"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."

There are no prizes then for guessing which of the Four Horsemen features in Darksiders II, the 2012 sequel to 2010's acclaimed title where War took centre stage. A cynic, ahem, might speculate that further sequels are going to be less than glamorous – Famine and Pestilence aren't obvious heroes, anti- or otherwise – but Vigil Games have already considered this.

"We've never really stuck to the actual Horsemen, the official Biblical version," explains lead designer Hayden Dalton. "Names are being bandied about future more games – Fury and Strife, for example." He shrugs. "We want to sell games at the end of the day."

That, according to some reports was the problem first time out as, in spite of glowing reviews, Darksiders' sales figures didn't match expectations. THQ had always envisaged a franchise however and, if this preview session is anything to go by, they've not been resting on their proverbials.

"There was so much we wanted to do in the first game that we weren't able to," explains Hayden. "Questing, looting, customisation, the expansion of the game, more involved skill trees … And we've got the technology now to do that."

While a couple of hours hands-on with a single level of Darksiders II isn't necessarily indicative of the game as a whole, early signs are positive. Death is a more athletic protagonist than War both in terms of negotiating the environment and dealing with numerous foes. Fighting – with dual scythes, naturally – is smooth (and there's an enormous number of spells and tricks that can, and should, be added via the Skill Trees) but it's Death's other tricks that impress most: wall runs, pillar climbs and jumps and Death Grip (think supernatural grappling hook) allow Death the ability to roam. And with a play environment some four times the size of the original roam you will.

"You can play straight through," adds Hayden, "but it's not a bad thing to stray off the path and I think it's a game you can enjoy and explore for months."

While certainly a challenge in terms of maps and puzzles – "we're not spoonfeeding" – the design of the game appears to allow some wandering but, happily, also makes it relatively easy to get back to the main objective. "Getting lost is one of my pet peeves," says Hayden. "The artwork's on two different levels. One is communicating the story to the player, the exposition, the other is making the player understand the environment they're in, where they need to go next. We've tried to highlight things with shadows and lighting so you're compelled to go in a certain way or can get back on the path without neon arrows saying 'Go This Way'."

Like the original, end of level Boss Battles are also going to be time consuming and tough: perhaps even tougher than before. Of the assembled press that attempted the climactic fight at this preview – and which sees Death's mount, Despair (not Binky, sadly) enter the fray – none that I spoke to manage to finish it.

• Darksiders II is released on 29 June. On this evidence, it's likely to be a date worth waiting for