Darksiders III (Xbox One) Review

There is a saying that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

This is totally fitting for Darksiders third installment and it makes sense that Fury is a kick-ass female.

The more rebellious and less caring of the Four Horsemen, Fury doesn’t care too much for the human race. And she makes that known.

With War in chains, imprisoned by the Charred Council after being blamed for bringing about the Apocalypse. To top it off Death is missing so Fury is called upon to sort out the end of times mess. In this third chapter of the third person action title you take on the role of Fury. The Seven Deadly Sins have gone rogue and Fury is tasked with reigning them in.

But, beware of false prophets… Fury has an encounter with The Hollow Lord, an entity of immense power that can release both Demons and Angels from life to death. He warns Fury that she is being mislead by the Charred Council and is a pawn in a much larger plan.

This warning and theme is ever present throughout the narrative of the game.

It’s not too long in to the game where you encounter the first Boss; Envy. Don’t expect to be ushered in gently with Darksiders III. Envy was a challenge for sure. But, once defeated you gain Envy’s Talisman which you will need to trap the remaining Sins within it.

THQNordic and Gunfire Games have done a fantastic job of remaining true to the original series.

Game mechanics, while jazzed up for the new consoles graphically, follow the tried and true melee and platformer tropes.

The RPG and leveling up element has also been retained in this Darksiders chapter. Fury has a spiked whip and this can be upgraded, as can the basics, strength, resilience against damage and health across a skill tree, accessible when you encounter Vulgrim, a demon merchant.

Vulgrim spots also act as gateways and checkpoints, called Serpent Holes between varying areas of your current Level.

An agreement that Fury makes with Ulthane (the Blacksmith) you will be finding stray humans throughout the burned and destroyed lands and using a device called the Bridge, you will rescue them. Yep – you may not like them, but you want those weapon upgrades from Ulthane.

Enemies that Fury takes down and some environmental objects that can be destroyed release souls – these are exchanged with Vulgrim for the said upgrades. Aswell as souls there are Shards which offer up life, defense and might when in combat. Fury also has a power up ability whereby two shoulder buttons correspondingly pressed will activate a brief Fury mode, providing that the Fury meter is full. Extremely handy against bosses and bigger foes.

The ferocity of her ‘Fury’ is also dependent on your current character level.

Darksiders III is pure pleasure to play through. Gorgeous visuals and a rewarding and satisfying play. So much detail and creativity has gone in to this edition of the Darksiders Trilogy and is most noticed on the Sins, as you encounter them in Boss Fights.

For those new to the series, they aren’t going to feel lost by unleashing Fury on to their consoles, if they have not played the first two Darksiders titles. The backstory is laid out at the very start and is referenced throughout the entire game.

With a decent length of game time – Darksiders III is the absolute best in the series so far.

If you are the ULTIMATE Darksiders fan check out the Apocalypse Edition, which not only comes with in-game extras, but aslo an Artbook, Soundtrack, and the best of all – four hard plastic models of Fury, War, Vulgrim and Death. Check out our video of the unboxing above.

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