Developer : Vigil Games
Release date : January 5, 2010
Synopsis :
Darksiders is a 2010 hack and slash action-adventure video game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ. The game’s inspiration is from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, with the player taking the role of the horseman War. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 5, 2010 in North America, January 7 in Australia, January 8 in Europe, and March 18 in Japan. The Microsoft Windows version was released in North America and Australia on September 23, and in Europe on September 24. A parallel sequel, Darksiders II, was released on August 14, 2012.
A remastered version of the game named Darksiders: Warmastered Edition was released on November 22, 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and on November 29, 2016 for Microsoft Windows. A Wii U version was released on May 23, 2017, and a Nintendo Switch version was released on April 2, 2019
Since the beginning of time, the kingdoms of Heaven and Hell have been at war. A mediator known as the Charred Council arose to maintain “the Balance” of order and stability. The Council created a warrior brotherhood, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (War, Death, Strife, and Fury) to enforce their rules by punishing transgressors. Foreseeing that humans would become crucial to the Balance, the Council declared them a third kingdom, under their protection. Heaven and Hell agreed a truce and sealed it with the Seven Seals, to be broken only when the kingdom of Man had become strong enough to join the Endwar. Breaking the seals would bring about the Apocalypse, with the breaking of the final Seventh Seal calling the Four Horsemen to Earth.
The Horseman of War (Liam O’Brien) arrives on present-day Earth, where the Endwar appears to have begun: armies of angels and demons are engaged in battle, with mankind caught in the middle. Confronting the archangel Abaddon (Troy Baker) of Heaven’s army, War is surprised to learn that the Seventh Seal has not been broken and the other Horsemen were not summoned. Abaddon is killed by the gigantic demon Straga (Troy Baker). War battles Straga and gains the upper hand, but mysteriously loses his strength mid-battle. He is saved from death by the Charred Council (Fred Tatasciore), who accuses War of siding with Hell and causing the Apocalypse prematurely. War demands a chance to find the real culprits; the Council agrees, but War is stripped of his powers and bound to a Council servant, the Watcher (Mark Hamill), who is enabled to kill him if he disobeys. War returns to a ruined Earth, where a century has passed since “the Destroyer” annihilated humanity and defeated the forces of Heaven. The stranded remnants of the angelic army have formed a resistance force called the Hellguard, led by Uriel (Moon Bloodgood).
The demon merchant Vulgrim (Phil LaMarr) tells War that to find the Destroyer, he will need to travel to the hellish Black Tower. Vulgrim advises War to seek advice from Samael (Vernon Wells), a demon lord imprisoned for challenging his master’s dominance. After being released, Samael explains that four ancient monsters called the Chosen are the guardians of the Black Tower. He asks War to kill them and bring him their hearts so the Tower will open. War slays all four of the Chosen, although it is revealed that their purpose was not to guard the Black Tower but to prevent Samael’s return. Samael, revitalised, honours his bargain and opens a pathway to the Tower. He also hints that the Council are keeping War weakened for their own purposes.
Arriving at the Black Tower, War finds Azrael (Keith Szarabajka), the Angel of Death, imprisoned. As War works to release him, Azrael confesses that he and Abaddon conspired to break six of the Seven Seals. The intention was to summon the demon lords to a council of war where they would be ambushed, throwing Hell into disarray. The six Seals would meanwhile be restored, eliminating all evidence. The two angels convinced Ulthane (JB Blanc), a mighty blacksmith from an ancient race, to break and reforge the Seals. However, Abaddon’s death ruined the plan, and the Endwar began in earnest.
War frees Azrael and fights a rematch with the demon Straga, whose death causes the Tower to collapse. Azrael transports himself and War to the Garden of Eden, where War visits the Tree of Knowledge to receive a vision. In this vision, War sees that Abaddon went to Hell after his death and was offered the choice to “serve in Heaven or rule in Hell.” Knowing he was doomed for punishment in any case, he chose to become the Destroyer. He also guards the unbroken Seventh Seal, which would otherwise call the Four Horsemen to Earth. War is also shown that the Charred Council was aware of the conspiracy; they allowed the Apocalypse to happen and summoned War themselves, knowing he would track down the conspirators to clear his name. War then sees himself slain with a glowing sword. Azrael deduces the sword is the Armageddon Blade, a weapon powerful enough to kill the Destroyer, which has been broken into shards; War gathers the pieces and takes them to Ulthane, who reforges the blade.
Uriel, Abaddon’s former lieutenant and leader of the Hellguard, confronts War, whom she still believes guilty of launching the Apocalypse and causing Abaddon’s death. She challenges him to the Death Oath, a duel to the death. War is victorious, but spares her life, and reveals the Destroyer’s identity as the fallen Abaddon. Enraged, Uriel leads the Hellguard into battle against the Destroyer, but they are defeated, as in War’s vision. War then enters the battle with the newly forged Armageddon Blade, refuses the Destroyer’s temptation, and after a fierce battle succeeds in killing him.
War retrieves the Seventh Seal from the Destroyer, but is subdued by the Watcher, who knows that if War were to regain his strength, he would turn against the corrupt Council. Uriel intervenes, killing War with the Armageddon Blade as foreseen in his vision, thereby fulfilling their Death Oath. The sword also shatters the Seventh Seal, which restores War to life, and frees him from the Council’s control, whereupon he destroys the Watcher. Uriel warns War that he cannot stand alone against the forces of Heaven, Hell, and the Council; he replies that he is not alone, as the other three Horsemen are seen descending to Earth.
Source : Wikipedia
