Darksiders III

Darksiders III is an upcoming hack and slash action-adventure video game being developed by American studio Gunfire Games and will be published by THQ Nordic. It is a sequel to Darksiders II and the third entry in the Darksiders series. The game is scheduled for release on November 27, 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Gameplay
Darksiders III is an action-adventure game. Players take control of Fury, sister of War and Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, from a third-person perspective. Fury, a mage who is described as the most unpredictable and enigmatic of the Four Horsemen, relies on whips, swords, flails, daggers and magic in combat.

Fury can take on multiple different elemental forms in order to enhance her combat capabilities by granting her new weapons, attacks and traversal abilities. One of these many forms is a Flame form.

Enemies are said to be stronger than in previous installments, but appear less in numbers during encounters, so as to make battles feel more personal. Some enemies from previous games will return, while other foes will be new. Gated combat is not a feature, in an attempt to make everything within the setting contextualized and interconnected.

The game takes place in a continuous open world environment where exploration plays a large role. While exploring, Fury must solve puzzles and overcome platforming obstacles, some of which make use of her whip. Such puzzles include using bombs and the Flame Form to blow up obstructed pathways and materials in the environment.

Darksiders III is said to feature a levelling system and a crafting system. Similar to War, yet dissimilar to Death, Fury collects souls from enemies and from objects in the environment, as a form of currency or an expendable resource. According to the developer, the threats of the game's world will grow stronger as you progress through the story, matching Fury's power every time a Deadly Sin is defeated.

Plot
Darksiders III takes place parallel to the events of the previous games in what is described as a dilapidated, war-torn planet Earth. It follows the protagonist Fury, Rider of the Black Horse, sister Horseman of the Apocalypse, and one of the last of the Nephilim, in her quest to hunt down and destroy the Seven Deadly Sins, as ordered by the Charred Council.

Fury encounters the Lord of the Hollows, a powerful entity within the Hollows that helps Fury in her quest to destroy the Seven Deadly Sins. Wielding power enabling both weary Angels and Demons to complete release from the cycle of life, death and rebirth of the Well of Souls, the Hollow Lord aids Fury but his own goals remain unknown. The Hollow Lord attempts to inform Fury that she is being manipulated by the Charred Council for their machinations, going so far as to call her ignorant and blind to their plans and lies. Though Fury denies it, the Lord of the Hollows nonetheless aids her by giving her the power of fire and instructs her to hunt down a demon that endangers the stability of Earth.

On July 17, 2018, a gameplay video revealed that Fury will be accompanied by a companion that is similar to The Watcher from the first game, likely possessing the same duties and role as her brothers.

On July 31, 2018, a gameplay video revealed that Fury may be exploring an area that is close in proximity to the Twilight Cathedral, which was an area in the first game. During the game she will encounter Ulthane, which may confirm that Fury will be visting the Anvil's Ford, an area close to The Hollows, as War also does in the first title.

Development
A third entry in the Darksiders series was originally planned by Vigil Games, however, the fate of its franchise was threatened due to financial complications. Its parent company, THQ, filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The company's assets were sold at an auction, excluding Vigil Games, which was shut down along with the parent company, THQ. In April 2013, THQ began a process to auction off the remaining IP that it had not yet sold, including Darksiders. Several companies publicly expressed interest in bidding for the franchise, including the Japanese developer PlatinumGames, and Crytek USA, a new Crytek subsidiary led by former Vigil CEO David Adams, and primarily staffed by former Vigil employees. Adams had expressed interest in allowing Darksiders to come back "home" to its creators. On April 22, 2013, Darksiders, along with Red Faction and MX vs. ATV, were purchased by Nordic Games in the final transaction of THQ's assets. On June 14, 2013, Nordic Games has stated in an interview with Joystiq that fans "[should] not look for a Darksiders 3 before two years from now".

On May 2, 2017, a product listing for Darksiders III appeared on Amazon.com. The game was officially announced the same day by publisher THQ Nordic under development by Gunfire Games. The development team consists largely of former Vigil Games employees whose previous work includes development of the first two Darksiders games. The game was revealed to officially be released on November 27, 2018. Alongside it, THQ Nordic announced various editions for the game; a deluxe edition, which comes with the soundtrack and two future downloadable content packs, the Collector's Edition, which comes with a Fury figurine, and the Apocalypse edition, which comes with figurines of War, Death, Fury and Vulgrim and costs $400/£349.