Darksiders III (Nintendo Switch) Review

By Athanasios 28.10.2021

Review for Darksiders III on Nintendo Switch

The Darksiders series has never really been that big of a name. It's cool exterior, courtesy of comic artist Joe Madueira, as well as it's blend of hack 'n' slash action, and Legend of Zelda-style adventuring, made a couple of heads turn, but neither the original, nor the sequel really managed to be the great classics that they could be with a little more care and clever planning. It's no wonder that very few really cared about a third instalment, with the fanbase's attention diminishing with each additional delay. Unfortunately, when Darksiders III eventually hit the shelves, the result would turn out to be even more disappointing that the long wait for it. Long story short, should you care for it now that it has arrived on Nintendo's Switch?

Darksiders revolves around the endless war between Heaven and Hell, with players taking the role of the Angel and Demon hybrids known as the Nephilim - more specifically, the only survivors of their race: the Four Horsemen. After following the slightly parallel adventures of War and Death, the threequel follows the lady of the group; the warrioress known as Fury, whose story is - sadly - one more parallel one. Is it a good story? Well, on one hand it's just another fantasy tale about demons vs angels, and the humans who are once again caught up in the conflict, but on the other hand it's also better than what came before, mainly because of Fury, who aside from being an enjoyably arrogant and war hungry gal, she has an actual character ark *gasp* with the twists and turns of the plot being a bit harder to guess this time around. Of course, this just the dressing on top of all the hacking and slashing.

In other words, shut of your brain, enjoy the cheesy/cool plot, and start slaying, since all this talk about the escaped Seven Deadly Sins and whatnot is nothing more than the excuse players need to start killing big bad monsters. So, it all boils down to this: is Darksiders III a fun action title? Weeeeell… yes and no. Its fast and mashy combat is certainly more than decent (and much heavier on dodging this time around), but it can get both repetitive, but mostly surprisingly cheap, with many enemies being able to deal annoyingly large amounts of damage just because the dodge move occasionally didn't work when needed, with death sending you way back to slowly return into the fray on foot. This is definitely the hardest instalment yet, but sadly not in the way that it also makes it more fun as well.

Screenshot for Darksiders III on Nintendo Switch

As expected from a Darksiders instalment, the heroine can wield more than just her whip, and a part of her arsenal serves a dual purpose. This remains a Legend of Zelda meets God of War kind of deal, with over-the-top battles served right next to some good 'ol adventure-style gameplay, which revolves around gathering key items, using abilities to re-explore previously completed areas, and finding more gear for your warrioress. Fury's main tools of the trade are elemental attacks called Hollows. These offer new ways to explore, be it a higher leap or a skill that enables destroying certain barriers. Pretty typical stuff, and to be honest, a bit worse than what came before, with most "puzzles" feeling more like chores.

Generally, this is an occasion of 'same old, same old,' and while at times it's a bit better, most of the time it's the other way around. The production hell this has gone through is probably the one to blame, something that is obvious when one looks how unbalanced this it. At times boringly easy, at other times annoyingly hard, this definitely needed more time in the oven.

It's far from a terrible game, and many (critic included) will appreciate how it goes back to basics, removing a lot of the things added in the sequel, offering something easier to "digest" - but this is, undoubtedly, recommended only to Darksiders fans, and not so enthusiastically. As for the Switch version, it has taken quite the hit visually, but thankfully it still looks good, despite it looking more like a PS3 rather than a PS4-era title. Be ready for some sudden frame rate dips as you get closer to the finale, though, which is a shame, as this humble system has shown that in the right hands it can do wonders.

Screenshot for Darksiders III on Nintendo Switch

Cubed3 Rating

5/10
Rated 5 out of 10

Average

Third time's not the charm in the case of Darksiders III, which is a - mostly - mediocre third entry in a line of games that weren't really that great to begin with. The quality of the Switch port doesn't help either, not so much because of its downgraded visuals, but because of its severe frame rate dips, and long load times, something that plagued the original versions as well. At least Fury looks cool…

Developer

Gunfire

Publisher

THQ Nordic

Genre

Action Adventure

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  5/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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