Info about Darksiders Genesis:

Official game description:
  
From the dawn of creation, THE COUNCIL has maintained the Balance across existence. Carrying out their orders are THE HORSEMEN, Nephilim (powerful beings spawned from the unnatural union of angels and demons) who have pledged themselves to the Council and been granted immense power. However, this power came at a tragic cost: the Horsemen were ordered to use their newfound strength to wipe out the rest of their kind. What followed was a bloody battle on Eden where the Horsemen, obeying the will of the Council, annihilated the Nephilim.  
Still reeling from the events on Eden, WAR and STRIFE have been given a new assignment -- LUCIFER, the enigmatic and deceptive demon king, has been plotting to upset the Balance by granting power to master demons throughout Hell. War and Strife must hunt down these masters, gather information, and ultimately fight their way through a tangled, demonic conspiracy that threatens to forever upset the Balance and unravel all of creation.  
DARKSIDERS: GENESIS is an action/adventure game that tears its way through hordes of demons, angels, and everything in-between on its way to Hell and back with guns blazing and swords swinging. Genesis gives players their first look at the world of DARKSIDERS before the events of the original game. Furthermore, it introduces the fourth and last horseman STRIFE, as well as Co-op gameplay for the first time in the history of the franchise.  
Features:
---------
*   Blast angels and demons as the gunslinging Horseman Strife, playable for the first time  
*   Swap between the powerful swordsman War and Strife instantly in frenetic, single-player gameplay  
*   Explore the epic world of Darksiders and wreak havoc with a friend in two-player cooperative mode  
*   Experience a brand new story campaign that takes place before the original Darksiders, exploring the origin of the Seven Seals  
*   Grow in strength and power as you collect items, abilities, weapon enhancements, creature cores and more

Release date: Dec 5, 2019

Categories: Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash, Cooperative Multiplayer, Character Progression, Puzzle Solving, Isometric Action-RPG, Top-Down Shooter, Metroidvania

Feature scans:
- Proton/Linux: score 20; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game is playable on Linux with Proton 7.0-6, but may require some version switching. There are no major issues reported, and some users enjoy playing it on their Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: score 55; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience of the game reveals several key issues. The most prominent problems are related to controls and keyboard gameplay, both of which have been described as confusing, strange, and uncomfortable. Additionally, users have reported various bugs that, while not severe, are frequent enough to be noticeable and annoying. The Steam Deck experience itself has been noted to have some friction, particularly with the small screen size making certain actions uncomfortable. Despite these issues, some users have found the game enjoyable and reminiscent of other titles in the series.

- Hardware Profile:
  - Summary: Performance varies across hardware cohorts, with higher VRAM configurations experiencing minor issues while lower VRAM setups struggle more significantly.
  - Sample size: 39 (3% coverage)
  - Audience skew: Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
  - Windows 12-15GB VRAM (positive, 10 reports): Mostly good performance with occasional crashes, resolvable by switching to fullscreen.
  - Windows 8-11GB VRAM (negative, 7 reports): Struggles with 4K graphics and audio issues.
  - Caveats: 39 of 1205 reviews expose hardware metadata.; Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $5.00 - $15.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that while the game is enjoyable, many users feel that the full price of $30 is too steep for the amount of content provided. Several reviews mention that the game is worth picking up on sale, with specific mentions of prices around $6 and $4 being more reasonable. This indicates that the community considers a fair price range to be significantly lower than the current base price.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 15.0h
  - Story completion: 11.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 30.0h
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several direct and indirect references to playtime metrics. The first quote suggests a typical playthrough time of 10-12 hours, which aligns with the story completion time. The second quote indicates that rushing the campaign can take around 15 hours, which can be considered as the game completion time. The third quote mentions that completing the game 100% offers many hours, supporting the endgame metric. The fourth quote provides a range of 25 to 35 hours for 100% completion, which further supports the endgame metric.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Darksiders Genesis is a game that is highly enjoyable, particularly in co-op mode, where players can switch between characters and experience different combat styles. The fun starts almost immediately in co-op, despite some initial friction from bugs and camera issues.
  - Stance: Fun immediately
  - Anchor: Cooperative gameplay
  - Time to anchor: 0h 0m
  - Friction: bugs; camera issues
  - Unlock drivers: cooperative gameplay; switching between characters
  - Conditions: co-op mode; playing with friends or partners; different combat styles
- Player Archetypes:
  - Solo Adventurer (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of solo gameplay and story.
    - Playstyle: Prefers playing alone, focusing on single-player content and personal progression.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Solo player; Single-player enthusiast
    - Reference games: Darksiders series; Diablo
  - Co-op Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of cooperative gameplay and shared experiences.
    - Playstyle: Prefers playing with a friend, emphasizing teamwork and cooperative strategies.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Co-op player; Multiplayer fan
    - Reference games: Darksiders series; Diablo; Enter the Gungeon
  - Critical Enjoyer (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Balanced enjoyment with a critical eye on flaws.
    - Playstyle: Enjoys the game but is highly critical of its shortcomings, often comparing it to other similar games.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Critical gamer; Balanced reviewer
    - Reference games: Darksiders series; Diablo
  - Franchise Fan (buy)
    - Motivation: Love for the Darksiders series and its lore.
    - Playstyle: Enjoys the game for its story, characters, and faithfulness to the series, often comparing it favorably to other entries in the franchise.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Darksiders fan; Series veteran
    - Reference games: Darksiders series


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:
- Fun cooperative gameplay (weight 0.34): The game offers enjoyable cooperative gameplay, both locally and online, enhancing the overall experience.
- Striking visual art style (weight 0.22): The game features a unique and beautiful visual style, with players praising its artistic design, aesthetics, and overall presentation.
- Variety in gameplay (weight 0.17): The game offers a variety of gameplay mechanics, enemy types, and combat styles, contributing to high replayability.
- Appeal to Darksiders fans (weight 0.17): The game is well-received by fans of the Darksiders series, offering a fresh take with an isometric view and capturing the essence of the franchise.
- Engaging puzzles (weight 0.16): The game features a range of puzzles that are challenging and fun, adding a nice change of pace to the gameplay.
- Excellent soundtrack (weight 0.14): The game's soundtrack is highly praised for its atmospheric and engaging music, enhancing the overall experience.
- Isometric view perspective (weight 0.12): The isometric view adds a new and engaging perspective to the game, making platforming more intuitive and suitable for the character Strife.
- Character interactions and dialogues (weight 0.11): The game features engaging and interesting interactions and dialogues between characters, adding depth to the storyline.
- Well-designed levels (weight 0.11): The game's level design is praised for being well-designed, fun to explore, and expansive with secrets to discover.
- Playing as Strife (weight 0.11): Players enjoy the opportunity to play as Strife, exploring his charisma and background, which adds a new dimension to the gameplay.
- Professional voice acting (weight 0.1): The game's voice acting is highly praised for its professional quality, enhancing the overall experience.
- Charismatic characters (weight 0.09): The game features well-written, charismatic, and humorous characters that are well-differentiated and interesting.
- Engaging combat system (weight 0.09): The game's combat system is engaging, fun, and impactful, contributing to the overall enjoyment.
- Memorable boss fights (weight 0.08): The game offers unique and challenging boss fights that are well-made and enjoyable.
- Skill progression and upgrades (weight 0.07): The game features a skill progression system that allows players to upgrade their characters' abilities, adding depth to the gameplay.

Common complaints:
- Game plagued by bugs (weight 0.28): The game is reported to be full of bugs, with players experiencing various issues such as characters getting stuck, bugs with doors, and frequent freezes. These bugs are widespread and affect gameplay significantly.
- Camera issues and annoyances (weight 0.24): The camera system is a major source of frustration, with issues such as forced angles, inability to rotate the camera, and awkward fixed positions. These problems make gameplay uncomfortable and challenging.
- Frustrating platforming sections (weight 0.24): Players find the platforming sections frustrating due to camera issues, poor controls, and challenging design. The camera angles are counterintuitive and make platforming difficult, often requiring pixel-perfect precision.
- Uninspired and short plot (weight 0.14): The game's plot is described as standard and unremarkable, with a straightforward story that introduces new characters but fails to impress. The story is considered short and not very engaging.
- Poor controls and movement (weight 0.11): The controls are criticized for being difficult to use, with issues such as clunky combat, unclear parkour systems, and non-fluid movement. These problems make the game harder to play and enjoy.
- Poor puzzle design (weight 0.11): Puzzles in the game are criticized for being too simple, poorly designed, and sometimes frustrating due to camera angles. The puzzles are described as basic and not well-integrated into the gameplay.
- Texture and collision issues (weight 0.1): Players encounter frequent issues with textures, including getting stuck in textures and falling through them. These problems affect the gameplay experience and can be quite frustrating.
- Performance and technical issues (weight 0.07): The game suffers from various performance issues, including FPS drops, stutters, and connection problems. These technical issues can disrupt the gameplay experience.
- Generic level design (weight 0.07): The level design is criticized for being generic, repetitive, and sometimes poorly designed, leading to players getting stuck. The levels are not well-received and are seen as a weak point in the game.

Gameplay feedback:
- Top-down and isometric perspective (weight 0.24): The game features a top-down and isometric view, reminiscent of classic ARPGs. This perspective is central to both exploration and combat mechanics.
- Character switching and progression (weight 0.17): Players can switch between characters, each with unique abilities and progression paths. Character dynamics and upgrades are key to advancing in the game.
- Hack and slash combat (weight 0.16): The combat system is centered around hack and slash mechanics, with a focus on frantic and strategic gameplay. Players can use various weapons and abilities to engage in combat.
- Puzzle-solving mechanics (weight 0.15): Complex puzzles and environmental challenges are integrated into the gameplay. These puzzles often require cooperation and exploration to solve.
- Character interactions and relationships (weight 0.09): Interactions and dialogues between characters are a significant aspect of the game. These interactions help develop character relationships and story content.
- Skill tree and customization (weight 0.08): A skill tree system allows for build customization, though some players note a lack of depth in customization options. This system is tied to character progression and upgrades.
- Metroidvania and RPG elements (weight 0.07): The game incorporates Metroidvania and RPG elements, featuring open-world exploration and dungeon-crawling. This blend adds depth to the gameplay experience.
- Character controls and mechanics (weight 0.07): The game features a robust combat system with unique character abilities and mechanics. Character controls are designed to be responsive and engaging.
- Arena and single-player modes (weight 0.07): The game includes an arena mode for practice and endless challenges. There is also a single-player mode for those who prefer solo play.
- Fast-paced and dynamic gameplay (weight 0.06): The gameplay is fast-paced and dynamic, with frenetic action sequences. The game offers varied gameplay dynamics to keep players engaged.
- Twin-stick shooter elements (weight 0.06): The game includes twin-stick shooter mechanics, adding another layer to the combat system. This feature is integrated into the overall gameplay dynamics.
- Leviathan's Labyrinth challenges (weight 0.04): The game features specific challenges and labyrinths, such as the Leviathan's Labyrinth. These challenges offer unique gameplay experiences and rewards.

Performance notes:
- Frequent game-breaking bugs (weight 0.18): Players report a high number of bugs, including game-breaking and collision bugs, which significantly affect gameplay.
- Connection and server issues (weight 0.09): Players experience frequent disconnections, camera issues, and server problems, particularly in later chapters.
- Character getting stuck on terrain (weight 0.08): Characters frequently get stuck on various scenery elements and terrain, causing frustration and disrupting gameplay.
- Controls and movement issues (weight 0.06): There are reports of imprecise inputs, bad movement systems, and uncomfortable parrying on Steam Deck.
- Minor technical issues (weight 0.05): There are various minor technical issues reported, including texture stutters and action transition issues.
- Occasional game crashes (weight 0.05): The game crashes occasionally, with some players reporting crashes during co-op gameplay on a single device.
- Visual and audio glitches (weight 0.05): Players report various visual and audio glitches, including animation glitches and minor sound issues.
- Platform-specific performance (weight 0.05): The game plays well on Steam Deck and runs well across various platforms, but there are specific issues mentioned for different setups.
- Co-op gameplay issues (weight 0.05): Players experience bugs and issues specifically in co-op gameplay, including split-screen problems.
- Graphics issues in high resolution (weight 0.03): There are graphics issues, particularly in 4K resolution, and some players mention poor graphics overall.
- Difficulty spikes in boss fights (weight 0.02): Players note difficulty spikes during boss fights, making these sections particularly challenging.

Recommendations:
- Excellent co-op experience (weight 0.15): The game offers an excellent co-op mode, making it a great choice for fans of cooperative play and dungeon-crawlers. It is highly recommended for those who enjoy playing with friends.
- Recommended for fans of the series (weight 0.13): The game is highly recommended for those who enjoy the Darksiders series, its combat, story, and genre. It is particularly appealing to fans of the trilogy and action games.
- Highly recommended game (weight 0.09): The game comes with high recommendations from various reviewers. It is considered easily recommendable and highly enjoyable.
- Worth buying on sale (weight 0.09): Many reviews suggest that the game is worth purchasing, especially when it is on sale. This makes it a good option for budget-conscious gamers.
- Accessible for newcomers (weight 0.04): The game is noted for its accessible gameplay, making it a good entry point for newcomers to the Darksiders universe.
- Technical suggestions (weight 0.03): Some reviews suggest technical adjustments such as turning off anti-aliasing and recommend playing with a controller for a better experience.
- Comparisons to other games (weight 0.02): The game is compared to other popular titles like Hades, Devil May Cry, and God of War, indicating it shares similarities with these well-regarded games.
- Specific gameplay tips (weight 0.02): Reviews mention specific gameplay tips, such as avoiding certain missions like Leviathan Landing, which might be particularly challenging or problematic.
- Recommendation for relaxation (weight 0.02): The game is recommended for people who want to unwind after work, suggesting it provides a relaxing and enjoyable experience.
- Must-have for Steam Deck (weight 0.02): The game is considered a must-have for Steam Deck users, indicating it is well-suited for portable gaming on this device.
- Recommendation for general gamers (weight 0.02): The game is recommended for general gamers, suggesting it has broad appeal and can be enjoyed by a wide audience.

Other player notes:
- Mixed input requirements (weight 0.02): Players are frustrated by the need to use both mouse/keyboard and controller simultaneously to play the game effectively.
- Game speed adjustment feature (weight 0.02): The game offers a feature that allows players to slow down the game speed, which can be useful for various gameplay situations.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.31): Players are primarily frustrated by a multitude of bugs and camera issues that hinder gameplay. Platforming sections, controls, and co-op progress issues also contribute significantly to this frustration, making the game feel unpolished and difficult to enjoy.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.22): Players enjoy the co-op experience, engaging storyline, and unique character abilities. The combat system, fast-paced gameplay, and well-designed levels also contribute to a fun and enjoyable experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Players express disappointment due to repetitive gameplay, lack of combat depth, and poor story and character controls. Technical issues, such as bugs and poor camera mechanics, also contribute to a underwhelming experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.06): Players are satisfied with the visual style, gameplay mechanics, and character dynamics. The enjoyable campaign, good combat system, and beautiful graphics also contribute to a positive experience.
- Joy (weight 0.05): Players find joy in the enjoyable gameplay, good story connection, and beautiful aesthetics. The fun combat, engaging storyline, and enjoyable co-op gameplay also contribute to a positive experience.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.05): Players are enthusiastic about the amazing characters, creative skill tree, and strong art style. The engaging storyline, challenging difficulty, and enjoyable gameplay mechanics also contribute to a highly positive experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Players are excited about the great cooperative gameplay, innovative co-op battle system, and energetic gameplay. The stylish presentation, engaging combat scenes, and well-designed levels also contribute to a thrilling experience.
- Excited (weight 0.02): Players are excited about playing with a friend, the different and innovative proposal, and complex but fun puzzles. The fast-paced gameplay, cool combat, and co-op gameplay also contribute to an exhilarating experience.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players feel anger due to an overall frustrating experience, poor graphics, and performance issues. Buggy gameplay and poor translations also contribute to a highly negative experience.
- Happy (weight 0.01): Players are happy about the story content, series story, and enjoying the game with a partner. The co-op experience and art also contribute to a positive and happy experience.
- Positive (weight 0.01): Players have a positive experience due to the enjoyment of cooperative gameplay, familiar mechanics, and the game's cooperative mode. The skill tree, Easter eggs, and overall gameplay also contribute to a positive sentiment.
- Pleased (weight 0.01): Players are pleased with the overall improvement compared to the second game, good story, and good controls. The perfect voice acting and exceptional humor also contribute to a pleased experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Players feel nostalgia due to memories of enjoying the game six years ago and childhood memories. Comparisons to previous Darksiders games also evoke a sense of nostalgia.
- Approval (weight 0.01): Players approve of the game for fans of specific series, the passive help system, and story explanations. The character dialogues also contribute to a sense of approval.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Players feel happiness due to the enjoyment of playing with someone else, the gameplay, and co-op experience. Fun with a partner in co-op also contributes to a happy experience.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Players are interested in the story, finding the gameplay and plot interesting. The overall engaging nature of the game also contributes to maintaining interest.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by enjoying the gameplay more than expected, the differentiated atmosphere, and fun level. Discovering the game's quality after a long time also contributes to a surprising experience.
- Surprised (weight 0): Players are pleasantly surprised by the variety and effectiveness of the arsenal, as well as the dubbing and music. These elements exceed expectations and contribute to a surprising experience.
- Frustrated (weight 0): Players feel frustrated due to the difficulty being unfair at times and bugs related to the final boss and arena. These issues contribute to a frustrating experience.
- Disappointed (weight 0): Players are disappointed due to the inability to play with keyboard and controller in local co-op and the game's price. These factors contribute to a sense of disappointment.}