14 DAY TRIAL // Joe Madureira, the creative director of the Darksiders series, has sparked hope in the hearts of the hack-and-slash games' fans when he has suggested that there might be some exciting news about the franchise soon.
Madureira has offered the tease in a Facebook update, stating that the franchise isn't dead yet, at the hands of its new owners, Nordic Games.
"Darksiders– DS is not dead!!! The new owner, Nordic seems very committed to continuing the series. As far as my involvement, I can't say at this point. Hopefully we will all have exciting news about the franchise soon!!!!!!," Madureira says, doing a poor job of hiding his excitement.
If you're wondering why anyone would be excited over Darksiders, just picture a game where you step into the shoes of War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and proceed to dish out punishment to pretty much everyone. That's Darksiders for you.
The games featured huge game worlds with massive boss battles, and a challenging but rewarding hack-and-slash gameplay, and very well received by both critics and fans, leaving many eager for more apocalyptic action.
Vigil Games' action adventure RPG franchise was bought by Nordic Games, along with other THQ properties such as Red Faction, Supreme Commander and MX vs. ATV around a year ago. Most of the team behind Vigil Games and the two Darksiders games was gobbled up by Crytek's new US-based studio.
When the massive deal between THQ and the Austrian publisher was finalized in April of last year, Nordic Games mentioned that eager fans of the Darksiders franchise should not expect the third installment in the series to land any time soon, with a company spokesperson offering a window of at least two years before anyone should expect any announcements.
Back then, Nordic stated that they were excited about the series' potential, and, before anything else, they would bundle the first Darksiders along with its sequel and republish them. They also said something along the same lines regarding the other franchises they bought, which are actively gathering dust as we speak, but Joe Mad's update certainly shook things up a bit and awoke some of the fanbase from slumber.
Joe Madureira's Facebook post, although not revealing anything, is a clear indication of the fact that something, hopefully a third entry in the franchise, is in the works somewhere.
Given the fact that Joe Madureira was not only Darksiders' Creative Director, but also the artist behind the game's atmospheric imagery, and that he is an active presence in the comic scene, it could also mean that Nordic and Joe have struck a licensing deal to create a comic out of the fantasy universe, so until more details come out, we are reserved in our excitement.