Darksiders III is a game about a Horseman of the Apocalypse on a quest to slay the Seven Deadly Sins…but like any good film, the real story runs much deeper. Written by Man of Action (Ben 10, I Kill Giants), THQ Nordic and Gunfire Games’ hack-and-slash adventure features the strongest character arc in the franchise to date. To see why, here is an examination of how Darksiders III translates to the structure of a feature-length film.
WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Darksiders III. Enjoy at your own risk!
There are many ways to write a cinematic tale, but any good story will contain the same basic elements. Whether you use Syd Field’s Paradigm, the Mini Movie Method, Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat!, Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey or any myriad of “new” techniques being introduced all the time, the result should be more or less the same – a memorable tale that speaks to audiences on an emotional level.
For the purposes of this exercise, I will use Save the Cat! as it is the one I use and am, therefore, most familiar with.
Opening Image and Theme Stated: Riddle of Sorrows
Our story opens on a time-old dilemma: balance. Is evil really “bad” if it’s part of a grand design? And why would The Creator make a world so imperfect to begin with? This short narrative sets the tone for our story by establishing that one’s role in the world may not always be clear – that is, unless you are a Horseman of the Apocalypse. Your role is to maintain and enforce balance at any cost. Do what you’re told and you will remain powerful.
Set up: “Forces conspire against us!”
The Seventh Seal has been broken prematurely and the Earth is now a battlefield for Heaven and Hell. Humanity is being wiped out, and the Charred Council – charged with keeping the balance – discovers that the Seven Deadly Sins have escaped on top of everything else.
Fury wants to be the leader of the Horsemen. This is her intention. Her biggest obstacle is that, well, she’s not the favorite of the four. In fact, she’s called in as a last resort because one brother is locked up and the other two are unavailable. It took all four Horsemen to capture the Sins the first time around – but Fury, ever the hot head, takes the challenge without question. In exchange, however, she wants to be named leader. A Watcher is sent with her to make sure she accomplishes her goal – the Council doesn’t even trust her to do the job right.
War has been blamed for the early Apocalypse but begs his sister to head his words: “Forces conspire against us!” Eyes on the prize, Fury pays him no mind. She soon defeats Envy and takes her talisman, which will act as a prison for each of the Seven Deadly Sins.
She meets Ulthane, one of the Makers, who is saving and protecting humans. He asks her to save any she finds on her journey and consider siding with them. Fury refuses to join them. After all, why should she care about the humans when they are so weak and useless? She’s a powerful Horseman, dammit.
Catalyst: A Horseman Without A Horse
Just as Fury is about to defeat Wrath, she summons her horse, Rampage – but he appears with an angel’s sword in his side and dies in front of her. Fury doesn’t admit love lightly – but she loved that horse. This is also her save the cat moment – it makes her relatable. We’ve all dealt with grief in one form or another and losing an animal companion stings just as badly as any other friend. While she’s distracted by her loss, Wrath runs her through and she collapses in defeat.
From a gameplay point of view, I was reeeeaaaaallllllllyyyyy disappointed that I couldn’t run amok on my horse as I so enjoyed doing in the last two games. From a writer’s point of view however, the decision to kill Rampage was pretty genius. What is the worst thing you can do to a bad ass Horseman of the Apocalypse with delusions of grandeur? Give her an identity crisis and a new goal – revenge.
Alternate title – Darksiders III: Terms of En-Rampagement!
The Debate:
War’s words begin to echo in his sister’s mind – was this all just a set-up? Fury has a deep-seeded desire to prove herself (as all siblings do), but she doesn’t know who to trust…especially since her default is to never trust anyone.
Fury doesn’t want to help anyone but herself…but without a horse, her sense of identity is being chipped away.
Break Into Two and B Story: The Lord of Hollows
Fury wakes up to find that she has been saved by the Lord of Hollows. He is collecting souls by offering death to angels and demons who are tired of being resurrected, but his motives are unclear.
This scene continues to erode Fury’s understanding of how the world works and her role in it all. Before now, she would have never imagined that angels and demons would simply give up or that humans might actually be important…much less that she could ever be defeated in battle. It’s a heavy blow.
The Lord of Hollows does not want Fury’s soul, however. He challenges her to grow as a person and question the Charred Council if she really wants to maintain balance. He grants Fury the ability to wield fire with the Flame Hollow and asks her to bring him the soul of a wayward demon named Abraxis.
Now she has two choices:
- Help the Lord of Hollows in his unknown plan, question the motives of the Charred Council and risk her mission – and therefore her potential reward, OR
- Continue on her path to please the Charred Council and risk playing into their hands.
Note that both choices come with the risk of losing everything she wants.
Ultimately, Fury chooses option 2, but remains suspicious. She takes off after the Seven Deadly Sins, vowing to make someone pay for “what they did to that animal.”
Fun and Games: Unleash the Fury
The beauty of Gunfire Games’ Darksiders III narrative design is that players can choose to battle different Sins in different orders without sacrificing Fury’s character arc. Each time she defeats a boss, she gains insight into herself and in some cases, another ability from the Lord of Hollows.
Despite her efforts to remain selfish and arrogant, Fury finds herself appreciating the mysteries of Earth and feeling empathy for others. She comes across a few humans and sends them back to Ulthane, telling the Watcher she wants Ulthane to owe her a favor.
Everyone wants something from Fury – Ulthane wants her to save the humans, the Lord of Hollows wants her to play a bigger role in the balance (and do his dirty work), Vulgrim wants all the souls he can eat and the Sins just want to be left alone.
As the late-great Blake Snyder explains in his book, Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, this part of the story provides the promise of the premise. Controlled by the player, this is where you’ll find lots of crazy monsters, epic battles and unique environments to explore that are perfect for the trailer.
Midpoint (Down): No Closer To The Truth
As I mentioned, players can approach certain boss battles in a different order, so my experience might be different than yours. For me, the midpoint was when Fury confronts Lust in the rusted hull of an old ship. Lust tempts her with a hallucination that she is made leader of the Horsemen. When her brothers bow, Fury realizes it’s fake and snaps out of it.
Unfortunately, Lust has successfully tempted Usiel, leader of the Angels. Defeating Lust breaks Usiel of the spell and he promises to notify Fury of any conspiracy he finds against her.
Mind you, the sword that killed Rampage was angelic – but Fury is no closer to finding out who is responsible. An ally is nice, but Usiel can’t give her what she needs.
(Note: apparently, leaving Usiel alive is optional, but Fury ends up in the same boat. Literally.)
Bad Guys Close In: Calling the Kettle Black
As Fury faces down the Sins, she is confronted with her own shortcomings. She has been jealous of her brothers. Quick to anger. Consumed by a lust for power. The Sins don’t waste time reminding her of this and while Fury emerges victorious, she is forced to take a good look at her own behavior…and that of the Charred Council. There’s some solid character development going on here, in my opinion.
Once you find Abraxis, he calls the Lord of Hollows a traitor that shifts the balance as he pleases. You have the option to kill him or agree to kill the Lord of Hollows instead. I chose to kill him so I could unlock an Xbox achievement.
Fury returns to the Lord of Hollows, who confirms what Abraxis had accused him of – he plans to hollow out the earth to protect the humans. The souls he has collected will help them reach their potential, but he doesn’t explain how. He confesses that he was once a member of the Charred Council, and realized he had to pick a side. “I have chosen you,” he says.
Fury has gone from the last Horseman picked to someone’s first choice. The Lord of Hollows dies, leaving the souls to her. She will get no more help from him.
The Watcher – Fury’s companion on this journey – does not seem to appreciate Fury’s newfound appreciation for the strength in others and gets more aggressive. While she began as a groveling kiss-up, the Watcher grows impatient as Fury nears the end of her quest.
All Is Lost: A Puppet After All
When Fury confronts the final Sin, Pride, she has a terrible realization. Right before she can deal the final blow, the Watcher reveals her true self – Envy. Envy finishes her sister Pride and takes the talisman that Fury used to trap all the Sins. Now Envy has all the power – she easily defeats Fury, who plummets into the abyss.
While it is never explained, I imagine that Envy gave the talisman to that crow creature (the first boss in the game) or had it stolen and enlisted Fury to get it back. Either way, Fury was so quick to fight anyone and anything that the plan worked perfectly. Even though she has grown since then, Fury’s past mistakes came back to haunt her.
This scene is the ultimate payoff to many setups, as well. When Fury first obtains the talisman, it glows next to the Watcher – a sign that one of the Sins is near. We assume it’s because she just trapped the boss inside. When they meet Abraxis he comments, “The meek envy the strong. Isn’t that right, Watcher?”
Dark Night of the Soul: “I have paid dearly.”
Fury wakes up to find herself back at Haven, where Ulthane has been protecting the humans. She literally tells their leader, Jones, that “all hope is lost” because she exhibited the same traits as the very Sins she hunted down.
Jones tells her that just means she has lived – and she still has the power to defend the balance.
Ulthane reveals what he has been building – a portal called a reflecting pool that will send Fury wherever her heart desires. He once again asks Fury to protect the humans, who have now rallied at her side. Fury realizes now that humans are good.
Break Into Three: Unfinished Business
Fury uses the reflecting pool and returns to the Charred Council just in time to find Envy trying to kill them.
Finale: Hell Hath No Fury
She defeats Envy and confronts the Council. They claim to protect the balance, but worked to destroy the humans out of fear for what they are capable of. Fury realizes that the souls given to her are a weapon against the Charred Council somehow.
For her “blasphemy,” the Council tries to kill her. Fury throws the talisman of Seven Deadly Sins at the Council and leaves, serving them no longer.
She returns to Ulthane just as their base comes under attack by demons. She rallies the humans and tells them of their importance. The Makers hold off the demons as best as they can but time is running out. Ulthane asks Fury to go with the humans through the reflecting pool. She vows to protect them. She has found her calling.
Final Image:
The demons are closing in. The Makers are being defeated. Fury watches as Jones pulls out two large pistols and effortlessly takes out several of the demons. To her surprise, Fury sees his true form – her brother, Strife. So that’s what he’s been up to!
Fury feels connected to her brother, perhaps, for the first time in a long time. She is convinced her decision was the right one.
FADE OUT.
Conclusion: A Good Story Is Not Limited By Medium
Video games have proven themselves in recent years to be more than the mind-numbing time wasters our parents feared. As Darksiders III proves, gamers can enjoy a satisfying character arc, delve into a world’s rich lore and walk away satisfied knowing that they participated in the outcome. The pacing may be slightly different, but important story beats definitely exist.
Narrative designers are challenged with telling a great story while maintaining the interactive nature of a video game. This interactivity allows players to have varying experiences, which makes film adaptations so hard to replicate.
Darksiders III isn’t perfect and still left me wondering who killed Rampage. My best guess is that angels were used as pawns by the Charred Council to make sure Fury failed. Who knew that a Horseman could prevail without her horse? Regardless, Fury’s character arc left me rather satisfied when those credits began to roll.
As you can see, screenplay beats are not limited to films – or novels!
Have you played any video games that left you with a lasting story? How do they compare to a movie’s plot structure? What about you narrative designers – how do you approach a story?
Share your comments below and I hope you enjoyed this breakdown!
P.S. – I do not work for, nor am I paid to endorse Save the Cat!. I just like it a lot.