• Split up the Darksiders II section, since it's likely, or at least very plausible that the opening of the game follows the premature End War fairly immediately, but for reasons explained near the end of this guide, the bulk has to happen after Darksiders III
  
• Split up the Darksiders IV speculations into three distinct sections and moved the first part to the beginning of the guide (before the beginning of the timeline)
  
• Fleshed out Manostion's ideas for a Strife solo game
  
• Updated the image that shows all ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ releases in order of release (actually, this time)

• Split up the first section, "Before Darksiders Genesis", into "The beginning of it all", "The Nephilim and the Four Horsemen" and "The Fall of the Nephilim"
  
• Added the subsections "The first things... ever", "Eternal Struggle" and "The Creation of the Charred Council" in the first section
  
• Rephrased parts of the sections on the Nephilim and gave a subheader to the birth of the Horsemen
  
• Added a bit about Samael watching the battle of Eden
  
• Rephrased parts of the "aftermath of Eden" subsection
  
• Moved the "Authors' Notes" to their own section at the end of this guide
  
• Started(!) writing down my speculations on Darksiders IV
  
• Added a first short paragraph about Darksiders II

All the Darksiders games, comics and book so far (in order of release).

1. Darksiders: The Graphic Adventure written by Joe Madureira and Paul DeMeo, illustrated by Ludo Lullabi (2009)
   
2. Darksiders (2010; Warmastered Edition in 2016)
   
3. Darksiders: The Abomination Vault (novel) by Ari Marmell (2012)
   
4. Darksiders II: Death's Door (comic) written by Andrew Kreisberg, drawn by Roger Robinson, colors by Michael Atiyeh (2012)
   
5. Darksiders II (2012; Deathinitive Edition in 2015)
   
6. Darksiders III (2018)
   
7. Darksiders Genesis (2019/2020)

At this point, if there will ever be a new Darksiders game, there are, in my opinion, four different routes it could take:

1. Untitled Genesis-like spin-off
   Given how vast the timeline of this franchise is, with literal millennia that haven't been explored, it lends itself perfectly to more two-Horsemen-spin-offs like Genesis, where you control a different pairing of Horsemen (Death and Fury next?) on a different adventure unrelated to the mainline events. This is an easy way to create more content that is smaller in scope, can be more loose with the lore, as it can't break canon as easily, and can serve to further explore the relationship between the different protagonists.
   
   
2. Non-Horseman spin-off
   This may seem like a stretch, but a promotional artwork[www.artstation.com] of a female Demon with flaming hair, a half-mask reminiscent of the Sin Lust's, a glowing hook-sword, armor resembling Fury's Abyssal Armor and a pet-Hellbat was published on the artstation account of designer Anton Lavrushkin, a member of the Darksiders III development team. While some misguided individuals have stated[www.dexerto.com], despite roughly zero similarities, that the artwork depicts Lilith, she is clearly an original character and gives off main-character vibes. It leads me to suspect that a Darksiders spin-off that doesn't focus on one of the four riders may be or have been planned at some point.
   
   
   
3. Strife's long-overdue solo game
   This one feels like a no-brainer - so far every numbered entry has been focused on one of the four Horsemen, with Strife being the only one without his own dedicated game. There's also a lot of mystery surrounding his character, with the implications that come with his weapons being in the first two games, his role in the third, and some comments in Genesis alluding to his dark past that even the other Horsemen seem unaware of.
   
   
4. The Epic Conclusion
   If Darksiders as a franchise is still alive at this point, this one is inevitable somewhere down the line. Everything leads up to an epic conclusion where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride together to defeat Lucifer and Lilith, The White City, potentially Samael or even Vulgrim and confront the Charred Council for their failings and deception. The restoration of Earth and the Humans is another important plot-point and there are other loose ends. This one will be a numbered main entry for sure, we just can't know if it will be IV. That number would be equally fitting for the fourth rider and the game that features all four.

Given that a Genesis-like spin-off could be set literally at almost any point in Creation, and feature any combination of 2-4 Horsemen, it makes little sense to speculate on its plot or mechanics at this point. Similarly, we can't know, even if an Unnamed Badass Demoness spin-off is made, when or where it would be set (the artwork's backdrop looks like it might be Earth or the Forgelands, but that might not mean anything, it could be a different world, or the game could, much like Darksiders II, feature more than one realm), and we certainly can't know anything about the protagonist, aside from what she looks like and that many of us want to be dominated by her (not me, of course). That's why the two sections we'll explore later in this guide focus on the third option, a Strife solo game, and the fourth option, the epic conclusion.

Long before the Horsemen or even the Charred Council exist, The Creator populates the universe. It is unclear in what order he created the different races, but we know that, the Ravaiim are among the first of his creations (certainly the first race to create a society), followed some time later by the Makers, Angels and Demons.

There is a lot we do not know about these most ancient events, but at some point The Creator seemingly vanishes and the Makers are the ones who build both Heaven and Hell, as well as, much later, the world intended for humanity, Eden.

• Source: Darksiders II, Darksiders - The Abomination Vault (novel) by Ari Marmell

Gulbannan, one of the oldest among the Makers, is seduced by Lilith and teaches her how to create life. When he becomes doubtful and intends to tell the other Makers what he has taught the Demon, his apprentice Belisatra murders him to protect Lilith whom she is morbidly fascinated by.

• Source: Darksiders - The Abomination Vault (novel) by Ari Marmell

For reasons lost to time, the Angels and Demons started to war amongst each other early on, and that never-ending conflict threatens all of existence. A third race, Humanity, is to be created in an attempt to uphold a balance that might pose an end to the conflict. Unlike the Angels and Demons, the fledgling Humans are to be comparatively weak, but possess the unique ability to adapt and grow like no other race. Eden is created as the home world for the yet to be created Humans.

• Source: Darksiders, Darksiders II, Darksiders Genesis

Because the ongoing struggles threaten all of Creation, and because the Humans will be too weak to survive any attack by either Angels or Demons, The Charred Council is created and tasked with upholding the Balance. Little is known about its individual members, and they are represented by giant stone faces at an unknown location. At some point, that is impossible to pin-point, one of them, the Lord of Hollows, becomes weary of the other members' focus on politics and power instead of their original task and leaves the group.

• Source: Darksiders III

Using the essence of both Angels and Demons, the Demon Lilith creates Absalom, the first Nephilim, and subsequently an entire race. The Nephilim are a race more powerful than both of its parts but, made without the influence of The Creator, they find themselves without a purpose or a world of their own.

• Source: Darksiders II

The homeless Nephilim decide to ravage other worlds in search of a place to make their home. They start by massacring the Ravaiim, a race of creators much more ancient than even the Makers, who had not only created the first "society" in Creation but also made their crafts (housing, tools etc.) by incorporating parts of their own bodies and their will in them.

Darksiders II


Since the numbers of the Ravaiim are relatively low, the Nephilim easily overwhelm them and extinguish their entire race. Using the Ravaiim's special bodies for materials, a few of the oldest Nephilim create weapons of immense power and hatred, the Grand Abominations. The one who came up with this depraved idea and crafted many of the weapons himself was none other than Death, the oldest of the group that would later become the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

With the hatred of the Ravaiim towards the weapons' wielders, the Grand Abominations proved so powerful that even the Nephilim feared them. To keep them from any hands that might aim to stop the Nephilim's conquest, the weapons were equipped with several security measures. For one they need the blood of the Ravaiim to be fully awakened. Additionally, they were locked in a pocket dimension separate from Creation, the so-called Abomination Vault.

The other three Nephilim who would later become Horsemen - Strife, Fury and War - are only born after these events and remain oblivious to the existence of these weapons and Death's gruesome past.

• Source: Darksiders - The Abomination Vault (novel) by Ari Marmell

After an unspecified amount of worlds had fallen prey to the rampage of the Nephilim, four of them, the aforementioned Death, Strife, Fury and War become so terrified by their actions that they approach the Charred Council, offering their help in the extermination of their brethren. The Council grants them immense powers in exchange for their fealty.

• Source: Darksiders, Darksiders II, Darksiders III, Darksiders Genesis, Darksiders: The Graphic Novel written by Joe Madureira and Paul DeMeo, illustrated by Ludo Lullabi

Darksiders II


The four renegade Nephilim visit an unknown world to meet a mysterious, nameless person with human features simply referred to as The Horsemaster, who instructs them on how to tame one each of the mythical, colorless horses inhabiting that world. Death is the first to confront the herd and emerges atop one of the supernatural steeds. He names it Despair and upon receiving its name, it also changes its appearance to an almost skeletal build with greenish corporeal flames in place of its mane and tail. The other Horsemen follow his example, acquiring Mayhem, Rampage and Ruin respectively.

• Source: Darksiders II - Death's Door (comic) written by Andrew Kreisberg, drawn by Roger Robinson

The Horsemaster, Darksiders II: Death's Door

Armed with immense power and their supernatural horses, the four renegade Nephilim, now the Council's Enforcers also known as the Four Horsemen, accompanied by scores of Angelic Warriors, including Abbadon, Makhala and Astarte, confront the Nephilim army at their latest stop, Eden. When that world was created, it was intended for Mankind but Absalom and his followers seek to make it their own through sheer force.

• Source: Darksiders Genesis, Darksiders II, Darksiders Genesis

Darksiders II: Death's Door

Death notices that the Demon Samael is watching the battle from the sidelines with obvious interest, but is unable to confront him about it or ascertain his intentions.

• Source: Darksiders II

During the battle, War, who is devastated by the slaughter of his own kind and believes himself lost as a result, engages in an uncontrolled slaughter, seeking to fight on until he is finally overcome by the enemy.

His three brethren confront him for his sake and a battle between them ensues. Because Chaoseater, War's massive sword, feeds the energies of the unprecedented Chaos around them to its wielder (and because War is about to impale Fury), Death sees no other way of subduing his brother and allows himself to be impaled by the blade. This allows Fury to restrain War with her whip, the Barbs of Scorn, while Strife lays down supressive fire.

War loses his left arm in the confrontation but is finally calmed down.

• Source: Darksiders: The Graphic Novel written by Joe Madureira and Paul DeMeo, illustrated by Ludo Lullabi

Darksiders: The Graphic Novel


The Horsemen and the Angels emerge victorious with Absalom falling at Death's own hands. This act crowns him Kinslayer and, unbeknownst to him, Absalom's death at his own brother's hands spawns Corruption, a powerful force of utter destruction that seeps out of Absalom's soul at the Well of Souls and slowly creeps into all the realms from there.

Death puts the immortal souls of his dead brethren, safe that of Absalom, in an amulet of his own making, and is instructed by the Charred Council to cast that amulet into The Abyss. Finding himself unable to thus make their end final, he secretly hands it to The Crowfather, one of the Old Ones who secludes himself on his own world and seeks to gain the knowledge of the souls contained within. He gives one of his Crows to Death who gives it the name Dust, much to the Crowfather's disliking.

• Source: Darksiders II, Darksiders - The Abomination Vault (novel) by Ari Marmell

After the Battle of Eden, that world is sealed and the Charred Council is supposed to keep it safe but does little to fulfill that duty. Thus an Angelic contingent led by Abbadon and his second in command, Astarte, takes it upon themselves to guard the Garden against any intrusions.

The Council decides to punish Lilith for the monstrocities she has created by taking away her memory of the techniques required for creating life like the Nephilim's and thus her ability to do so ever again.

• Source: Darksiders Genesis, Darksiders - The Abomination Vault (novel) by Ari Marmell

Lucifer, the "Dark Prince" manages somehow to keep a gateway to Eden open and hidden from the Council, the Angels and the Horsemen.

He releases one of the Abominations spawned by Absalom's death (not to be mistaken with the Grand Abominations), which manages to corrupt Astarte. Her condition worsens when many of her Angels fall to the threat.

When she is finally approached by Lucifer himself, she strikes a deal with him:
In exchange for freedom from her duty to protect the fallen and now rotting realm and for the power to raise the slaughtered Nephilim under her command, she agrees to hand him Eden and, once she dies, her soul.

Lucifer begins gathering Nephilim weapons and artifacts from the battlefield and offers them to other Demon Lords in exchange for their support while they live and their souls upon their death. One of them is Samael, who is rumored to be almost as powerful as Lucifer himself and who turns the Dark Prince down, refusing his offer.

At the same time Lucifer sets the gateway up in such a way that Eden's sacred and potent waters flow into Belial's domain where he turns them into extremely potent poison, as part of a similar deal he struck with that Demon Lord.


The Council, having learned of Lucifer's attempts to win over other Demon Lords, sends out two of the Horsemen, War and Strife to pay Samael a visit and find out if and how he is involved with the Dark Prince and to put a stop to it.

Upon arriving at Samael's domain, the two discover that his fortress is under siege by a lesser Demon Lord, Moloch.

They fight their way through Moloch's forces to confront Samael where they learn that the Demon has refused to cooperate with Lucifer and deduce that Moloch must have accepted, which is why he is attacking.

Samael becomes a temporary ally and sends the two into the Void, the realm of the Serpent Holes, where Vulgrim, a Demon who is known to be an underworld dealer able to supply almost anything one might need, is to support them.

To be continued . . .

Abbadon, in violation of the Pact, creates a bomb that is infused with sacred energy, capable of hurting only Demons while leaving Angels unscathed. The Council decides to send War to the White City to openly destroy the weapon and the research and cut down anyone who tries to stop him.

The Rider of the Red Horse accomplishes this goal with relative ease, killing dozens of Angels with Chaoseater and the Angels' own Redemption Cannons.

• Source: Darksiders - The Abomination Vault (novel) by Ari Marmell

The Angel Hadrimon who is immune to Lilith's supernatural charms approaches the Demon, in disguise, with an offer: If she helps him achieve his goal, he will in turn help her reclaim what the Council has taken from her. She refuses alluding to much more intricate plans of her own and muses that he must be immune to her charms because he is deeply in love with another woman already.

On his way out, Hadrimon is approached by the Maker Belisatra, former apprentice of Gulbannan and follower of Lilith who wishes to restore her mistress' power and thus agrees to aid the Angel in his efforts.

The Angelic forces stationed outside Eden are attacked by a squad of Belisatra's Constructs. They manage to deflect the attack but one of the Constructs manages to take Abbadon's eye using a Nephilim sword called Affliction.

To be continued . . .

When Abbadon learns about an Angel running amok on Earth in the 18th century, he finds himself unable to intervene without causing a huge commotion. He secretly hires Death, pretending to send him after a Demon.

Because the mission is unsanctioned by the Council and kept a secret from even them, Death fears that his supernatural scythe Harvester will not be activated and therefore be powerless. Thus, he pays Vulgrim his first visit, knowing him to be a capable black market handler. He asks for a powerful pair of scythes that will not be bound by the Council and agrees to deliver a Leviathan's tongue to the Demon.

Traversing to the River Styx, he confronts the mythical beast and returns to Vulgrim's hideout with(in) the entire head. He emerges from the dead Leviathan's mouth, receiving his price.

Darksiders II: Death's Door

To make his journey harder to trace, he then visits The Horsemaster to use his access to the Serpent Holes to arrive at his destination...


When Death arrives on Earth he is witness to massive fields of corpses and the burning city of Marseilles. When he tries to summon the spirits of the dead, he is attacked by Abbadon's "Demon" - discovering it is really a female Angelic Warrior.

Confronting her, he discovers that she is in fact the Angel Makhala, one of those who stood with the Horsemen at the Battle of Eden (and original wielder of the Crossblade).

He further discovers that she has been corrupted and has deluded herself into believing that everyone else is corrupted with her being the only one unaffected, so she massacred countless Angels around her.

Darksiders II: Death's Door

Afterwards she felt the urge to come to Earth where she has been spreading the Corruption among the people of Marseilles.

Death slays her with one of his scythes and confronts Abbadon who insists that he believed it was a Demon that attacked his Angels and Earth.

Unbeknownst to him, the Corruption managed to survive...

• Source: Darksiders II - Death's Door (comic) written by Andrew Kreisberg, drawn by Roger Robinson

Some time after the events in Marseille, the Corruption reaches the Forge Lands. Before all entries are sealed off, a group of Makers, including the blacksmith Ulthane, the Black Hammer leave for Earth.

• Source: Darksiders II

Growing more and more certain that the Demons are raising an army to whipe out the White City and afraid that Heaven will be defenseless once that happens, Abbadon proposes a bold plan to an Angelic court, suggesting that he and his Hellguard should be granted permission to launch a massive scale preemptive strike, but is rejected because of the Pact.

Darksiders: The Graphic Novel

Unwilling to stand idly by in the face of this perceived danger, Abbadon comes up with a new plan. Leaving his most trusted, Uriel, in the dark about the details, he meets up with the Angel Azrael and the Maker Ulthane in the White City.

• Source: Darksiders: The Graphic Novel written by Joe Madureira and Paul DeMeo, illustrated by Ludo Lullabi

Sensing the stirring unrest, the Charred Council sends the Horsemen - all of them to make a clear statement - to Hell with a message:

They remind Samael, whom Lilith is trying (with little success) to seduce at the time, of the truce between Heaven and Hell and who enforces it. When Samael reminds them that he is not the one, they should bring this up to, referring to Lucifer, the riders hint at Samael's ambitions to take over The Black Throne in the near future.

• Source: Darksiders: The Graphic Novel written by Joe Madureira and Paul DeMeo, illustrated by Ludo Lullabi

The plan goes as follows:

Ulthane forges the Armaggedon Blade, a sword capable of breaking the Seals of the Apocalypse.
Azrael who possesses a vast amount of knowledge, figures out where the Seals are hidden and secretly fetches them.

Using the newly forged sword, they shatter the first six Seals in order to deceive the Demons into thinking the End War has begun.

Afterwards Ulthane shatters the Armaggedon Blade and reforges the Seals followed by Azrael returning the Seals to their hiding spot and hiding the pieces of the sword making it seem like it never even happened.

When the Demons march on Earth, the Angels can then destroy them without violating the Pact since the Demons are the apparent aggressors.

What they do not know is that not only is the Council aware of their plans, but so are Lucifer and Lilith, somehow.

• Source: Darksiders

When War gets summoned to Earth by the Council, the forces of Heaven and Hell are already locked in conflict.

The Horseman fights his way through the streets of a densely populated city, killing all who oppose him, be they Angel or Demon, but he soon realizes that something is amiss: His brethren aren't present and his powers are slowly getting drained (also by the Council but War does not know that).

He finally discovers Abbadon and his Hellguard and tries to interrogate the Archangel, who is visibly shocked to see the Horseman and remarks that the Seventh Seal hasn't been broken.

Distracted by this, he is caught unawares by the Demon Lord Straga and killed by him.

Uriel blames War for the Angel's demise and takes off.

War fights Straga and appears to be winning when the call sounds once more and the last of the Horseman's power is drained. He is crushed by the Demon Lord and, much later, finds himself chained before the Charred Council.


Unbeknownst to him, the Angels lose the war against the Demons.

Abbadon, having lost his life to Straga finds himself confronted by Lilith who offers him to become a ruler of Hell's forces.

Having failed to convince Heaven of the looming dangers at every possible turn and having become a traitor by causing the premature End War, he agrees to the proposal and becomes The Destroyer, leading Lucifer's forces on Earth.

Samael, who has allegedly been plotting to overthrow Lucifer for a long time, is not pleased to learn that the Archangel gets to lead the Hellish armies and, according to his own later words, gets imprisoned by Lucifer and his Chosen at the Crossroads, a prison on Earth, for voicing his objections.

Death, who has learned of the crime his brother War is accused of, wishes to either prove his innocence or, if that fails, absolve him of his crime by undoing the result - by restoring humanity to the Balance. Since he doesn't know how to achieve either, however, he decides that it's time to, once again, pay the Crowfather a visit.

To be continued . . .

In the chaos following the premature End War and potentially as a result of the Seals being destroyed, the Seven Deadly Sins, entities previously imprisoned by the Four Horsemen, manage to escape their prison and make themselves at home on Earth.

Around the same time, Strife also goes to Earth with plans and motivations that only he seems to know.

Ulthane, who regrets his part in the conspiracy that doomed the Third Kingdom, gathers the other Makers that escaped the Forgelands' corruption and plants a Maker Tree on Earth to serve as a Haven for what remains of humanity.

At some point, Strife seeks out the Makers, disguises himself as the human Jones and supports the efforts to keep the survivors safe. It is unknown whether any of the Makers know the true identity of Jones.


Fury, who has apparently spent decades or even centuries on a desolate world, waiting for something to happen, receives The Call and gets summoned before the Charred Council, roughly ten years after the first six Seals were broken and Earth got invaded. Excited to finally get some action, she approaches the fiery figures.

She has a brief encounter with War, who is in chains before the Council at this point, and ignores his warnings that someone or something conspires against the Horsemen.

Fury is informed about the situation regarding the End War¹ and the escape of the Seven Deadly Sins and is tasked with bringing them back in. As recompense for fulfilling this task, she demands to be declared leader of the Horsemen.

She is assigned a Watcher with female features, who is secretly the Sin Envy in disguise. It is unclear whether the Council ordered a Watcher to be present or whether Envy just decided to show up, because the procedure differs from when War later receives his Watcher (Envy asks for Fury's consent and doesn't seem to be magically bound to her in the same way via dipping-hand-in-lava).

Fury hesitantly accepts the company and takes off to Earth.

Some time after her departure, the Council relocates War to an unknown location where he is kept captive for almost a century (and possibly erases the encounter with Fury from his memory somehow, since the timeline doesn't add up otherwise).


On her way to Haven, her Watcher primes her for the next encounter by alluding that the first Sin they encounter might be Envy.

When they encounter a creature with Avian features ("Faux Envy" from here on out), who is apparently afraid of the Seven Sins, or at least of Envy, Fury fails to recognize any of the signs² and confuses her for the Sin.

To be continued . . .

For the sake of consistency, I will assume that Strife's adventure will be (mainly) set in the same gap where Death's and Fury's games are set. Obviously, for parts of that, we already know where he is and what he's doing, but that's just a few days of the hundred-year period, and we're left with quite a few open questions. Questions like "how and why do his guns end up with Ulthane and Alya, after he still has them at the end of Darksiders III?" or "why is he on Earth, disguised as a human when Fury is on her mission?".

There are several indicators that point to Darksiders II's main story being set after the events of Darksiders III³, and I would firmly place Darksiders IV, if it is Strife's game, both before the latter and between the two.

Here are some key points about what I suspect in regards to the Rider of the White Horse:

• A troubled past
  It's alluded to, multiple times, that Strife has some big regrets linked to his past, both in eliminating his brethren at the battle of Eden and even before that. He hints at some darker periods of his life that even the other Horsemen do not know about (yet). It stands to reason that a Strife solo game would find ways to explore those secrets, be it through dialogue or playable flashbacks.
  
• Gaining precognition
  It's never explicitly stated anywhere, as far as I'm aware, but there are things pointing to Strife knowing about future events. For one, it doesn't seem to be a coincidence that both Mercy and Redemption mysteriously end up not only in two different realms but also in the hands of Makers who won't or can't say why and how they got them, and ultimately make their way into Death's and War's hands, respectively. Not only are they weapons for those two to be used in combat, but they are vital to their missions, and without them each would have failed. There also seems to be little rhyme or reason behind his 'Jones' disguise or why he hangs around Haven, without really doing anything, until you realize that Fury both wouldn't have come to respect humanity and may have given up entirely after Envy's betrayal, had he not been there. Him representing the Third Kingdom and showing her that not even the weakest of creatures give up (and what it means to live) are what enable her to become who she needs to be. If these things are actually more than mere coincidence, I expect to see how he gained his knowledge. Whether he travelled back in time after the Horsemen lost, visited the Tree of Knowledge or gained his insights by other means, we may find out in this game.
  
• A friend to the Makers
  As mentioned above, Strife's weapons conspicuously end up in the hand of Makers, and Ulthane's group of Forgelands refugees is who he spends the bulk of his time with in Darksiders III. While he may have deceived them just as he did his sister, and while the silence of the Makers on where they got his guns may just mean that they found them without him talking to them, it feels to me like he puts a lot of faith in their race, and chose them rather intentionally. In fact, both Alya and Ulthane not saying that they found them, makes me think that Strife personally handed his guns to the Makers and told them to give them to his brethren to aid them on their respective paths. This game could explore how he came to be so closely related to the Makers and why he trusts them implicitly.
  
• Sometimes, the hero dies in the end
  With us exploring both Strife's dark past and potentially an even darker future, as well as witnessing him guide Fury and then placing his guns in the paths of Death and War to prevent that dark future, we might just see him die at the end, only to then be reminded that the number of the Horsemen shall ever be four. It would be too fitting to have him sacrifice himself for the mission and be brought back by the breaking of the Seventh Seal for it to not happen.
  
• Loose threads and other horse-related things
  It always bothered me how a big part of Fury's motivation was directly influenced by the conspiracy behind Rampage's demise and then that plot point is simply forgotten about entirely. However, herein also lies a potential strength. Given that Fury is extremely motivated to avenge her companion, the death of Rampage could be one more thing that Strife set in motion due to his precognition. It would be sad to see him kill the creature, but if it's written well, it may just work, and it stands to reason that the number of the horses, much like the number of their riders, shall ever be four and Rampage will be brought back when the Seventh Seal is broken. Obviously, speaking of horses, a Strife game will also need Mayhem!
  
• From the Ashes - A Remnant of Strife
  If this hypothetical game is developed by Gunfire Games, which isn't unlikely, it would probably make sense, if they drew at least some inspiration from their other games. Remnant: From the Ashes already looks and feels similar to Darksiders' post-apocalyptic Earth, and the focus on firearms seems very fitting for the gun-wielding Horseman. Naturally, Strife should be more agile, have access to Mayhem, as mentioned above, and possibly solve many clever puzzles in many sprawling dungeons, but there are ways to make it work and I would like to feel some of Remnant's DNA in Strife regardless, I believe.

Coming soon . . .

Coming soon . . .

¹Manostion's thoughts on Fury learning about War's crime

At this point, the game creates a plot-hole, because the Charred Council explicitly tells Fury that War has caused the End War by breaking the Seventh Seal, when he was originally accused of riding alongside the armies of Hell while the Seals were still intact. They are known to be dishonest and manipulative but War was present and did not protest when they told this version, so I believe it's a mistake on the writers' part.

This is especially true, since changing their lie now wouldn't even make a difference, if War hadn't been present. Telling Fury that War had caused a premature End War alongside Demonkind, while the Seals were still intact, instead of this alternative version, would have changed very little for Fury, except for not giving her a reason to question why she and the other Horsemen were not summoned when the Seals were broken, whereas saying the Seventh Seal has been broken in front of War would greatly affect his whole motivation of returning to Earth to face the Destroyer to clear his name. Remember that this - making War want to attack out of a sense of honor - was their whole reason to orchestrate those events.

What's even more baffling is that the Seventh Seal is the one Seal that actually hasn't been broken at this point, as Abbadon, Ulthane and Azrael didn't dare to actually start the End War and thus involve the Horsemen. This seems more like a mix-up with the timeline, as War will eventually cause the Seventh Seal (and only that one, which may be why they didn't say that he broke "the Seven Seals") to be broken - however by Uriel.

Lastly, War's mere presence in front of the Council at this point creates a bit of an issue regarding the timeline, since he now canonically is killed by Straga, passes through the realm of the dead, ends up, ten years after the premature End War, in chains before the Council, where he meets and talks to Fury, then gets relocated (since he isn't around when Envy and Fury return), is absent for nearly a hundred years, then reappears, unchained, in front of the Council and doesn't remember meeting Fury, nor does he know that more than a moment has passed. Simply not including him in the third entry and either not mentioning him or getting the facts about his alleged crime - riding against humanity and the Angels although no call was given - would have solved all of these issues.

²Manostion's thoughts on Envy and faux Envy

For those who are still a bit confused about the whole situation with the fake and the real Envy, here's my take:

When Fury and the "Watcher" approach Faux Envy, she teleports close to them. Because the real Envy is close, the Talisman of Sin starts to glow, making Faux Envy realize that the Watcher is really Envy.

At this moment Fury, who thinks she found the Sin her "Watcher" had eluded to, says "Envy!" which the Avian creature falsely interprets as the Horsewoman addressing her Watcher by her real name. Faux Envy, who is more greedy than envious by the way, acts in a way that seemingly confirms Fury's initial suspicion, because she fears that Envy will be envious of her possessions and take them from her.

After the fight is over, Fury uses the Talisman to imprison the Faux Envy. The energy that accompanies this is white, subtly hinting that something is amiss (for every real Sin hereafter the energy is a saturated green). After the creature is caught, the Talisman doesn't stop glowing because the real Sin is always close. Instead it only glows stronger when a second Sin is nearby, which Fury fails to recognize as a giveaway. The fact that the Sin Lust offers to tell Fury about Envy's current whereabouts could have also clued her in, if she hadn't promptly executed Lust because she assumed to not need that information anymore.

³Manostion's thoughts on Darksiders II's placement on the timeline

I've read differing, contradictory accounts of where Darksiders II and III fall on the timeline, and since the latter introduces some inconsistencies and plot-holes¹ ², it's possible that the events just cannot add up logically, but I think that, because Strife has his guns at the end of III and yet one of them is in the Forgelands in II, Death's adventure (or at least the part of it after he kills the Crowfather) must be set after Fury's.

Some argue that the Council telling Fury that Death is missing at the beginning of Darksiders III somehow proves that Darksiders II has already happened at that point, but it clearly doesn't, for multiple reasons:

First of all, every one of Death's adventures we follow demonstrates that he's very hard to track, even for the Council. Prior to the events of The Abomination Vault, he had been missing for five centuries, and, both in Death's Door and Darksiders II, he goes on unsanctioned missions without the Council's knowledge or involvement and without using gear they might be able to track or control. In the former, he makes a trade with Vulgrim to gain unsanctioned but powerful scythes to aid him in a quest from Abbadon, and in the latter, he gathers any gear he can procure along his path to fulfil his personal mission (which goes directly against the Council's goal of using War as a scapegoat). Another option is that he tried other avenues before turning his attention to the Crowfather and has already been on his quest to absolve War for a while when his game starts, and those endeavors are what the Council is referring to.

Secondly, it's also very possible that the Council simply lies to Fury, due to her being way easier to manipulate than Death would be, so they would've sent her either way. Telling her that Death isn't available when she inquires is easy and natural. Besides, they also tell her that Strife is attending other matters, but we know that he's basically twiddling his thumbs in his Jones disguise, probably also on unsanctioned business and thus unaccounted for, so we already know they're likely lying to her.

Thirdly, and I think this makes the most sense, it is possible that Death visits the Crowfather shortly after War falls to Straga on Earth, and then is out for a longer time span after he kills him. When Fury is summoned before the Council, he could still be out of commission and beyond their influence, either in the Forgelands or between realms. Fury's adventure realistically spans a matter of days at most, so it doesn't seem far-fetched that Death awakens at some point after that. The state of Earth, by the time he gets there, would align with that.

Lastly, it is, of course, also possible that the writers of the third game simply made a(nother) mistake in regards to the timeline.