Proper customisation
It doesn’t matter how many games I see them in, skill trees are always a good thing. Fact.
There were a lot of combos and gadgets at War’s disposal in Darksiders 1, but there wasn’t any real way to fully make War your own. DS2 seems set to make good of this, with skill trees entering the fray. If done properly, this could really make things feel more personal, and the promise of upgradeable loot as well does seem like it could be really addictive.
Greater variety
Not exactly original, but it could be a good fit for the series all the same.
The combat of Darksiders has always been well and good, but it wasn’t quite able to sustain my interest entirely in the first game when it dragged on for some truly repetitive passages later on. In comparison to the clunky build of War, Death is fairly light on his feet, allowing for more complex platforming elements on the side. It seems every third person game is attempting to rip off the Prince of Persia series these days, but some high octane parkour action could be just what the Darksiders franchise needs to round off its sensational combat.
Actual non-linearity
Complete dungeons dedicated to individual side-quests have been promised. Let’s just hope they’re good ones.
Though the first game sported some pretty large and winding maps, Darksiders was never much about exploration, let alone deviating from the core storyline. Whilst the plot will likely remain linear, it is exciting to hear that Darksiders 2 will incorporate NPCs in certain areas who will dish out various side-quests. Provided they get this right, Vigil Games could really use this to add a needed variety and longevity that the first game lacked.
