The Darkness II

Plot

Jackie Estacado, voiced by Brian Bloom, now runs the Franchetti crime family and has managed to keep the Darkness, an ancient demonic force in his bloodline voiced by Mike Patton, under control. He is tormented by the memory of his murdered girlfriend, Jenny Romano, played by Stephanie Frame. During a restaurant ambush by a rival gang, Jackie is wounded and calls upon the Darkness to restore his strength. With the help of the Darkling, a goblin-like creature voiced by Peter Newman, he chases the attackers into the subway. A vision of Jenny appears, and Jackie is seemingly struck by a train. He then wakes up in a mental institution where his crew members are patients and staff, and the occultist Johnny Powell urges him to find him.

After waking again with his men, Jackie plans retaliation. A lead from Jimmy the Grape, voiced by Frank Ashmore, points to crime boss Swifty. Jackie subdues Swifty, who reveals that a group at the Brimstone Club brothel paid for the hit. The Darkness kills Swifty to silence him.

Vinnie, voiced by Rick Pasqualone, uses a contact at Brimstone to help. At the club, Jackie fights armed cultists from the Brotherhood, who ambush him with bright lights that weaken the Darkness and knock him out. He wakes up crucified, with a device called the Siphon draining his power. Victor, voiced by William Salyers, offers to take the Darkness in exchange for Jackie's family.

Jackie refuses and finds himself in Hell, where the Darkness holds Jenny's soul. He escapes, but Victor threatens his Aunt Sarah, voiced by Bridger Fox. The Darkness offers to trade Jenny's soul for the Siphon. Jackie and his men retake the penthouse, but Brotherhood enforcer Bragg shoots Jackie and murders Sarah.

Jackie wakes in a psychiatric ward where Jenny and his crew are staff, telling him his mob stories are delusions. At Sarah's funeral, the Brotherhood attacks again. Jackie subdues Bragg, who says Victor is in an abandoned theme park. Victor traps Jackie in an iron maiden, and he loses consciousness.

He wakes in the ward once more, but the janitor, who is actually the Darkling, explains the asylum is a trap designed to keep him away from Jenny.

Development

Publisher 2K Games approached Canadian developer Digital Extremes to develop The Darkness II, replacing Starbreeze Studios which worked on the first game. Digital Extremes worked on the title for three years. Paul Jenkins returned as writer. According to Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark, the company was not given the option to work on the sequel and was busy with Syndicate when the sequel was announced.

Director Sheldon Carter said Digital Extremes wanted to create a shooter with a strong story emphasis. Jenkins and the team worked closely, adjusting the script to suit gameplay. Carter called the narrative a love story that balanced action, with the first of three acts about survival. The team spent much time on Jackie's tone, comparing him to Tony Soprano—a badass with internal struggles—and hoped players would sympathize with him.

Designer Tom Galt said Jackie is a mob boss but at heart a good-natured human. The Darkling was given a personality and a large role in the story. The game does not cut to third-person, allowing limited player control even in cinematics; all cutscenes can be skipped. One of the biggest requests from players of the first game was for Mike Patton to return as the Darkness. Nolan North served as a stand-in voice for Jackie during pre-production before Brian Bloom was chosen.

Reception

The Darkness II earned generally favorable reviews from critics, as tracked by Metacritic. In its debut week in the UK, it ranked third in retail sales, trailing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Final Fantasy XIII-2. Players widely praised the story. Mikel Reparaz of GamesRadar called the narrative a mix of mob drama, surreal comedy, and supernatural revenge romance, though he criticized the cliffhanger ending.

He found the supporting cast endearing, well-written, and well-acted, and liked how gunplay combined with Demon Arms abilities, making Jackie feel like an unstoppable horror dynamo. He also enjoyed the brutal execution animations, but noted the gunplay grew repetitive by the end. Anthony Gallegos of IGN said the story was less immediately engaging than the first game and reused some plot elements, but found scenes with Jenny touching, which made the narrative more personal and improved pacing.

Rich McCormick of PC Gamer praised the story as involving and noted it explores unreliable narration in a way unique to games. Conrad Zimmerman of Destructoid considered the narrative average but felt the storytelling was handled remarkably well. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer described the title as more of a fast-paced shooter than a supernatural thriller, and thought the story and characters were weaker than the first game. Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot commended character development and pacing, calling the story unusual and creepy, and said it excels when it plays with expectations and makes you wonder.