Let's give a bit of an update, shall we?
I find Darksiders: Warmastered Edition to be painfully tedious. You know what would be neat? If the combo counter in the game meant anything. That would encourage me to play a lot more aggressive/careful instead of slapping on the life-leech enhancement onto the sword and going to town.
I got the Hookshot, which ended up contributing to the dungeon and boss battle that felt the best realized out of all those I've seen in the game so far. Most of the dungeons have a derelict, post-apocalyptic feel, but this one in particular is pretty different from the others in terms of aesthetic and design. There's a fair bit of backtracking in it, as well, although that doesn't necessarily mean dungeons are interconnected in any sort of non-linear fashion. I'll definitely get into this in a later, more wordy analysis, but for a combat-oriented, heavily linear Zelda-like, it's inoffensive, but it's just so bland and tedious that it's hard to get through.
So, in the meantime, I've returned to Code Name S.T.E.A.M.
I absolutely adore this game, although in reality, it's a far cry from a strategy game. Yes, you can experiment with your team setup and loadout in order to take on levels in different ways, but from a certain point in the narrative onward, it is pretty evident what members will be of most use to you. In truth, the game doesn't really let you play with options until you go out of your way to obtain all of the hidden gears in each level, as the last boiler that it unlocks adds incredible utility to any wearer that it really opens things up. Likewise, there is a steep currency grind in order to unlock all of the weapons, and it's unlikely that you'll be able to equip some of the support members with useful weaponry until you've put a fair dent into that amount.
Some people say that Code Name S.T.E.A.M. is too hard. Those people are dumb. The game is extremely generous with how it lets you deal with enemies, and the only area where I would say it gets relatively punishing is when it throws large amounts of overwatch-immune enemies at you. Which is like, in three maps. There's plenty of strategy to be found, but if you want to maximize your currency gain, you have to play the levels in a rather conservative manner, which the game doesn't appreciate. People seem to have an issue with how enemies continuously spawn in this game, but I don't understand why- they offer more currency, and often go down in a hit or two.
There's so many mechanics that are really fantastic, here: overwatch is nothing new, but it works well, the stun mechanics are great, the passive abilities are underrated (and a great way to buff your team for the skirmish), weapon types have great variety and utility, and movement is super fun. I wish more people had taken the time to check this game out, as it's hard to find anyone online, which is a whole other aspect of the title.
Oh yeah, and you pilot a train that transforms into a GIANT MECHANICAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN!