fine job.

GameTrailers

It's able to emulate its idols very well, so whatever War is doing, it's bound to be enjoyable. But anyone who's attracted to this sort of game, or action games in general, is going to feel more familiar than floored.

Gaming Age

Its especially exceptional considering it's the first release from the developers at Vigil, and shows a certain level of polish that a lot of new IP's released last year was definitely lacking.

GameShark

Darksiders has set 2010 off to a running start. With gory hack-and-slash action, challenging dungeon puzzles, an intriguing (albeit sometimes annoying) guardian demon, gorgeous scenery and a story that begins with killing mankind, you get a little bit of everything.

Game Revolution

Darksiders is a title that takes a lot of bold risks and almost all of them pay off, but it's not without it's share of technical issues. While it may have the drive to run with the big dogs, it lacks the final polish that one would hope for.

Cheat Code Central

It's an extremely technically proficient game, and it accomplishes everything that it sets out to do with flying colors. However, Darksiders only crime may be that they set their sights too low. This game hits the bullseye in the center of the target, but I couldn't help but wish that the target was a little higher towards the heavens.

GamingXP

The story has epic dimensions, but it doesn’t really have an effect on the gameplay, because you mostly have to do the same things. In my opinion, it is an entertaining adventure for adults, but nothing more.

GamingTrend

The Darksiders experience from start to finish, despite its sneering faults, is imaginative and compelling when at its best. The story itself, which opens up with an awesome CGI cutscene, never loses steam as War finds himself in ever-changing territory and situations.

Games Radar (in-house)

In spite of lifting nearly every gameplay element from other, often better games, Darksiders still succeeds at bringing these disparate threads together into a brutally satisfying whole. It’s also a blast to explore even at its low points, and if the idea of a Zelda with a more “mature” bent and better combat catches your interest, you’ll want to check this out.

Xbox World Australia

It's not a perfect game, the 360 version has rather bad vertical sync issues and the controls take some time to master. However, the game's engaging gameplay and addictive exploratory momentum more than make up for its few failings.

Eurogamer Spain

It has some minor flaws and its combat system could have been better, but Darksiders is a really nice game that will appeal specially to people who liked games like Zelda or God of War.

GameSpot

An uproariously fun and enjoyable post-Apocalyptic adventure that is a little too familiar at times.

GameSpy

Sure, it's more than a little familiar at times -- and on more than one occasion I said, "I remember that from game X," -- but Darksiders is proof that what's old can truly be made new again.

GameZone

THQ and Vigil Games did an outstanding job creating an intellectual property that has weight. The voice-acting is top-notch, the combat is exquisite, the replay value is high, and the world they have created is fascinating. Darksiders is a marvelous way to start out 2010.

Eurogamer

While on the surface of it Darksiders feels like a game with a lot of good ideas but only a few of its own, where even a brief flying section on an angelic mount owes rather a lot to Panzer Dragoon, overall the silly old story and wonderful art style give terrific heft to the universe, and the clockwork of the puzzles and game systems are precision-engineered in a manner that you come to trust implicitly.

Impulsegamer

THQ's Darksiders may not be the most original game, however it works by giving the player a fun gaming experience that attempts to be clever at certain times and actually succeeds.

RPGamer

Being derivative is generally seen as a bad thing, and copy-cat games usually don't get much attention. However, Darksiders proves that being a copy-cat is alright if you manage to equal the source material in terms of quality.

Thunderbolt

Vigil Games has created a superb protagonist here, as Darksiders proves that its brawn isn’t a world away from the excellence of Bayonetta.

X360 Magazine UK

There's so much going for Darksiders that it deserves to be played by many. [Issue#55, p.90]

Level7.nu

Like a less polished God of War with a great comic book artstyle and brutal gameplay. Has some minor flaws but is overall a brilliant action adventure.

RealGamer

Darksiders may be made up of some fairly standard action game components, but everything it does, it does brilliantly. The game never feels boring and always entertains due to the amount of variation and the epic boss battles cap of a very solid playing experience.

DarkZero

Even if it takes ideas from other games, it mashes them together to make a complete game that plays well and does its inspirations proud. Darksiders is a nice surprise that is well worth 15+ hours of your life to complete it.

VideoGamer

A highly entertaining, 15 hour plus adventure, with some gorgeous visuals, devilish puzzles and exciting action. Fingers crossed the no doubt planned sequel will build on this very impressive debut.

Kikizo

Darksiders is a fine example of giving gamers what they want and doing it well.

GamesNation

Darksiders puts on the plate loads of action and a well-varied gameplay. The fact that most of its ideas and some of its characterisation and character design were inspired by other successful games – living little room for originality – doesn’t affect the overall fun.

Total Video Games

A little more surprising is the fact that Darksiders actually lives up to the high expectations and quality of such influences and just about manages to forge its own identity.

Eurogamer Italy

The end of the world (as we know it) has never been so entertaining. Darksiders is a new, promising dawn in the action/adventure genre, despite some technical issues and some minor flaws in the gameplay.

Boomtown

Darksiders is far from original with a story stolen from religious mythology and gameplay borrowed from other titles, but it's great fun.

Gamer.nl

Darksiders looks like the result of a head-on collision between the Zelda and God of War-franchise. But instead of a big mess, both fuse together to form a hybrid with the best elements of both, combined with a great story. The game won’t win any awards for originality, but thanks to its long playtime, strong puzzles and great alteration between elements and scenery we can only conclude that Darksiders is already one of the first great games of 2010.

AtomicGamer

Despite a couple of strange mechanical issues and a handful of bugs, Darksiders is a significant accomplishment, even for a well-established company. For a new one like Vigil to pull it off is impressive indeed.

Giant Bomb

While you can explain a lot of things about Darksiders by listing off other games that are directly referenced during the adventure, the game doesn't feel like some simple clone. If you like Nintendo's Zelda games and want to see an altered, darker take on its concepts, portions of Darksiders will absolutely blow you away.

IGN

While the game world could have been developed more, the boss fights leave a lot to be desired, and more interesting things could have been done with the combat and puzzles, the game as it stands is still thoroughly entertaining.

Strategy Informer

Despite a few annoyances, Darksiders still manages to coax you in with it's scale and scope, proving to be a uniquely enjoyable and involving hack and slash title well worth spending time with.

1UP

At its best, Darksiders plays like an interactive compilation of this console generation's most interesting game mechanics. At its worst, it's like sitting through a mediocre cover band as they fumble their way through your favorite tunes.

HellBored

As with many games like this, despite all the complaining I seem to have done, I can still see this enjoying plenty of success. This is either from a simplistic approach appealing to a greater audience, or the legions of Madureira fans being able to ignore the tearing and movement issues. If you allow yourself to become immersed in the story then perhaps you will find more here than I did, but I can’t however, and that’s why Darksiders is more Too Human for me than God of War.

Extreme Gamer

Darksiders fantasy role of becoming an all-powerful dealer of death is an average adventure into another post-apocalyptic landscape. Darksiders has its moments with a great sense of action in its combat system, and some impressive characters for you to slug it out with.

Telegraph

It’s a very well crafted video game that entertains far more than it frustrates, and while it borrows heavily from several prestige titles, it weaves their characteristics into a cogent whole that serves Darksiders style, drive and narrative well.

GamePro

The idea behind the franchise has enough merit that it deserves a better effort and it's lamentable that they didn't realize that from the very beginning.

Teletext GameCentral

The offspring of Zelda and God Of War can't hold a candle to its parents but it's good fun nonetheless.

GameDaily

Darksiders has an engaging story, beautiful visuals and plenty of badass characters, but THQ/Vigil Games' reliance on tired concepts prevent it from being a must buy.

Official Xbox Magazine UK

Ultimately, how much enjoyment you take will depend on whether you fall in love with the cartoonish characters and if you're willing to accept the ridiculous, convoluted plot. Darksiders is well made and passes the time, but it just lacks that 'wow' factor which would elevate it to greatness. There are far too many moments that you'll have seen a hundred times before.

games(TM)

It's an open world that's not open, a Zelda game with no wit or brain power, and a God Of War clone without bite. [Feb 2010, p.122]