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Darksiders III vision shared by series' former creative director

Joe Madureira says Vigil Games was contemplating Darksiders III four-player co-op and considering Xbox One and PlayStation 4 tech.

109 Comments

The creative director of Darksiders and Darksiders II has spoken about now-defunct developer Vigil Games' vision for Darksiders III.

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In an interview with IGN, Vigil Games co-founder and comic artist Joe Madureira said that the studio planned to create a four-player co-op adventure, allowing the entire quartet of Darksiders' Horsemen to be playable. "It's possible we could have pulled it off," he said, adding that he "would have liked to introduce Fury and Strife. I know many fans feel robbed that they never got to play the last two Horsemen."

Madureira also spoke of how the series would have progressed past 2012's Darksiders II. "Story-wise, we tossed around the idea of the Horsemen attacking hell to challenge Lucifer," he said, "and then taking the battle to the Charred Council to regain their freedom. Epic stuff."

"There was also an idea to do a crazy Western-type story, where the Horsemen are mortals after the rebirth of mankind, sort of an alternate future," added Madureira.

"Neither idea got very far," he admitted.

Madureira added that the extra processing power of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 would have benefited the vision of four-player co-op in the series. "The biggest limiter for us was always scope, time, and money," said Madureira.

"I do think that it would be very difficult [on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3] to have four players running around simultaneously and maintain the level of graphic quality we achieved. So [Darksiders III], had we introduced co-op, would have benefited from the power of the next generation of consoles."

GameSpot awarded Darksiders II an 8.5 in its review, saying the game "merges action, exploration, and loot-driven progression into an excellent and sizable adventure."

Nordic Games purchased the Darksiders IP in April, along with the rights to multiple other ex-THQ titles, including Red Faction and MX vs. ATV, for $4.9 million. No buyer was found for Vigil Games during THQ's dissolution.

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Avatar image for ziggy-mandias
ziggy-mandias

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For Darksiders III I'd love to see them do the last 2 riders as a co-op before progressing the story from the end of Darksiders.


Maybe do it in a way similar to Army of Two (the first one) which was a great co-op game even if playing it solo.. Switching between the two characters to solve puzzles as well as taking out the Enemy. Also the ending could of been to rescue/resurrect Death and then it finishes with the way that the first game did. That way it would lead the way into Darksiders IV where they take on all comers which could be 4 player co-op.

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nikon133

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@ziggy-mandias Problem is, Pestilence and Famine are, sort of... not cool at all. Definitely not as cool as War and good old Death. In fact, they would make better vilains than hereos, or even anti-heroes.

Pestilence was, historically, also presented as Conquest, but IMHO Conquest and War are kind of... too similar. And even if you use that "better" image, you still have Famine to deal with... not cool at all.

How about making those two bad guys (traitors, of a kind) and uniting War and Death to show Pestilence and Famine the right way..?

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Lambchopzin

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@nikon133 @ziggy-mandias Pestilence and Famine don't actually exist in Darksiders lore, they were replaced by Fury and Strife specifically because they fit better into an action game. They are just as good at ass-kicking as War and Death in-universe.


If you're curious, Fury is the only female horsemen and she primarily uses a whip, Strife's weapon(s) of choice were dual pistols (you used 1 of them in the first two games, in fact). The two of them are already reasonably fleshed out in the existing lore.

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ShowLocker316

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I also think they should have focused on each horseman at a time like they were, and then made a 5th with all of them and a completed victory- that way we wouldn't be disappointed in becoming the 4 in the end of the 4th game but have the full grand experience.

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LaserXUKM

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If DS3 comes out dont do what Bayoneta 2 did in order to make it happen.

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xDeathwish123x

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I honestly think that they should make a game for each of the riders instead of trying to squeeze the last two into one game (which is what it sounds like they might do) D: So they should make Darksiders 3 and 4 each one individually focusing on Strife or Fury :) Then when they've made them they can make a co-op with all the horsemen :3 But that would probably be time and money consuming so...

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Al_Capwn

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So..will there be a Darksiders 3 at all?

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bryanj2006

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@Al_Capwn Probably yes, Nordic forums has a forum where you can tell them what you would like to have in DS3. Now they have said the series is not dead, but not when to expect it. If you drop millions on a IP, and confirm there will be another game, yeah probably sometime in the next couple years we will.

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smsmsmoosavi

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Darksiders + Red Faction + MX vs. ATV = $4.9 million ONLY??!!

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badiie05

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Darksiders franchise was amazing, still upset that vigil is gone :( such an immersive game.

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bahamutdragons

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"The biggest limiter for us was always scope, time, and money," said Madureira. AKA, the biggest limiter was always EVERYTHING.

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hyper_trunkx

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Darksiders 3 on PS4 please

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Akijo

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@hyper_trunkx It'll be multi-console, like the first 2 entries

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kvan33

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A sequel where you get to play multiple horsemen in the single player campaign would have been better than co-op.

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devilmaycry27

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that would have been a bad idea for a 3rd . the next game should have feature either strife or fury. i would have like to play as strife and see how his combat would have been and see how the character moved n acted. then in a 4th play as fury. that why the games of 1 n 2 were good we played as diff horsemen n saw the difference in their combat and personality so changing that in the 3rd is robbing us of how strife n fury by not letting us play as them separately and on their own. letting us get use to their combat as well. wait till the 5th game at least then maybe put in the 4 player co-op

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starjay009

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Time to kick some hellish asses and save humanity !!!! Honey to my ears.

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M3o5nster

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I would've loved to see that game... I'm a lil sad Platinum Games didn't end up with the property.

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Securator

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C'mon guys a four player Darksiders game would have been epic if it was pulled of well. Perhaps a Borderlands for Hack/Slash. I mean, Darksiders 2 already introduced Borderland-ish loot system. This is why Joe Mad emphasized next-gen hardware. Maybe the next gen hardware could pull of 4 player games that don't look like B movies. That would be truly next -Gen.

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kishona

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A four-player co-op version of Darksiders would have been terrible imho. Just stop and think about it for a while. Everything that made Darksiders what it is would have been compromised just to accommodate multi-player features. Not a very smart idea.....

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ScreamDream

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@kishona The only positive on that would be to get help on some of them insane puzzles.

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M3o5nster

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@kishona The combat would still be fun, they could still do the big bosses, the story could still tie in, and if you mean the puzzles... Portal 2 has shown us co-op puzzle games can be a great thing.

Then again, they could just do co-op arenas, or a seperate campaign where you can use your leveled up character in a co-op setting. I think the idea has great potential... Companies need to take more risks.

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Avatar image for raduz123
raduz123

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I would love to see a four player co-op campaign if it's well put together. In fact I would love to see the return of four player local co-op, multiplayer is great but some of my best memories are huddled around a TV with my mates playing Goldeneye.

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HADES2001

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THANK GOD we wont see a 4 player co-op hack and slash game whats next Darksiders 3 the puzzle adventure ?

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SultaN-s

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Edited By SultaN-s

co-op would definitely ruin the game. Joe Mad you're not a sellout.

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adayinverse

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@SultaN-s Sellout? Campaign co-op isn't exactly a common thing. Multiplayer and competitive features appear in many games, but actual main story co-op doesn't happen too often, so that's not exactly a good example of being a sellout.

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XL2009

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@SultaN-s why ?


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adnanshaikh

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a very good news for my ears ..


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handsome2222tx

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I think it will be aunreal engine 4 game

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TheOmegaForce70

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@handsome2222tx aunreal, what's that? I know what Unreal Engine is but not aunreal

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Bluemeanie77

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I LOVE this series and would LOVE to see it continue!! I'm not sure about the whole co-op thing they were talking about though! It doesn't sound interesting to me and I think it would have been a distraction. These aren't "party" games! I just want an INCREDIBLE single player game I can sit and enjoy!

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ssj2los

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@Bluemeanie77 I would like it if it was optional and if the co-op was also local co-op.... miss local co-op so much..

11 • 
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acelogan1989

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Edited By acelogan1989

say no to co-op

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flammable_zeus

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If we do see another I hope it goes back to what made the first one stand out. The second took the train to Blandville, first stop Diablotown.

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SavoyPrime

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Edited By SavoyPrime

I really do hope we can see the series continue. While Darksiders was solid, Darksiders II was a really enjoyable game.

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edant79

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You better finish Battle Chasers first!!!

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Avatar image for deactivated-62ef8f2b297e5
deactivated-62ef8f2b297e5

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I enjoyed the first two games, I certainly don't want co-op if a third game ever did get made.

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_Perfectionist

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Lets be real here. It's a good thing that Darksiders went to a new company. Darksiders II was sh*t compared to the original. It was obvious they were going the wrong direction so its better they just sold it.

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SpencerPenfold

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Totally agree with you, story was pretty dull in Darksiders 2

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Avatar image for deactivated-6085a0bd46474
deactivated-6085a0bd46474

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@_Perfectionist Are you for real? Both of them were great. The first one was the brute strength and strong spirit of War. The second one is the versatility and speed of Death, in a seemingly hopeless campaign to avenge his brother. They went incredibly well together. I actually prefer the second one. I was really looking forward to knowing how they would incorporate the story of the two other horsemen. It's a shame they didn't get enough sales. As much as I love PC gaming, they shouldn't have released it on PC. That's what killed the franchise.

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Tzardok

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@Keaze_ @_Perfectionist You know, I stopped playing Darksiders 2 after a while, I haven't finished still. I finished the original twice, while both games seemed very generic to me, I loved the art style and characters presented in each one. I didn't like Death as a character, his face, something didn't quite work for me there and I can't put my finger on it. Still Based on some comments here I am going to try and go back and finish the second. I just wish their "open-world" was a bit more filled and interesting, though the looting was awesome. I just hope I could end the game with a full plate type thing. I see them as Knights, which is a problem, they are actually riders which gives them more design choices and freedom, I can see I am a little unfair to the game based on my obsession for all things full plate (the mask item made a whole lot of difference in the original for me - go figure). Thanks for the posts guys.

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da_chub

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I could see 2 more sequels folloeing the hotsemen, but a co op button mashing wannabe rpg doesn't sound good. Darksiders is just mediocre anyways. Amular was a better game.

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Tzardok

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@da_chub Ahem, "Amalur". I don't know, I mean I certainly enjoyed Amalur more than I did DS2, I spent more time with it. But those tree people really annoyed me, summer-court guys. What an odd choice to start the game, it is by far the more original race in the game, but the good guys are soooo boring the way they have to re-live important moments of their history on a never ending loop, but I admit the philosophy behind it is interesting. Combat was great on both games, but I felt DS2 to be a little more challenging there.

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Grenadeh

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Too many people are reading as if this is an upcoming game. Darksiders is dead for the time being. There is no new game being made.

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keech

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@Grenadeh Not to mention that when/if a new Darksiders does come out, it likely won't be by anyone who worked on the first two games.

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Maxd76

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@keech @Grenadeh not necessarily, when Nordic games first purchased the IP they said they were a publisher and would talk with developers interested in working on the IPs they acquired. They said crytek was really interested in Darksiders which was where a lot of the people from Vigil ended up

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badiie05

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@Maxd76 @keech @Grenadeh but crytek in the end wouldnt work on it cause its not in their scope.

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Vendettaaaa

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make Joe Madureira back to project and this gonna be story of four horsemen,,,

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RockySquirrel

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Edited By RockySquirrel

Phooey on co-op...

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