Info about Darksiders III:

Official game description:
Digital Deluxe Edition
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The Deluxe Edition includes Darksiders III, its Soundtrack and 2 paid DLCs that will be released post launch of Darksiders III.
About the Game
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Return to an apocalyptic Earth in Darksiders III, a hack-n-slash Action Adventure where players assume the role of FURY in her quest to hunt down and dispose of the Seven Deadly Sins. The most unpredictable and enigmatic of the Four Horsemen, FURY must succeed where many have failed – to bring balance to the forces that now ravage Earth. Darksiders III is the long-anticipated, third chapter in the critically-acclaimed Darksiders franchise.  
*   Play as FURY - a mage who must rely on her whip and magic to restore the balance between good and evil on Earth!  
*   Harness FURY’s magic to unleash her various forms – each granting her access to new weapons, moves and traversal abilities.  
*   Explore an open-ended, living, free-form game world in which FURY moves back and forth between environments to uncover secrets while advancing the story.  
*   Defeat the Seven Deadly Sins and their servants who range from mystical creatures to degenerated beings.  
*   Sit in awe of Darksiders signature art style – expansive post-apocalyptic environments that take the player from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, dilapidated by war and decay and overrun by nature.

Release date: Nov 27, 2018

Categories: Action Adventure, Hack and Slash, Soulslike Combat, Metroidvania, Character Progression, Boss Fights, Exploration, Puzzle Solving

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 30; verdict: Mixed Monetization; summary: The user feedback highlights a mix of concerns and positive experiences regarding the DLC content in Darksiders III. Major points of contention include desirable content being locked behind paid DLC and the perception of the DLC's value. While some users find the game and its DLC to be a good value when purchased on sale, others criticize the quality and substance of the paid DLC. Overall, the sentiment around monetization is mixed, with notable frustration over content being gated behind additional purchases.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The primary user complaints revolve around poor navigation and map guidance, complex game mechanics that require external guides, and frustrating puzzle mechanics. These issues significantly impact the user experience, making it difficult for players to progress without external resources.
- Proton/Linux: score 10; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game generally runs well on Linux with Proton, with some users reporting the need for minor tweaks such as specific launch options or Proton versions to optimize performance. Overall, the user experience on Linux is positive with good launch reliability and performance.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals several key issues impacting the Steam Deck experience. Resolution and framerate issues, particularly with cutscenes, are a significant problem, detracting from the visual experience. Performance on the Steam Deck varies, with some users experiencing crashes and frame drops, while others find it playable with medium settings. Compatibility with Proton is noted, but it requires forcing a specific version, adding complexity. Control issues, particularly with aiming and quick actions, are also a common complaint. Overall, while the game is playable on the Steam Deck, several technical barriers and control issues impact the user experience.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence consistently suggests that the game is only worth purchasing at a significant discount. Multiple reviews mention that the game should be bought on sale, with specific mentions of prices around $10 to $20 being more acceptable. The general sentiment is that the full price does not reflect the game's value, and significant discounts are necessary to make it a worthwhile purchase.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 35.0h
  - Story completion: 8.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides various playtime metrics. One review mentions a playtime of around 29 hours to complete the game including DLC content, while another review states a playtime of 35 hours on a specific difficulty. Additionally, a review notes that the story completion time was quick, and another review mentions that the playtime is inflated due to leaving the game open. These quotes help estimate the typical playtime for different completion metrics.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game starts with a steep learning curve and can be boring initially, but it becomes more enjoyable once players get past the early stages and learn the combat mechanics.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Mastering combat mechanics
  - Time to anchor: 2h 0m
  - Friction: Steep learning curve; Boring initial hours with dungeons and corridors; Slow and boring platforming and traversal
  - Unlock drivers: Variety in movesets and weapons; Mastering combat mechanics
  - Conditions: Patience to get through initial boring hours; Willingness to learn and master combat mechanics
- Player Archetypes:
  - Challenge-Seeking Explorer (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoys the challenge and exploration of the game world.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on mastering combat mechanics and exploring the game world.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Souls-like fan; Explorer
    - Reference games: Dark Souls; King's Field; MDK
  - Franchise Fan (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoys the story and combat of the Darksiders franchise.
    - Playstyle: Engages with the game for its story and combat, often comparing it to other beloved franchises.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Franchise fan; Action-adventure fan
    - Reference games: God of War; Devil May Cry; Metroid Prime; The Legend of Zelda
  - Discount Hunter (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Seeks value for money and prefers discounted purchases.
    - Playstyle: Cautious and value-conscious, often waits for discounts and evaluates refund options.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Bargain hunter; Value-conscious gamer
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Positive overall impression (weight 0.34): Players generally have a positive impression of the game, describing it as good, awesome, and wonderful. The graphics and overall presentation are also well-received.
- Praised combat mechanics (weight 0.31): The combat system is widely appreciated for being dynamic, fast-paced, and satisfying. Players enjoy the depth and rhythm of the combat, finding it engaging and well-executed.
- Engaging and well-told story (weight 0.27): The story is praised for being enjoyable, engaging, and well-told. Players appreciate the interesting plot and good character development, particularly for the character Fury.
- Beautiful and atmospheric world design (weight 0.19): The world design is praised for being superb, beautiful, and atmospheric. Players appreciate the detailed and well-crafted locations.
- High-quality voice acting (weight 0.17): The voice acting is noted for being excellent and professional in multiple languages. Players appreciate the good story presentation and pleasant background music.
- Unique and satisfying boss fights (weight 0.15): Boss fights are highlighted for being cool, interesting, and engaging. Players enjoy the variety and unique mechanics of the bosses.
- Worth the price (weight 0.11): Many players feel that the game is worth the price, especially if bought on sale. They find it worth the time and money invested.
- Hybrid of multiple genres (weight 0.1): The game is appreciated for its mix of soulslike, metroidvania, and hack and slash elements. Players enjoy the combination of different genre elements.
- Fun and rewarding exploration (weight 0.1): Players enjoy exploring the game world, finding fun puzzles and secret areas. The exploration is described as rewarding with nice rewards.
- Good performance on Steam Deck (weight 0.07): The game runs well on the Steam Deck with medium settings, providing a playable experience at 40-50 FPS.
- Character progression and development (weight 0.07): Players appreciate the character progression and depth, finding the character development and leveling system to be well-implemented.

Common complaints:
- Puzzles are confusing and frustrating (weight 0.18): Many players found the puzzles to be either too simple or overly confusing, leading to a frustrating experience. The design and intuitiveness of the puzzles were frequently criticized.
- Poor optimization and mechanics (weight 0.17): The game suffers from poor optimization, combat mechanics, level design, and overall gameplay experience. Players reported issues with controls, storyline, and camera management.
- Not as good as previous games (weight 0.16): Players felt that the game did not live up to the standards set by its predecessors, Darksiders 1 and 2. It was seen as a downgrade with less content and poorer mechanics.
- Frustrating boss fights (weight 0.13): Boss fights were described as frustrating, unfair, and poorly designed. Some players found them too difficult or simplistic, leading to a negative experience.
- Combat lacks depth and creativity (weight 0.12): The combat system was criticized for lacking depth, creativity, and build variety. Players found it to be average and unengaging.
- No in-game map (weight 0.09): A significant issue for players was the lack of an in-game map, which made navigation difficult and frustrating.
- Unresponsive and clunky controls (weight 0.09): Controls were described as unresponsive and clunky, with issues related to key presses and the inability to remap controls.
- Difficult navigation (weight 0.09): Players found the game difficult to navigate, with confusing map navigation and a tendency to get lost easily.
- High difficulty and spikes (weight 0.08): The game was criticized for its high difficulty level and difficulty spikes. Players found the difficulty curve to be poorly balanced.
- Weak story and characters (weight 0.08): The story and character development were criticized as weak and bland. Players found the narrative to be lacking and unengaging.
- Enemies have excessive defense (weight 0.08): Players found that enemies had excessive defense, making it difficult to break their defenses and leading to frustration.
- Game crashes and bugs (weight 0.08): Players reported frequent game crashes, freezes, and game-breaking bugs, which significantly impacted the gameplay experience.
- Enemies deal too much damage (weight 0.07): Enemies were criticized for dealing too much damage, even on the easiest difficulty. They were also noted to be too quick and strong.
- Frustrating game progression (weight 0.07): Players found the game progression to be frustrating, particularly in the latter half of the game. Upgrades and progression were criticized for being poorly implemented.

Gameplay feedback:
- Combat emphasizes dodging and timing (weight 0.33): The combat system is heavily focused on dodging and precise timing for attacks and counters, similar to Souls-like games.
- Exploration and rewards (weight 0.26): The game features exploration mechanics, rewarding players for exploring the map and discovering new areas.
- Hybrid of hack n' slash and Souls-like (weight 0.21): The game combines hack n' slash combat with Souls-like elements, creating a unique and dynamic combat system.
- Story and narrative elements (weight 0.17): The story is centered around hunting the personified Seven Deadly Sins, with a mix of lore and character development.
- Multiple difficulty settings (weight 0.16): The game offers various difficulty levels, including story mode, veteran, and apocalypse difficulties, affecting gameplay experience.
- Puzzle-solving mechanics (weight 0.13): The game includes various puzzles, some of which may be confusing or challenging, adding to the gameplay complexity.
- Challenging and unique boss fights (weight 0.12): Boss fights are designed to be challenging and unique, requiring players to learn and adapt to different boss mechanics.
- Character progression and upgrades (weight 0.12): Players can progress and upgrade their characters, enhancing abilities and unlocking new forms with unique capabilities.
- Metroidvania and Souls-like elements (weight 0.12): The game blends Metroidvania exploration and level design with Souls-like combat and progression systems.
- Enemy attack patterns and variety (weight 0.11): Enemies have distinct attack patterns and behaviors, with visual cues for their moves, adding depth to combat.
- Platforming mechanics (weight 0.06): The game includes platforming elements, requiring players to navigate through various platforms and jumps.

Performance notes:
- Performance and optimization issues (weight 0.15): Players report various performance issues, including poor optimization, frame rate drops, and instability.
- Frequent crashes and freezes (weight 0.14): The game experiences frequent crashes, freezes, and occasional crashes to desktop, especially at specific points or during boss battles.
- Steam Deck and Linux compatibility (weight 0.09): The game runs well on Steam Deck and Linux systems, including Ubuntu with Proton.
- Mouse/GUI and full-screen issues (weight 0.05): There are issues with mouse and GUI scaling, as well as problems with full-screen mode.
- FPS lock and unlocking instructions (weight 0.05): There are issues with FPS lock, but instructions for unlocking FPS are available.
- Eye strain and movement delays (weight 0.04): Some players experience eye strain and delayed movement while playing the game.
- Windowed mode swapping (weight 0.02): The game spontaneously swaps to windowed mode, causing inconvenience.
- Cut-scenes capped at 30fps (weight 0.02): Cut-scenes in the game are capped at 30fps, which some players find disappointing.
- Lock-on mechanism problems (weight 0.02): There are issues with the lock-on mechanism, affecting gameplay.
- Compatibility issues on Windows 11 (weight 0.02): The game is not functional on Windows 11 with RTX 2060.
- Computer upgrade requirements (weight 0.02): The game requires a significant computer upgrade for optimal performance.
- No ray tracing (weight 0.02): The game lacks ray tracing, which some players find disappointing.
- Technical aspects compared to previous versions (weight 0.02): The technical aspects of the game are on par with the second part from 2013.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for series fans (weight 0.17): The game is highly recommended for fans of the Darksiders series and the genre in general. It is seen as a must-have for those who enjoyed previous installments.
- Recommendations for purchase (weight 0.14): The game is recommended to be purchased on sale or at a discount. Some players suggest trying it out and refunding if it doesn't meet expectations.
- Gameplay and difficulty tips (weight 0.11): Players recommend starting on normal difficulty, watching guides for boss fights, and avoiding the hardest difficulty for achievements. Playing in Classic mode and using level-up crystals immediately are also suggested.
- Challenging gameplay experience (weight 0.1): The game is recommended for players who enjoy challenging games and action games with a high difficulty level. It may not be suitable for beginners due to its difficulty.
- Worth playing for various reasons (weight 0.08): The game is considered worth playing for its low price, improvements, and for those interested in the story and progression. It is also seen as worth playing for newcomers.
- Mixed recommendations (weight 0.08): Some players highly recommend the game, while others recommend it with reservations or suggest skipping it. There are also recommendations to watch gameplay on YouTube before purchasing.
- Suitable for specific genres (weight 0.07): The game is suitable for fans of slasher and Souls-like games, as well as those who enjoy Hack 'n Slay with Metroidvania and Zelda-like puzzles.
- Positive feedback from various players (weight 0.07): The game receives positive feedback for its ambiance, gameplay mechanics, scenarios, variety of enemies, characters, music, and Spanish dubbing. It is also recommended for those who enjoy challenging combat and dark fantasy adventures.
- Future hopes and comparisons (weight 0.06): Players express hopes for a remake of the first part, a Strife game, and a next version with a good story. Darksiders Genesis is mentioned as okay but not as good as the first three games.
- Language and alternative suggestions (weight 0.05): There are suggestions for adding Turkish language support and considering Shadow of Mordor as a better alternative. Some players also recommend getting both DLCs.
- Technical and gameplay suggestions (weight 0.05): Recommendations include capping FPS for a better experience, trying the game for oneself, and considering the game for a weekend playthrough.

Other player notes:
- Saved games and DLC issues (weight 0.03): There are reports of problems related to saved games and DLC content not working as expected.
- Steam Deck resolution fix (weight 0.03): Players have shared tips on how to address resolution problems specifically on the Steam Deck platform.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.3): Players are frustrated primarily due to the game's high difficulty, particularly with combat mechanics, camera issues, and challenging boss fights. Technical issues such as bugs, crashes, and save file corruption also contribute significantly to this frustration, along with unclear objectives and puzzles.
- Disappointment (weight 0.21): Disappointment stems from the game not meeting expectations set by previous titles in the series. Players criticize the lack of depth in gameplay, smaller environments, and poor mechanics. Additionally, the shift to a Souls-like genre and the overall quality of the game, including story and character development, contribute to this sentiment.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.18): Players enjoy the game's combat mechanics, exploration, and story. The character development, variety of weapons, and engaging boss fights are also highlighted as positive aspects. Despite some flaws, the overall gameplay experience, including puzzles and visuals, is found to be fun and engaging.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.1): Satisfaction comes from the game's combat mechanics, story, and overall improvements compared to previous entries. Players appreciate the progression system, world design, and the challenging yet fair difficulty. The game's visuals and character development also contribute to a satisfying experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Excitement is generated by the game's engaging story, character development, and challenging combat. Players look forward to future installments and additional content. The overall quality and innovations in gameplay mechanics also contribute to this excitement.
- Anger (weight 0.03): Anger is primarily caused by the game's poor optimization, difficult and unenjoyable combat, and frequent crashes. Save file corruption and the inability to refund the game also contribute to this anger. Players feel frustrated with unfair gameplay mechanics and poor combat controls.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Players appreciate the game's unique twist on the Soulslike formula, its compatibility with the Steam Deck, and the detailed narrative and combat mechanics. The game's action, world design, and continuity with the series are also highly valued.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia is evoked by memories of previous games in the series and the epic narrative and character charm. Players reminisce about their experiences with earlier Darksiders games, bringing back fond memories and a sense of continuity.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): Enthusiasm is driven by the game's detailed gameplay mechanics and positive aspects. Players strongly recommend the game and express a strong positive opinion about the series. The enjoyment of the game's story and characters also fuels this enthusiasm.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy is derived from the enjoyable combat, graphics, and level designs. The fun gameplay, dynamic combat, and charismatic protagonist contribute to a joyful experience. Players find satisfaction in exploration and engaging story elements.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Players are excited about the game being a good hack and slash, combining genre elements and Soulslike features. The character development and emotional impact of the ending, along with the unique experience and value for money, generate excitement.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is felt for the game's artistic beauty, character journey, and world-building. The balance, story, and combat mechanics are also highly admired by players.
- Satisfied (weight 0.01): Satisfaction comes from the improvements in the third part of the game, including visual beauty and interesting fights. The maturity and storytelling of Darksiders III are also sources of satisfaction.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom is caused by repetitive combat and monotonous gameplay. The game's plot and mechanics also contribute to a sense of boredom among players.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Interest is sparked by the character development of Fury and the continuation of the story. Players are intrigued by the evolving narrative and character arcs.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from unclear story elements and boss battles. Players are also confused by the game's identity, as it seems to blend Dark Souls-like elements with hack and slash mechanics from previous titles.
- Nostalgic (weight 0.01): Players feel nostalgic about the previous parts of the game and the evolution of the Darksiders series. The memories of earlier games and their unique characteristics evoke a sense of nostalgia.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Frustration is caused by camera issues and repetitive gameplay. Players also feel frustrated with the game's payment model and the inclusion of uninteresting puzzles, making it feel like an online game.}