Vigil Games

Vigil Games was an American games studio founded in 2005 in Austin, Texas. The studio was part of THQ and, from its inception, focused on developing large-scale action-adventure games with an emphasis on a strong narrative, epic battles and an original art style. The studio was led by David Adams and the renowned comic book illustrator Joe Madureira, whose artwork gave Vigil Games’ titles their distinctive look.

The studio’s greatest success was the Darksiders series. The first instalment, released in 2010, introduced players to the character of War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The game offered a combination of fast-paced action, logic puzzles, exploration of a vast world and battles with giant bosses. Thanks to its original blend of elements familiar from games such as The Legend of Zelda, God of War and Devil May Cry, it quickly won over both players and critics.

This success was followed by the sequel Darksiders II in 2012, in which the Horseman Death took centre stage. The second instalment expanded the game world, added an RPG system, equipment collection, greater freedom of exploration and a more sophisticated combat system. To this day, it remains one of the highest-rated action-adventure games of its generation.

Vigil Games also worked on an ambitious MMO project, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online, which was, however, never completed. Following the financial collapse of THQ at the end of 2012, the studio was closed down and most of the developers moved to the newly formed studio Crytek USA, which later became Gunfire Games.

Although Vigil Games existed for only a few years, the studio left behind a significant legacy. The Darksiders series is still regarded as one of the best action-adventure games of its era, and thanks to the sequels released by THQ Nordic, the legacy of Vigil Games lives on.