Darksiders II

 Wii U
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 205 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 156 out of 205
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 205
  3. Negative: 26 out of 205
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  1. ricklongo
    Jul 21, 2014
    6
    Expansive semi-open world adventures aren't really the most common thing on the Wii U, and Darksiders 2 is one of the earliest available options for fans of the genre to get their fix.

    It's fitting that this game came to a Nintendo console, because the gameplay structure is very obviously based on The Legend of Zelda: you brave dungeons in search of keys, a dungeon map, and a new item,    Expansive semi-open world adventures aren't really the most common thing on the Wii U, and Darksiders 2 is one of the earliest available options for fans of the genre to get their fix.

    It's fitting that this game came to a Nintendo console, because the gameplay structure is very obviously based on The Legend of Zelda: you brave dungeons in search of keys, a dungeon map, and a new item, with a boss encounter in the end. The actual controls are closer to a traditional brawler, however, with plenty of button-mashing and combo options. It is a pleasant structure that should sway fans of both action RPGs and hack 'n' slash titles.

    Sadly, some problems do take away from the experience, beginning with some stylistic choices. You play as Death, one of the four riders of the Apocalypse, and it's fair to say his character design looks straight out of a He-Man cartoon. He isn't ominous or mysterious: he's just a muscular, testosterone-filled zombie thing. His bad-boy personality is also quite annoying, and the world itself is a bit too dreary to be as inviting for exploration as settings like Hyrule and Skyrim. The storyline itself is confusing and uninteresting, especially if you haven't played the first game in the series.

    The Wii U gamepad is used for inventory management, which works quite well. The effort to integrate the hardware into the game here is commendable, and way better than third parties generally offer on the console. Still, I couldn't find an option to make it display a map, and that's certainly something the game needs. I found myself pausing often to look at each area's general design, since the on-screen map display is very restrictive. There are also some quite sketchy motion controls in place for swimming sections, but thankfully those can be turned off.

    Most problems in the game can definitely be overlooked in face of the enjoyable action, but one of them is absolutely inexcusable: four or so hours in, I ran into a game-breaking bug. I accidentally knocked a puzzle piece out of reach, and as a result couldn't complete the dungeon. The game's auto-saving feature meant that I had no option other than restarting from scratch. Looking for a solution online, I found out that there are several other known glitches, none of which were the one I ran into. This sort of careless design is one of my largest pet peeves with the game industry nowadays, and one that I can't really overlook.

    Calling Darksiders II a darker version of a Zelda game would be somewhat accurate, and this alone will be enough to convince some gamers to take the plunge. The game is a decidedly fun experience while it lasts, only without the level of polish seen on better titles. Its world, characters, and lore lack charm, and glitches threaten to cut the enjoyable hack 'n' slash action way short.

    Rating: 6.0    … Expand
  2. TheSiriocaz
    Oct 30, 2014
    7
    There's a great combat system here, fast and addictive and customization is great. These points make Darksiders II a good game, but you may find tedious the puzzle and and underwhelming technical (frame rate, screen tearing) sides of it.
  3. Erumbitarbo
    May 29, 2018
    7
    i found the overall experience to be fun and enjoyable. there is frame rate issues(but thats cause its the wii u) and while we do get one dlc pack for free i do wish the others were released for this version as well. but i won't count it against it. darksiders is franchise that mixes the free roaming and puzzles of zelda with gameplay of god of war. darksiders 2 pushes it even further byi found the overall experience to be fun and enjoyable. there is frame rate issues(but thats cause its the wii u) and while we do get one dlc pack for free i do wish the others were released for this version as well. but i won't count it against it. darksiders is franchise that mixes the free roaming and puzzles of zelda with gameplay of god of war. darksiders 2 pushes it even further by adding some platforming challenges the remind a lot of prince of persia. the combat is really fun and rpg and loot system make addictive, giving you some re-playability. the story is decent. theres very few enemy types however but this is made up with not only the weapons, forms, abilities, and executions death can do upon them but also the huge variety of bosses to fight. the music is lovable making the entire experience cinematic. complaint wise i have some issues: while i do hate baron openworlds games i won't say this is the first, however i'm disappointed that the open world idea can be seen to be almost given up near the end of the game i expected more because the areas were beautiful and fit with the game. i also have some problems with the audio as sometimes it sounds out of place. another issue i have is the bigs: this bugs while i don't know are present in other versions are present in the wii u version. these bugs have death glitched through objects and sometimes through the floor, whats worse is that many of these bugs seem to be frequent the higher the difficulty. i've had many nightmare runs(the equivalent of a hardcore mode(in case you don't know, you can't respawn and if you die you have to restart the game)) end with me simply falling through the floor. it makes me feel cheated especially when i'm doing well. overall i wasn't dissapointed with the full $30 i paid and i enjoyed it. but its kinda hard to recommend the wii u version due to the issues i have had. you might have a better time getting the sony or microsoft versions.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best Wii U Game of 2012
12
#12 Most Discussed Wii U Game of 2012
9
#9 Most Shared Wii U Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Gaming Nexus
    Jan 17, 2013
    90
    Darksiders II is an excellent launch game to test your Wii U. Its mixture of gameplay styles puts the console through its places and proves that the Wii U is well adapted to traditional games. Besides that, Darksiders II is an enormous adventure and the Wii U version even includes the first round of DLC on the disc, so if you've been holding out on Darksiders II, the Wii U version is the one to get.
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  2. Games Master UK
    Jan 15, 2013
    88
    If you're a Wii U owner who hasn't played this on other systems, and are itching for Zelda, this is a great way to make the wait more bearable. [Feb 2013, p.77]
  3. Worth Playing
    Jan 14, 2013
    85
    In the end, the Wii U version of Darksiders II is almost exactly like the other console versions. The added control options are nice but don't give Wii U owners a large advantage over their brethren.
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