Darksiders 3 had co-op Four Horsemen planned

Darksiders 3 is in limbo right now after the demise of THQ and the subsequent purchase of the IP by Nordic Games. But what would have happened if Vigil could have carried the series forward? Co-op multiplayer for one.

18

Darksiders 3 is in limbo right now after the demise of THQ and the subsequent purchase of the IP by Nordic Games. But what would have happened if developer Vigil Games could have carried the series forward? Co-op multiplayer for one.

"It was always our hope to do a full four-player co-op game, with all four Horsemen playable," former Vigil creative director Joe Madureira told IGN. "It's possible we could have pulled it off. I 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 said they had played with different story ideas, including having the four riders take on Lucifer in Hell, or making them mortal after the rebirth of mankind. "neither idea got very far," he said.

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, however, would have made development a bit easier on the plans, though. "I do think that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to have four players running around simultaneously and maintain the level of graphic quality we achieved," Madureira said. "So the next one, had we introduced co-op, would have benefited from the power of the next generation of consoles."

Contributing Editor
From The Chatty
  • reply
    May 30, 2013 3:00 PM

    John Keefer posted a new article, Darksiders 3 had co-op Four Horsemen planned.

    Darksiders 3 is in limbo right now after the demise of THQ and the subsequent purchase of the IP by Nordic Games. But what would have happened if Vigil could have carried the series forward? Co-op multiplayer for one.

    • reply
      May 30, 2013 3:16 PM

      That should stay for the final. I know everyone seems to love co-op and all (i personally am a social outcast so...) but i think the first 4 games should focus on a single rider at a time, maybe with a 5th that accumulates to it. Besides, it always feels like a focus on co-op takes away from the player, instead making the content your buddies.

      • reply
        May 30, 2013 3:26 PM

        Am a MEGA Darksiders fan 1000% ^^^^ this, I agree with your approach good call, totally do two more SP and then make the next after 4 and there after optional co op. Man this would of been rad.

        Man cool news but sad as well god I wonder what will happen to the franchise in Nordic Games hands?

        • reply
          May 30, 2013 3:52 PM

          Yup, I loved the first two and was really hoping for two more SP game with the last horsemen. Damn, I guess it could still happen but I think coop would have been worthless.

        • reply
          May 30, 2013 4:05 PM

          I believe the IP is in one place, the developers another? .. It's finished.

      • reply
        May 30, 2013 3:58 PM

        Agreed, I played DS1 for the awesome Zelda / God of War in one game. I haven't played DS2 but I hear it's not as good. The third game going 4 player sounds bad to me, that's not why DS fans played DS. So while it's cool in theory as an idea to take the franchise, they'd be alienating the fanbase.

        • reply
          May 30, 2013 5:12 PM

          I haven't played darksiders 1 in a while so I can't compare them, but darksiders 2 was really good.

        • reply
          May 30, 2013 5:32 PM

          OMG you have not played DS2? DUDE! Go buy it now it is the freaking amazing I would give it GOTY last year it was a contender for sure if not it, it is amazing who ever told you that is full of shit.

          Must play and must own --> DarkSiders 2 it is a masterpiece.

          • reply
            May 30, 2013 5:47 PM

            I got it on a steam sale impulsively to support THQ and I don't know why, it's a console game. I fucked up. No interest in playing my PC copy.

            • reply
              May 30, 2013 6:07 PM

              Just plug in a controller. It looks and feels better on PC anyway.

              • reply
                May 30, 2013 6:32 PM

                Exactly, I don't understand why some gamers are scared of using the Xbox 360 controller on the PC?

                It owns for a lot of games.

                It looks way way better on the PC for sure, I play it in multi screen it is INSANE!

                • reply
                  May 30, 2013 6:51 PM

                  IMO DS1 played fantastic on MKB other than a couple silly things that were niggles and not real problems, but 360 pads shouldnt be a thing folks are scared of. i really hate the 360 pad but i dont hate the concept, i use xinput and my DS3 and all is well for the rare game i play that benefits (very few, unless the game is not well ported in which case i wont play it anyway, i mainly use it for racing games but occosinally ill use a gamepad for games like DMC or whatever).

                  • reply
                    May 30, 2013 7:32 PM

                    The 360 pad is pretty much gods gift to gamepads, other than its shittastic dpad. I don't get the hate. :(

                    • reply
                      May 30, 2013 8:04 PM

                      i just really prefer the DS3 layout. the dpad is a big issue, the inverse dpad/left stick is a huge issue, and the shape of the thing bothers me too. i also hate the texture on the sticks, and they way they move feels really terrible to me.

                      its not that i hate the 360 pad so much as I am used to the dual shock layout and cant/dont want to wrap my brain aorund the MS sticks.

                      • reply
                        May 30, 2013 8:22 PM

                        I've always disliked the DualShock controllers. Small, angluar, and uncomfortable. I can't believe they've stuck with the same basic design for so long.

                        • reply
                          June 5, 2013 5:56 AM

                          Yeah they are crazy uncomfortable after playing on the larger 360 pads. Also the sticks on the PS3 are crazily imprecise and too sensitive, they always overshoot your aiming but they are good for platforming since you can rotate the camera faster.

              • reply
                May 30, 2013 6:53 PM

                I'm a couch guy, CBF moving PC into the lounge. Might buy a 10 metre HDMI one day.

                • reply
                  June 5, 2013 5:57 AM

                  They are pretty cheap if you get them on eBay/dealextreme/other chinese sites. It's worth it with Steam Big Picture and a wireless 360 controller synced to your PS3. Good setup for couch gaming and better graphics + fps than a console =D

        • reply
          May 30, 2013 6:27 PM

          i am working my through DS1 and love it, I worry about all this talk that DS2 is not as good or the same style. i really dont look forward to the open worldness of it. IMO, one of the defining and best aspects of DS1 is the vague linearity of it. its japanese style super-linearity but presented in a way that its liberal and doesnt feel on rails. the zelda-ness of the thing, i guess is a less long winded way to say it.

          i have it, and ill give it a shot once i finish DS1 and ill try not to be prebiased but im afraid it will let me down

          • reply
            May 30, 2013 7:00 PM

            Me and a friend played through ds1 and platinum ed it. I'd usually get to a dungeon and hand the control and watch while I got shit faced though...

            DS2 I've been playing on PC, I guess I'm around midway through the game. (after you replace the 3 statue things with the clone power) and just kinda lost interest ;/

            • reply
              May 30, 2013 7:38 PM

              I played DS1 on PS3 and loved it, ran well, looked great.

    • reply
      May 30, 2013 4:28 PM

      I agree about the remaining two Horsemen getting their own games, however I did not care for their decision to remove Pestilence\Conquest and Famine, only to be replaced with Fury and Strife. Fury? Is that name generic enough? And Strife? Strife is normally portrayed as a female entity which is not a problem for me, that would actually be cool, but Strife is from completely different mythology. I think they were being rather lazy in that area.

    • reply
      May 30, 2013 5:03 PM

      Loved the first one, i stopped the second one about 1/3rd of the way through. It got too RPG'ish and I wasnt in the mood for that. If they make 2 more like that, I probably wont play them.

      • reply
        May 30, 2013 5:35 PM

        "It got too RPG'ish" this addition to the series with the loot and RPG elements is why I think it was a perfect DarkSider game and the best in the series it was perfect to me.

        If they made more exactly like 2 with just different locals and Horsemen I would of instant bought them in a second.

        Just curious was the loot what you did not like?

        • reply
          May 30, 2013 6:07 PM

          I like 2 quite a bit but got sidetracked with other stuff. I've got to get back to it.

        • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
          reply
          May 30, 2013 7:40 PM

          Loved it, guardian fight was epic!

    • reply
      May 31, 2013 1:17 AM

      That should have been Darksiders 2.

    • reply
      May 31, 2013 1:26 AM

      >:|

    • reply
      May 31, 2013 4:28 AM

      Quadruple the boredom!

Hello, Meet Lola