It’s hard to believe, but at this point, the Darksiders franchise is old enough to drive. A horse. You know, because they’re all Horsemen of the Apocalypse? When the original title hit on PlayStation 3 back in 2010, I considered it one of my favorite Zelda-likes in years. For what it’s worth, I still consider the franchise’s debut to be one of the best at what it does. The updated PlayStation 5 port does an excellent job bringing it to modern platforms, but it’s not without some problems.
For the uninitiated, let’s get a quick rundown on the story. War, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, comes to earth after hearing the call. His appearance, it turns out, would set up the end of humanity, ultimately bringing the war between Heaven and Hell to our little slice of, er, existence. After being assigned a babysitter by the Charred Council, he’s sent back to earth to unravel what happened. The tale is full of bombastic, larger-than-life characters and some neat moments that culminate in a finale worthy of War and his station. The fate of all creation hangs in the balance!
I like to refer to Darksiders as a Zelda-like because you’re essentially solving dungeons by using new equipment you get to aid you along the way. For example, early on you’ll acquire a glaive. You can use it to hit enemies and switches from a distance, routing it through elemental tools (like a sconce to add fire) to solve puzzles. The story is big, the combat is fun, and the puzzles are well-designed.
The visual design of Darksiders has always been great, and it still holds up beautifully in native 4Kfffffffffffffffffffffffffff
It’s hard to believe, but the Warmastered version of the game dropped just shy of a decade ago. Back then, it brought up-scaled 4K graphics and 60 FPS to the game. Is the newest version of the game a worthy re-release, though? In short…well, like War’s arrival itself, it feels like someone got some timing out of hand, and he showed up before it was actually time. I love Darksiders (and though it’s arguably not the most polished, the original is still my personal favorite). Enjoying the game at 4K/60 feels great, and the game’s visual design holds up despite going through a couple of hardware generations. The gameplay is still fantastic, and Liam O’Brien’s performance as War is phenomenal.
That’s where the bragging ends, though. The PlayStation 5’s Warmastered version is plagued by unnecessary, bizarre visual bugs. On multiple occasions, I experienced invisible switches, which I was only able to find, oddly enough, by following a load of glitchy artifacting to its core and jamming on the interact button. The same glitch is replicated multiple times throughout the game.
I also noticed occasions where walls or floor panels were missing or invisible. One of the major worm arenas had a glitch so glaring that I could watch the worm undulate beneath the playing field’s surface as I navigated obstacles.
The visual bugs range from jarring to comedic, but they all indicate something went wrong along the way.
The game itself is a classic that’s held a special place in my heart for years. Seeing the characters and world in 4K at a smooth 60 FPS natively is great. Previous releases of the Warmastered Edition had upscaled 4K, but it’s native on the PS5 entry. The addition of the photo mode can make for a little goofy fun. This release includes support for the DualSense, as well, but that really just feels like a compatibility concern and nothing of particular note.
All of that said, if you’re really itching to play through the game, at this point, I’d recommend grabbing the PC version of Warmastered if possible. The PS5 version is largely a great port, but the increased cost and glaring visual flaws make it feel like a cash-grab that wasn’t properly vetted by their QA team.
I absolutely recommend everyone play Darksiders Warmastered Edition. It’s one of my personal favorite games in the last couple of decades. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 5 port feels like it wasn't given the attention it deserved, which is a shame because it's otherwise fantastic. If you’re going to pick the game up, I hope you enjoy it, but you need to be aware that you’re paying more money for what currently feels like a neglected version of the game. Hopefully, the team will patch the ugly visual glitches that mar an otherwise great port.
