Playing Darksiders Warmastered Edition on PS5 reminded me how quickly War’s first campaign gets to the point. This is a 2010 action-adventure with native 4K rendering, a 60 FPS target, DualSense support, Activities support, and Photo Mode, but it never tries to disguise the older game underneath. The combat is direct, the dungeons have purpose, and the PS5 version makes War’s campaign easier to revisit.
If you missed Darksiders the first time, this is the right place to start. If you already cleared War’s campaign years ago, the PS5 version is a cleaner return rather than a completely new reason to replay it. The game holds up because War’s tools, upgrades, and dungeon progression fit together well. The age shows in movement, camera behaviour, and some visual details, but not enough to bury the action-adventure design underneath.
War’s Story Keeps The Revenge Setup Simple
Darksiders Warmastered Edition opens after Earth has already been ruined by the war between Heaven and Hell. War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, takes the blame for bringing that disaster early. The Charred Council strips him of power and sends him back to Earth to uncover who used him.
That revenge setup pushes the campaign forward without needing a long explanation every few rooms. War wants the truth, his power, and his name cleared. The Watcher being bound to him makes that return to Earth more uncomfortable because War has someone monitoring his every move rather than travelling with a real ally.
The story works better when it stays centred on War cutting through ruined Earth than when it reaches too far into the larger mythology. The Charred Council, angels, demons, and Horsemen create enough context without turning the campaign into a lore lecture. It’s broad apocalyptic fantasy, but War’s anger keeps the story easy to follow.
The performances carry a lot of that force. Liam O’Brien’s War is all restraint and anger, which fits a character who says very little but hits everything in front of him. Mark Hamill’s Watcher brings a nastier energy to the journey, constantly reminding you that War’s second chance comes with a leash.
Chaoseater Combat And Dungeon Tools Push War Forward
War’s Chaoseater sword sets the tone for almost every fight. You’re cutting into demons, launching them into the air, dodging around larger attacks, and using finishers when enemies weaken. It’s not trying to be a modern character-action game with a huge input list. It’s built around impact, spacing, and new options arriving at a steady pace.
The upgrade structure is easy to understand. Vulgrim turns souls into forward progress, whether you’re buying new combat techniques or expanding War’s options between major encounters. Every fight feeds directly into that climb back from the punishment War takes at the start of the campaign.
Darksiders comes alive when a new tool changes combat and exploration at the same time. The Crossblade turns puzzle solving and crowd control into the same action, letting War mark objects from range and interrupt enemies long enough to regain space. Mercy adds ranged attacks. Shadowflight extends traversal by letting War glide across wider gaps. These tools rarely stay locked to one type of room, which keeps the campaign moving between fights, puzzles, and route changes.
Chaos Form also fits War’s identity. It’s a temporary transformation that lets him overpower nearby enemies, but it works because it’s not available every few seconds. You save it for moments when a room starts going badly or when a boss needs a harder answer. That resource choice suits a game about rebuilding lost power.
Dungeon Progression Turns Tools Into Payoffs
The dungeon structure is the main reason Darksiders Warmastered Edition holds together. Each major area introduces a new item or ability, then threads it through boss preparation, treasure hunting, route changes, and environmental puzzles. You learn the tool in smaller rooms before the dungeon expects you to use it with more confidence.
That structure is familiar, but the payoff holds. Locked doors are rarely just roadblocks. They push you to inspect the room, check the environment, and figure out which part of War’s growing toolset solves the problem. Lifestones, Wrath Cores, hidden treasures, and gear rewards make exploration useful beyond simply finding the next objective.
Backtracking is part of that structure. When you earn new traversal options, older routes open up and previously unreachable areas become accessible. That makes the world feel more connected, especially once Ruin enters the picture and mounted traversal opens larger regions. Ruin also changes combat enough to break up the dungeon pace, adding faster movement and mounted encounters after long stretches on foot.
The roughest parts are movement and camera control. War doesn’t have the same freedom modern action-adventures often offer. Platforming can feel stiff beside the combat, and the camera is not always as cooperative as it should be when enemies surround you. The lock-on approach also shows its age during fights where several threats crowd the screen. These issues are noticeable, but they don’t erase the strength of the dungeon flow.
War’s Return Looks Better And Moves Faster
The PS5 version improves combat response and image clarity first. Native 4K rendering makes Joe Madureira’s art direction look cleaner, especially on War’s armour, oversized weapons, demon designs, and ruined Earth environments. The comic-book style remains the reason Darksiders has its own identity, and the added clarity suits those large silhouettes and exaggerated shapes.
The 60 FPS target pays off most during combat. Dodging, attacking, and swapping between tools all benefit from the steadier response. This doesn’t turn Darksiders Warmastered Edition into a new game, but it makes the older combat easier to return to. That extra response fits a game built around timing, counters, and room control rather than long-range safety.
DualSense support fits without taking over the experience. Haptic feedback and trigger effects add some physical response to War’s attacks and abilities, but the controller features stay secondary to the combat itself. Activities support is also here for PS5, and Photo Mode is a welcome addition because Darksiders has character art and world design that look good frozen mid-fight.
This version doesn’t hide every old limitation. Some pre-rendered scenes and texture work still show the game’s age compared with newer PS5 games. The visual update improves the overall look, but it can’t make every older asset look newly built. Even so, the reviewed PS5 version brings the console upgrade Darksiders Warmastered Edition needed most.
Darksiders Warmastered Edition Makes War Easy To Revisit
Darksiders Warmastered Edition works on PS5 because the original design remains sturdy. War’s combat has force, the dungeons are fun to untangle, and the comic-book apocalypse leaves the world with a personality that many newer action-adventure games still struggle to match. The PS5 version improves the experience with 4K rendering, 60 FPS, DualSense support, Activities support, and Photo Mode, but it doesn’t pretend this is a full rebuild.
That honesty is part of the appeal. You’re getting a cleaner version of an older game with some modern PS5 features wrapped around it. You’re also getting older camera behaviour, some stiff traversal, and visual details that don’t always escape the game’s original era. Those tradeoffs are real, especially if you expect every remaster to feel modern from top to bottom.
If you’ve never played Darksiders, start here for War’s campaign. If you already know the game well, the PS5 version is mainly a cleaner revisit, not a full rebuild. That distinction keeps the recommendation honest. Darksiders Warmastered Edition still has a clear identity in 2026 because the combat, dungeon tools, and apocalyptic art direction all point in the same direction.
Darksiders Warmastered Edition
Summary
Darksiders Warmastered Edition brings War’s first campaign back with direct combat, clever dungeon tools, and a comic-book apocalypse that still has personality. The PS5 version improves the return with 4K rendering, 60 FPS, DualSense support, Activities support, and Photo Mode, though the camera, platforming, and older visual details show the game’s age. It’s a clear fit for newcomers and returning fans who want War’s campaign with a cleaner console upgrade.
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