Throne of Darkness

Throne of Darkness

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	2001
Products	Throne of Darkness
Parent	Sierra On-Line (division of Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing)

|genre = Action RPG, hack and slash |modes = Single-player, multiplayer }}

Throne of Darkness is an action role-playing title with a Japanese motif, released in 2001 by Sierra On-Line, a division of Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing. Players control a team of up to four samurai chosen from seven available characters. The game features three multiplayer options accommodating as many as 35 participants.

Plot

The narrative takes place in medieval Yamato, Japan, governed by shogun Tsunayoshi alongside four clan daimyō. The story centers on Tsunayoshi’s metamorphosis into the demon Zanshin, the Dark Warlord, who commands an army to subjugate Yamato. After assuming the clans have been destroyed, Zanshin withdraws his forces prematurely, sparing one daimyō and seven samurai. This surviving daimyō tasks his warriors with defeating Zanshin and his legions.

The clans and their daimyō are inspired by historical Japanese leaders:

• The Mōri clan, headed by daimyō Mōri Motonari.
• The Oda clan, led by daimyō Oda Nobunaga.
• The Tokugawa clan, under the command of daimyō Tokugawa Ieyasu.
• The Toyotomi clan, directed by daimyō Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Gameplay

The gameplay style is reminiscent of Diablo II, influenced by developers who contributed to the original Diablo.

Reception

According to the review compilation website Metacritic, the game garnered "average" ratings. Blake Fischer from NextGen characterized it as "Fun but frustrating," pointing out that a challenging learning curve combined with extensive micromanagement hindered its potential to rival Diablo II.

At the Blister Awards 2001, Throne of Darkness was nominated for The Electric Playground’s "Best RPG for PC" but was ultimately bested by Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.