Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 5/10
- Offline: 47/50 (930/1000)
- Online: 3/50 (70/1000) (Crucible Pass)
- Approximate amount of time to 1000: 35-40 hours
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2 playthroughs
- Number of missable achievements: Many. Mission progress does NOT carry over.
- Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No Cheats
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes. Stackable difficulties.
- Glitchy achievements: Yes. (Various reports on certain ones not unlocking for everyone.)
- Unobtainable achievements: None
- Extra equipment needed?: Crucible Pass REQUIRED for 3 achievements. It is on the back of the manual.
Introduction:
This is an 3rd person hack and slash game with puzzles and RPG elements. This is a sequel to another game, though you do not have to have played it to enjoy this one, though it is suggested for storyline reasons. First off to let you know, there are collectibles and side quests that you must complete besides just beating the game. This game has you backtrack more than a couple of times, and collecting the various collectibles can be very time consuming and not too enjoyable. Because you must do a new game + anyways, you might as well start on normal and do the new game + on Apocalyptic. Difficulty achievements do stack. Surprisingly there isn't any combat related achievements. You will need the Crucible Pass to complete this game, which is in all new game boxes (so if you buy it used, you will have to purchase it in the marketplace). As with all RPG type games, you will encounter a lot of loot. Try your best not to waste your money or sell useful things. Specifically, any item with the name in purple is something you want to hold on to. The game's save system is only meant for 1, but a backup here and there is highly suggested on either USB or Cloud. There have been a few reports of various glitches, some meaning you cannot continue on with the game and must start over. I personally experienced one where the primary quest did not finish and I did not get my achievement, but could continue to the next quest.
Playthrough 1: Any difficulty/Collectibles and Side Quests:
I suggest just starting on normal and focusing on completing all side quests and collectibles. This isn't too hard of a game, though there is a lot of falling that can happen. One very important thing to remember, is that for New Game+ your side quests and collectibles do NOT carry over. This means you would have to start all the way over from scratch on everything, so be very careful when deciding to finish the game. The point of "no return" is the Well of Souls where you go to fight the last boss. However, even after beating him, the game gives you one more chance to reload your last save before starting a new game.
Playthrough New Game+:
You can play on Apocalyptic if you have not done so yet. Focus only on primary missions. You will now be able to get Death to level 30.
Crucible Pass Content:
With this pass you can gift a friend an item for an achievement. You can also play the Crucible Arena having to pass all waves (100 of them) in one sitting and then beat a boss. This is best done once you are level 30 and have very good gear. You have 2 major options for playing it on the Easy setting. One is to complete the game on Normal, then Apocalyptic. After you get the achievement for Apocalyptic, you can choose to load your save instead of starting a New Game+. Do so, and put it on easy. Now complete The Crucible. The other option is if you beat the game on Apocalyptic the first time around, you can just throw it on easy for your New Game + and work to level 30. After that you can do The Crucible.
Conclusion:
This game isn't very difficult, but it has time consuming elements such as collectibles, side quests, backtracking, normal travel, climbing, looting, gear switching, and puzzles. Also, not many people love to play a game twice. Is this a few day rental completion? Not likely. If you have an online game rental account (like Gamefly) or if you purchase it, this could be a nice game to have a completion on, especially if you completing the 1st Darksiders game.
[x360a would like to thank Tyger7 for this Roadmap]