To date, the Darksiders franchise has consisted of single-player third-person adventure games, taking inspiration from titles like The Legend of Zelda, God of War, and more recently, Dark Souls. However, the next game in the series is going to much different, instead inspired by games like Diablo, and now it has a release date.
The Darksiders Genesis release date has been announced, and as it turns out, some players will be able to get their hands on the game earlier than others. It's been confirmed by THQ Nordic that Darksiders Genesis will release for PC and Google Stadia first on December 5. Console versions of the game will follow on February 14, 2020. This gives Darksiders fans on PC and Stadia a full two months of early access when compared to console gamers.
While this may disappoint some fans, reception to Darksiders Genesis seems to be mostly positive otherwise. Fans have expressed excitement at finally being able to play a Darksiders game in co-op, with one person controlling War and the other player controlling Strife. It will serve as a prequel to the first Darksiders game, though hopefully it will address the ending of Darksiders 3 all the same.
Hopefully Darksiders Genesis is able to deliver an experience that is able to please more Darksiders fans than the most recent entry in the series. Reviews for Darksiders 3 were all across the board, with some giving it scathing criticism and others giving it fairly high praise. The switch to a more Dark Souls-style combat system was divisive, and the game had some technical difficulties on certain platforms.
Despite the mixed reception to the game, Darksiders 3 still met sales expectations for THQ Nordic, so it's clear the company has faith in the franchise. If Darksiders Genesis has strong sales as well, perhaps we will see more Darksiders games created in the Diablo-style of gameplay to be released alongside more traditional Darksiders experiences.
In the meantime, longtime fans of the franchise are no doubt hoping to see the co-op Darksiders game that lets players take control of all four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Whether or not that ever comes to pass will likely depend on the continued sales success of Darksiders 3 and the upcoming Darksiders Genesis.
Darksiders Genesis launches on December 5 for PC and Google Stadia, and February 14, 2020 for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.3