Nearly a decade after its last update, Darksiders Warmastered Edition gets a photo mode and motion controls in a surprise new patch

This is kind of odd, and may or may not be a portent of unknowable things happening in maybe-near, maybe-distant future, but more than nine years after its last patch, Darksiders Warmastered Edition has been given a surprise update, adding a new photo mode, support for motion aiming, and “various bug fixes.”

My first thought upon seeing this update was that it was somehow connected to today’s big news from Embracer Group, which is essentially splitting itself in two and sending various studios and properties—including Darksiders—to live with their father, which in this particular case is a metaphor for the newly-created Fellowship Entertainment.

It also reminded me that a new Darksiders game was announced in 2024, which we’ve heard nothing about since. Could it be that news on that is finally in the offing, and this update is a little something something to get us suitably hyped?

Ah, but it’s nothing quite so dramatic or interesting: Darksiders Warmastered launched yesterday for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and THQ Nordic blasted those console enhancements our way too.

Here’s what we get:

• Requires 64bit CPU
• Rendering powered by Vulkan. Vulkan graphics API requiring Vulkan 1.3
• Photo mode (access this by entering the pause menu while in-game, then take your screenshot via Steam’s screenshot function or Windows’ screenshot function)
• Improved Steam Input support
• Support for motion-aiming (requires enabling Steam Input and using a controller with motion support)
• Fixed reticule on low texture resolution settings
• Various fixes to controller glyphs of different controllers
• Various bug fixes

We didn’t review the Warmastered Edition, but we did turn a critical eye on the original release in 2010 and found it quite good. Despite some dodgy controls and a camera that could occasionally become, and I quote, “a total ball-ache,” Darksiders earned an 85% score on the strength of its “potty plot and joyful combat.” It’s held in comparably high regard on Steam: More than 13,000 user reviews, 88% of them positive.

Comments on the update announcement seem quite positive, but THQ Nordic is nonetheless being cautious: The patch notes include detailed instructions on how to report a bug, should you encounter one.

And if for some reason you don’t want the update, or maybe just can’t run it (a 64-bit CPU is required), you can switch back to the old version by entering the Game Versions and Betas menu in the Darksiders’ Steam properties, and selecting the warmastered2016 beta branch.