Substrata
A fantastic compendium featuring over 80 artists emerges from the ashes of the abandoned Darksiders franchise
Editor Paul Richards
dPublisher Udon Entertainment arksiders, released in 2010, and its 2012 sequel neatly combined Zelda-esque questing, Devil May Crystyle hack-and-slash and a beautifully extravagant art style. It looked a world away from its contemporary action-RPGs, with chunky character design and gothic levels cast in purple and green neon light.
Alas, the collapse of THQ last year led to Darksiders developer Vigil Games being dragged under, too – and the possibility of a third instalment to Darksiders went with it. However, Vigil Games’ concept artist Paul Richards invited artists to contribute to a what-if book of Darksiders 3 art, asking for everything a pretend AAA title could require, including characters, environments and even logos.
Many artists responded to the call, and Paul whittled them down to the 80
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Available Now stage and a fungal zombie backing it up. His work starts out with grace and serenity, but becomes more nightmarish as the chapter goes on – which is exactly what we want from a book on Darksiders.
It’s a fascinating tome, and one which can be wildly incoherent and inconsistent, but this is part of the anarchic charm: it’s a glimpse into what AAA games would be if they weren’t controlled by men in suits more interested in protecting their bottom line than having fun. We hope that it rekindles interest in the potential of Darksiders 3. After all, most of the hard work has already been done.