THQ Nordic publishes board game about Darksiders Genesis - but not for everyone

The publisher THQ Nordic has announced that a miniature board game will be released for the popular video game series “Darksiders”. The cooperative dungeon crawler relies on a completely new background story, of course set in the Darksiders universe. There is one catch, however: the board game is an integral part of the “Darksiders Genesis Nephilim Edition”, a collector's version of the video game with a proud price of 379,99. 

It would have been too nice for fans of the Darksiders series: Simply gather some friends and play a few games of Darksiders in board game form together. The miniatures game relies on classic dungeon crawler mechanics and is aimed at 1 to 5 players. For the first time in the history of the video game series, all four Horsemen of the Apocalypse can be played at the same time - at least if the gamer digs deep into his pockets to buy the limited Genesis Nephilim collector's edition of the video game. This exclusively includes the board game implementation. 

Darksiders board game bound to a collector's edition

The board game Darksiders: A Forbidden Land (the English original title) can be played in a solo mode or with up to four friends. With only four tabs available, one thing is clear: in a full round, one of the players takes on the role of the game master. This then takes control of the opposing units. In the variant without a game master, Darksiders: A Forbidden Land also works according to information from THQ Nordic: in this case, an AI takes control of the opponent in the form of ready-made rules. This system is already known from other board games, including Star Wars: Outer Rim from Fantasy Flight Games.

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Each player embodies an Apocalyptic Horseman, equipped with unique character skills. This should result in an asymmetrical game play. The extent to which the various skills actually influence the tactical approach cannot, of course, be assessed without a game round. The board game package contains 61 painted miniatures.

The riders act through the use of a card deck that can be adjusted by the players themselves. Even several games with the same tab should feel different according to the publisher. Cards are required for almost all actions: movement or attack - even for upgrades. THQ Nordic promises a “unique card management mechanism”. Cards should also be used wisely, because once the player deck is empty, the game is lost.

A total of 19 different levels can be played as part of the story campaign - divided into different scenarios. Depending on the time and desire, the players can influence their session based on the mission selection with regard to the playful extent. THQ uses a modular hex field for the game board - fans should be able to create their own levels and scenarios and share them with others. It contains a total of 36 hex fields, as well as 423 cards, 4 player boards, dice, 124 tokens as well as a rule book and a campaign book.

For the time being, the board game will remain part of the Darksiders Genesis Nephilim Edition, which is available for pre-order for PC and console at prices of 379,99 euros and 379,99 US dollars or 349,99 pounds. In addition to the board game adaptation, the video game Darksiders Genesis in the steel book, a figure of the rider Hader, some stickers as well as an art book and the soundtrack are included.

THQ Nordic states that it intends to publish further details for Gamescom 2019. It is currently not known whether the board game will also be available in stores as a stand-alone version in the future.