The Darkness II opens with Jackie Estacado running a New York crime family and holding something worse in check. Two years after he used the Darkness to kill the men who murdered his girlfriend, Jenny, he has bottled the power up. Then the Brotherhood attacks, and the seal breaks.
Trailer, via 2K.
A Restaurant Ambush and a Train
Digital Extremes took over development from Starbreeze Studios for this 2012 sequel, with Paul Jenkins returning to write the script. The result is a first-person shooter built on a split: a personal story about grief and a combat system that wants you to enjoy it.
Jackie carries submachine guns, shotguns, and assault rifles, dual-wielding some of them. He also has the Demon Arms, tentacles that slash enemies, rip out hearts for health, or grab parking meters and car doors to throw as projectiles. A Darkling, a goblin-like familiar, fights alongside him and gathers ammo. At points you control the Darkling directly, squeezing into gaps Jackie cannot fit through.
Light is the counterweight. Under it, health regeneration and Darkness abilities shut off, vision blurs, and a ringing sound sets in. Shoot the source and it malfunctions.
Brian Bloom Replaces Kirk Acevedo as Jackie
Brian Bloom voices Jackie here, replacing Kirk Acevedo from the 2007 game. Mike Patton returns as the Darkness, Peter Newman voices the Darkling, and Stephanie Frame plays Jenny. The cast sells a plot that moves from a subway pursuit to a mental institution to the Brimstone Club, where cultists of the Brotherhood ambush Jackie with blinding lights and a device called the Siphon drains his power.
Killing enemies and devouring hearts earns Essence, spent at talent shrines. The skill tree splits four ways: Hitman, Execution, Darkness Powers, and Demon Arm. Hitman upgrades reload time and magazine size. Execution makes each kill pay out more health, ammo, or a shield. It is light role-playing scaffolding, and it works.
Two Ways to Play
| Mode | Focus | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Single player | Jackie’s grief, Jenny’s soul, the Brotherhood | Tragedy and horror |
| Four-player co-op | Four players, same tentacles | “Dark comedy” |
The cooperative mode is the sharpest thing here. Digital Extremes described it as a “dark comedy,” and that framing lets the game breathe outside Jackie’s grief.
The Verdict on The Darkness II
The hand-painted assets give The Darkness II a comic book look that has aged better than most 2012 shooters. The pacing holds. Critics praised the gameplay, story, pacing, and art style, and directed some criticism elsewhere in the game, though the source does not name that target.
What matters is the split between the two modes. The campaign is a tragedy about a man who cannot let go of a dead woman. The co-op is a joke told with the same tentacles. Both work, and the tension between them is the reason to play.
KEY FACTS
– Release: February 2012
– Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
– Developer: Digital Extremes
– Publisher: 2K
– Modes: Single player, four-player co-op
– Critic score: 9.0/10 (IGDB aggregate of 20 outlets)
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