Darksiders II: Argul's Tomb DLC Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on October 1st, 2012

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Darksiders II Argul's Tomb is a short, two hour romp through a nonessential frozen dungeon. The shooting section is stripped down from comparable missions in the main game, and the standard side quest-style dungeons have few surprises, adding little to the overall story. Treasure hunters who are looking for a few pieces of armor or a new weapon might find the expansion worthwhile. Unfortunately, if you are looking for a dungeon as robust and challenging as those you'll find in the main campaign, you may be disappointed.

Unless you are a hardcore Darksiders fan it's probably not worth the two hours of gameplay. If you are a hardcore fan then you're probably enjoying your free version that came with your Limited Edition box set anyway.

For what Argul's Tomb is a modest piece of downloadable content offering players a few more hours to explore Darksiders II Vigil Games has done a respectable job. The clever void-walking traversal begs the question of why it wasn't so emphasized before; Deathgrip could use a push component to the pull, but it's still a worthy part of Death's tool set; and if players are okay with Death as the living embodiment of everything Darksiders II offers a joyful reprieve from, the insane linear shooting level is a dose of spirited albeit mindless fun.

At the same time though, story and substance concessions undercut an expansion that feels like it's anything but. Argul's Tomb might be a a semi-auspicious beginning to the gameplay and adventure in Death's post-release future, and yet even for $7 it's a hard sell.

Overall, this DLC is around two hours, which is perfectly reasonable for it's [sic] price tag, but that all depends on just how much Darksiders you want. With the main game dropping at least 40-50 hours if you do it all, this extra dungeon doesn't bring nearly enough unique aspects to make it seem worthy of the cost considering how much you already got. As a bonus for pre-ordering the game though, it fits it purpose nicely, adding more content to an already outstanding package.

Darksider's 2 first DLC, Argul's Tomb, gives us a reason to revisit this wonderful title and get some more hands-on time with the Fourth Horseman. The varied mechanics, entertaining puzzle-solving, abundance of loot and epic final fight round out the high points of the additional content. However, some of this is counteracted by the incredibly short play time and weak story elements. If you purchased the game used, you may find that the $7 price tag is a bit much for the small offering. However, for those of you who purchased the game new, this free DLC is icing on the cake.

That said, initial DLC is historically a crapshoot; it can take a few tries for content to really hit its stride (just look at Fallout 3 and even THQ's own Saints Row: The Third). It's certainly disappointing that there's almost no story (I think there are three conversations in the entire DLC), it doesn't really seem to tie into the main quest in any significant manner, and the gameplay has been pared down to Darksiders' button-mashy combat, but Vigil has shown a willingness to learn from their mistakes; hopefully, we'll see that again in future DLC.

In the end, Argul's Tomb is less noteworthy than it could've been. Sure, it provides new dungeons to explore, as well as an opportunity to earn more experience, but there's nothing memorable within its lifespan. Furthermore, it doesn't come with achievements or trophies, let alone any real replay value. As a result, it's tough to recommend spending $7 on the new campaign, unless you're a huge fan of the series and can't wait for this sequel's other (confirmed) add-ons. Then again, a rather large amount of people should receive this extra content for free.

If you like Darksiders 2, you'll likely at least find Argul's Tomb mildly entertaining for the brief time you play it. However, if you got it for free with the Collector's Edition, you'll be far more pleased afterwards since you didn't have to pay for such a short DLC. Hopefully Vigil is working on a bigger, more impressive piece of DLC to wash the mediocre taste of this one from our mouths.

While Darksiders II: Argul's Tomb doesn't offer anything that one can't live without, it can't be denied that it does bolster the already satisfying campaign with some new dungeons to traverse. Offering two new dungeons and a short shooter segment, the somewhat brief experience is well designed and a joy to play. Even better is that the content is free to those who purchased the Limited Edition brand new (hope you saved your codes!) though it can be had at the cost of 560 Microsoft Points. Hopefully, the next round of DLC is as well designed as Argul's Tomb.

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