Darksiders 3 makes its easy mode even easier in first patch

Darksiders 3's first patch following its release this week has introduced multiple performance fixes and made its easiest difficulty mode, called Story, even "more forgiving".

Difficulty on Story mode wasn't something that bothered me when I played it for my review, but it's not the relaxing, no-danger stroll that some players would've hoped for. Part of the difficulty adjustment comes from changes to protagonist Fury's invulnerability window when she dodges—you're invulnerable for longer on the easiest difficulty, while on other difficulties it's been "adjusted", although Gunfire games doesn't say in which direction (I assume it's been made more generous).

The patch also promises "better readability" for hit indicators. This could perhaps help address my biggest issue with the game, which was its inflexible camera. If the patch makes it more obvious where off-screen enemies are, particularly any that are about to strike from behind, it'd be a positive step.

The performance changes should "significantly reduce stuttering in high-density areas", Gunfire Games said. The game ran relatively smoothly for me, although I did experience a couple of judders.

The patch is not yet available to all players: it's part of a testing branch of the game so that Gunfire can make sure it doesn't break anything critical before rolling it out widely. If you want in, you can activate the patch by following the instructions here.

Samuel is a freelance journalist and editor who first wrote for PC Gamer nearly a decade ago. Since then he's had stints as a VR specialist, mouse reviewer, and previewer of promising indie games, and is now regularly writing about Fortnite. What he loves most is longer form, interview-led reporting, whether that's Ken Levine on the one phone call that saved his studio, Tim Schafer on a milkman joke that inspired Psychonauts' best level, or historians on what Anno 1800 gets wrong about colonialism. He's based in London.