Back when the studio was around, Vigil Studios had a fan in me with their Darksiders franchise. It was cool being able to play as the horsemen of the apocalypse, first as War, then as Death, set in a world inspired by comics legend Joe Madureira. Both games were connected and by all accounts, the studio had plans for two additional games for the last remaining horsemen of this series, Fury and Strife.
And then THQ went into the toilet financially. The company disintegrated quickly, going through bankruptcy, selling off their IPs, studios, and basically closing its doors for good. In my opinion, that was the end of the road for Darksiders. I’m thrilled that I was dead wrong in that assumption.
Officially announced last week, the recently rebranded THQ Nordic announced that Darksiders 3 is real and will be arriving sometime next year featuring that iconic art style and open world gameplay fans have come to expect. Better yet, the publisher tapped Gunfire Games to lead development on this title. While Gunfire itself is a newer studio, it’s made up of a large number of former Vigil employees, so it’s clear that Darksiders 3 is in good hands, even if Joe Madureira is now working at a different studio known as Airship Syndicate.
While we’ll likely get more information next month at E3, a few details have come out regarding the game. For this third entry, a new horseman is the focus, keeping a similar formula set in the previous two games. This time it’s the female rider Fury who takes center stage, using a combination of magic and a long barbed whip.
According to the small details of plot we got, Darksiders 3 looks to take place right after the events of the first game. With War chained up and awaiting his judgement and Death off looking for evidence to clear his name, Fury is sent out to deal with the seven deadly sins, who are now ravaging the war torn Earth. Expect similar action/RPG hybrid gameplay in a big open world along with revamped dungeons that feature puzzles that make more sense in terms of the world, something The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was able to pull off earlier this year.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the game, but frankly, I’m just happy to see the franchise back and in the hands of most of its former creators. Here’s hoping we make it to a fourth game and get to see the final, no-nonsense Horseman, Strife, in action as well.
