Pale Horse Rider
We get our first peek at Death, brother of fellow Horseman of the Apocalypse War, and the star of Darksiders II, and we want to tell you allll about him.
Published: January 24, 2012
It's only been about two years since the first Darksiders, but the final moments of the game were one of the most painful cliffhanger endings of any game we've played, one that (without spoiling, of course) made it pretty plain that War was not the sole Horsemen of the Apocalypse called to Earth under dubious circumstances.
But let's back up a little for those that haven't played the first game (and shame on you; despite being one of the first releases of 2010, it was still one of the best games released that year, and one of the strongest debuts from a new studio seen this generation). In the grand Biblical tradition of the Book of Revelation, the end times have hit our plane of reality. According to the rules set forth by the Charred Council, only when the Apocalypse is upon Earth are the forces of Heaven and Hell allowed to clash. Problem is, when War heads to Earth amid the cracking of one of the Seven Seals, he finds his fellow Horsemen are nowhere to be seen, and is framed by unknown forces, appearing to the Charred Council that the events of the Apocalypse were triggered prematurely.
Stripped of his god-like powers, War is sent back down to Earth, though an entire century has passed and Hell's forces have utterly decimated those of Heaven, leaving the whole of humanity either dead or shambling, hollowed corpses. Setting out to work with the few remaining forces of Heaven and to clear his name, War begins an absolutely epic quest that blends the basic combat feel of a God of War with the dungeon and overworld trappings of a modern Zelda game. The peanut butter/chocolate combo was a heady one indeed, and utterly ensnared us until those final moments when the game left us hanging.
As it turns out, though, the story doesn't continue with War. Instead, the perspective shifts to a new antagonist: Death. The lithe, agile counter to his brother's chunky, brutish style of play, Death shares a few of his brother's means of traversal and basic combat, though the speed of everything has increased by leaps and bounds, as has the various methods of attack. Death was born from an Angel and Demon getting it on, and the unlikely combination has made him at once a loner and leader among his Horsemen family. With War held captive by the Charred Council, his brother has no choice but to clear his name at any cost.
But let's back up a little for those that haven't played the first game (and shame on you; despite being one of the first releases of 2010, it was still one of the best games released that year, and one of the strongest debuts from a new studio seen this generation). In the grand Biblical tradition of the Book of Revelation, the end times have hit our plane of reality. According to the rules set forth by the Charred Council, only when the Apocalypse is upon Earth are the forces of Heaven and Hell allowed to clash. Problem is, when War heads to Earth amid the cracking of one of the Seven Seals, he finds his fellow Horsemen are nowhere to be seen, and is framed by unknown forces, appearing to the Charred Council that the events of the Apocalypse were triggered prematurely.
Stripped of his god-like powers, War is sent back down to Earth, though an entire century has passed and Hell's forces have utterly decimated those of Heaven, leaving the whole of humanity either dead or shambling, hollowed corpses. Setting out to work with the few remaining forces of Heaven and to clear his name, War begins an absolutely epic quest that blends the basic combat feel of a God of War with the dungeon and overworld trappings of a modern Zelda game. The peanut butter/chocolate combo was a heady one indeed, and utterly ensnared us until those final moments when the game left us hanging.
As it turns out, though, the story doesn't continue with War. Instead, the perspective shifts to a new antagonist: Death. The lithe, agile counter to his brother's chunky, brutish style of play, Death shares a few of his brother's means of traversal and basic combat, though the speed of everything has increased by leaps and bounds, as has the various methods of attack. Death was born from an Angel and Demon getting it on, and the unlikely combination has made him at once a loner and leader among his Horsemen family. With War held captive by the Charred Council, his brother has no choice but to clear his name at any cost.
