The Darkness II

The Darkness II is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Extremes and published by 2K. The game is the sequel to The Darkness (2007) and based on the comic book series published by Top Cow Productions. The player controls Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman who possesses a mysterious power called "the Darkness" that grants him supernatural abilities and a pair of Demon Arms. The game features elements found in role-playing video games such as skill trees, experience, and a four-player cooperative mode. The player must rescue the soul of Jackie's dead girlfriend, which was trapped by the Darkness in Hell, and confront the Brotherhood, a group of armed cultists trying to take the Darkness away from Jackie. Digital Extremes replaced the first game's developer Starbreeze Studios, though Paul Jenkins returned to write the script for the sequel. While the main narrative was envisioned to be a personal journey for Jackie, developers described the cooperative multiplayer mode as a "dark comedy". Singer Mike Patton returned to voice the Darkness, and Brian Bloom provided the voice for Jackie Estacado, replacing Kirk Acevedo. The development artists hand-painted the majority of the game's assets to create a comic book-influenced visual style. The Darkness II was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in February 2012. The game received positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the gameplay, story, pacing, and art style. Criticisms were directed at the game's short length, technical issues, and lack of replay value. The game debuted as the third best-selling game in its first week of release in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the game can be purchased from the Xbox digital store and played on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles through the Xbox backwards compatibility program.