THQ Nordic has teased the arrival of a brand new Darksiders game during its THQ Nordic 2024 Digital Showcase. Alongside trailers for upcoming games like Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, Wreckfest 2, Titan Quest 2, and Gothic 1 Remake, the showcase was home to a major stinger: three mountainous, flaming heads known as The Charred Council booming the word, “horseman.”
Those familiar with the Darksiders series will know this utterance refers to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the final soldiers in a holy war, striving for peace in a broken world. Each of the Darksiders games follows one of these four Horsemen – War, Death, Fury, and Strife – as they fight against demons and darker conspiracies.
Who will star in the next Darksiders?
At this stage, details about the next Darksiders game are incredibly scarce. Given the teaser indicates the Four Horseman will again be a focus, we can assume we’ll see one or all four of the franchise’s former heroes in this tale. War, Death, Fury, and Strife have all been given their own spotlights in individual games (including in Darksiders Genesis), but historically, the series has focussed on a new protagonist with each entry.
Any of the Four Horseman could return to the protagonist’s role, we could see a special team-up game, or there could be an entirely new hero to lead the franchise into the future. For now, all THQ Nordic has said is that, “The Four Horsemen will ride again.”
Is the new Darksiders a sequel, prequel, reboot, or remake?
At this stage, there’s also plenty of questions about how The Four Horsemen will ride again. With the four original Darksiders games, THQ Nordic told a fairly well-rounded tale of death, demons, and destruction. However, the door was left open in Genesis, with the establishment of the holy Seven Seals – and a promise to destroy any who dare to break them.
The next Darksiders game could pick up the threads of these teasers quite easily, with the stage already set for a larger showdown between angels, demons, and everything in-between. Given these teasers, it feels likely the new game will be a sequel, rather than a prequel (given this would backtrack on established events).
Read: Epic Mickey: Rebrushed launches in September 2024
Then again, a new Darksiders game could also be an opportunity to reboot the franchise, and explore fresh new ideas in its dark, post-apocalyptic setting. Reboots are all the rage lately, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see this game revealed as a fresh start for the series – particularly given it’s laid dormant for more than five years now.
As an added note, we can likely rule out a remaster or remake for this franchise, given both the original Darksiders games were given “definitive edition” versions in 2015 and 2016 – and given Darksiders 3 only released in 2018.
At this stage, we only have one teaser and pure speculation to go on, but we can expect to hear more about the next Darksiders in the coming year – so stay tuned for updates as THQ Nordic continues to work on the newly-announced game.
