How To Beat Darksiders Genesis' Annoying Beacon Puzzle

There's plenty to be said about Darksiders Genesis, the top-down action spin-off that hits consoles today. It's fun enough, but there are a few environmental puzzles that can be a right pain in the arse, and the fourth chapter has one that can get real annoying. So instead of butting your head against the wall, follow these steps instead.

Early on in the game, Genesis gives War access to the Vorpal Blade, a giant shuriken that most of the time is just used for solving environmental puzzles. Initially you'll just use it to throw at buttons out of reach, but a couple of chapters later - which is equivalent to about two hours gameplay - you'll be faced with areas that force you to line up the Blade, bouncing it from one wall to another to light beziers along the way.

The fourth chapter can be a right pain because you have to roam around the map to light four beacons before opening the entrance to the dungeon. One of the beacons is relatively easy, since everything fits on a single screen, but other beacons can trip you up easily if you're not paying close attention to where you're standing and where to aim.

The annoyance comes from how the the blade bounces off the environmental geometry. Sometimes it's relatively easy to judge, and other times it can veer off in seemingly unrelated directions. So to avoid all that, just follow these steps.

There's four beacons to light, and the closest you'll come across is just to the west of the starting location, the Central beacon. Once you've cleared the area, stand just here and aim as follows to get the first beacon lit:

The beacon to the southwest is slightly trickier, since you'll have to aim over a gap, bouncing the blade back towards you without being able to see any of the geometry on the other side. It's a pain in the arse, so get things started by aiming in this direction.

Once the closest bezier is lit, you'll want to bounce the blade off the wall and into the bezier so the following ricochet gets the job done. If you're finding that your blade is fizzing out before it reaches its target, make sure you power up the blade fully before letting it go.

The southeast beacon has a harder mini-boss, but the fight wasn't as annoying as getting the beacon lit. Save yourself the trouble and just copy this placement, and you're good to go.

The final beacon in the northeast has three steps, and you just have to light each one at a time. It's easier than it looks, although aiming can get a bit stuck depending on precisely where War is standing when you throw the blade.

You don't need to do any fancy tricks with this one: once you walk past the giant orange crystals, jump up to the ledge behind the beacon and aim in the direct path of the beacon further up the stairs. Move to the next beacon, repeat the same process, and you'll have all four beacons lit.

And with that, one of the game's more tedious early puzzles is done and dusted. Like a lot of the early chapters, it's more a time sink than a genuine challenge, but the experience - much like the Gauntlet remake from Arrowhead in 2014 - improves a lot if you're playing with a friend.

Darksiders Genesis is out today on PS4, Xbox One, PC and the Switch.