Darksiders 2 "derogatory", "frustrating" Zelda comparisons angers developer

Neoseeker writes: Vigil Games has expressed their frustration regarding the comparisons to the Zelda franchise Darksiders 2 receives.

The original Darksiders was initially compared to the Nintendo IP due to its similar style, with the inevitable comparisons making a return for its sequel. Darksiders 2 lead designer Haydn Dalton, though, don't seem too keen on the comparisons from fans.

[Canary]

It's more like God of War than Zelda. By a long shot.

All things considered, though, if you're going to make a game that so blatantly borrows so many elements--stylistically, mechanically and even aesthetically--you really -cannot- complain about your consumers pointing out the similarity.

I mean, that's almost as bad as making a game and then making a point of telling everyone that it's not "for" gamers.

[AgreeFairy]

No it's not. It's nothing like God of War (which is the same thing people tried saying about games like Dante's Inferno and even the Castlevania game. It's more like Zelda with a smaller world.

[Chris558]

Are you on drugs? Yea dantes inferno tried to make x360 gow but that game sucks so hard send it back where it came from, where that trash belong : to hell.

[Captain Qwark 9]

i dont agree with this at all. games borrow elements of other games all the time. god of war is not any different from any other action game other than it added quick time events and changed the controls slightly. otherwise its a melee based, fixed camera, story driven action game. sounds a lot like devil may cry to me, hell the only real difference being one has better combat ( dmc ) and one has quicktime events and yet nobody mentions how it blatently ripped off dmc. only certain games get trashed for borrowing elements of others, im not sure what starts but once your labeled everyone runs with it

darksiders borrowed elements from many games and merged them into one creating its own unqiue identity. there are few other games on the market that blend all those elements into one game.

yes you can get similar combat from gow or you could get similar exploration from zelda, but i want them in one game and only ds is gonna have that

[WeskerChildReborned]

Have you seen GoW? The only real similarities i see is that they both dual wield weapons.

[synchroscheme]

Funny, I can think of a ton of devs who would love their games to be compared to Zelda.

Surely being compared to an already popular game is a good thing.

[falcon262]

Completely agree. "The nerve of someone comparing my game to one of the greatest franchises of all time!"

On another note...two weeks until Darksiders and Sleeping dogs, finally the drought ends!

[ChickeyCantor]

The frustration comes from the fact that they want to come off as unique and not give the vibe they took stuff from zelda. Understandable but unnecessary.

[palaeomerus]

Nearly all the press coverage for the first game said Zelda meets God of War. I'm betting that was how they promoted it in the press packs. Now it's suddenly offensive? Sigh. Stop with the drama.

You know what else was just like Zelda to the point where it was virtually a clone ? Legacy of Kain (copied older 2D style Zeldas), and Soul Reaver (copied the hub world with unlocks structure from LoZ:OoT).

Sheez. Ya'll made a good game and it DOES remind those who play it of God of War style combo action games (or Ninja Gaiden, or Otogi, or Devil May Cry, or Bayonetta, or even Onimusha or whatever) blended with a Zelda's style hub and quest world game.

That's really not a big deal.

[prototypeknuckles]

so what if its compared to zelda in my opinion its better than zelda combat wise traversl wise, and character wise.

[CaptainMarvelQ8]

i saw some gameplay for darksiders and had no idea how it was being compared to zelda.If I had to compare it to any game,I would say prototype

[theWB27]

I get his point...gamers and journalists now days always look for a way to compare, either good or bad, to another game. Like he said...if GTA4 has driving, they compare to a racing focused game, or the shooting to a focused shooter. I'm sure he's feeling...damned if you do, damned if you don't. For them to be working these crazy hours to put out the best product they can and all people do is point out negatives, or how it's just like something else can be a bit of a letdown...they're human.

I'm sure anyone who feels strongly about creating things, and someone comes and puts it down or says someone else does it better then they'd feel the same way.

Gaming sites, especially posters, seem to be wanting to destroy the very hobby they enjoy so much with the emo style judging they do on every little topic, mistake, DLC, updates, and such. People seem to forget how much innovation was introduced this gen, mainly focus on the misses, articles popping up about why this system will fail. It's sad really.

[PopRocks359]

I bought Darksiders for the PS3 expecting it to be a "mature" Zelda game. It felt more to me like the God of War trilogy, but with more cutscenes (and personally I like the story a little more).

I think I'm about a third of the way through the game and I'm looking forward to its sequel, but for the life of me I can't see why people view this as "Zelda-esque." I don't know; perhaps I'm just crazy?

[DasBunker]

What? it had a more open world you can back track - Like Zelda

You collected items/weapons that you used in that particular level and on the boss - Like Zelda

You found keys/maps/items in chests - Like Zelda

It was certainly more puzzle oriented than GOW.

[PopRocks359]

Yeah you can backtrack, but so far I haven't had much reason to. I mean the last thing I picked up were dark wings that gave me the ability to glide. The key/chest finding is miniscule and the puzzles are pretty much on the same design level as God of War.

For example, I'm seeing more pushable blocks and enemies to kill than flying beetles and hookshots in this game.

I literally just stopped playing the game when I read your comment, so I don't think I'm going completely nuts here. Just sayin'.

[Puddlejumper75]

@Dasbunker, From your description Metroid and Castlevania come to mind also.