Players take control of Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Core gameplay is a hack and slash action-adventure game with role-playing elements. Maps are vast and each contain several overworld regions that are open world and can be explored freely on foot or by horse. Each map also has several dungeons. There are main and side quests, and main quests often culminate in boss fights; there are also side-bosses that are not required to advance the main story, but provide various rewards. Worlds can be traversed via "fast-travel", whereby the player can teleport to certain map points instantly. While inside a Dungeon, the player is also allowed to fast-travel back to a base area to purchase supplies from vendor characters, and then teleport back to their saved location in the dungeon to continue their quest without losing progress.
Death is aided by Despair, a horse that is available for use in open areas of the overworld for faster travel, and Dust, a raven that guides him to his objectives. Each is accessed with a key/button stroke. Death's primary weapons are two scythes, one wielded in each hand. Secondary weapons include typical melee weapons like hammers, axes, and maces as "slow" options; "fast" options are generally gauntlet-style weapons that provide the player with claws and other bladed arm extensions, at the expense of less range and power than the slow weapons.
Source: Wikipedia, "Darksiders 2," available under the CC-BY-SA License.