The Darkness II Review (b man448)
This review is based on 100% completion and 11.5 hours of gameplay, with many more on Xbox.
Recommendation:
Would I recommend the game? Absolutely. I have a nostalgic attachment from playing this years ago on Xbox, but I enjoyed it then, and I definitely enjoyed it now. It’s refreshing to play a simple FPS without over-the-top mechanics or inserted politics. You play as a mobster with some powers, and that’s exactly what you get. Note that this game has many adult themes, but it’s all part of the experience, which is just fun overall.
Starting with the sound design and audio, I thought it was all excellent—the voice acting was solid, the music was good, and the in-game sounds were crisp. However, the startup sound is inexplicably loud, blasting even when my speakers were set low. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to adjust it that I could find, so be prepared for a loud startup intro. Thankfully, you can skip it quickly by pressing any button.
The gameplay is really good and straightforward, which was refreshing. The gunplay is solid, and the abilities slot easily into the experience. I personally preferred dual-wielding and the run-and-gun style rather than the two-handed weapons, which felt a bit lacking, even on a lower difficulty. Overall, though, it’s a great shooter.
The narrative is also well done and easy to follow. While it’s fairly short, it does a good job presenting a dark, gritty story with adult themes, much like an old mafia or mobster film. The campaign is a very solid experience, and the only bug I ran into involved getting stuck while controlling the Darkling or crawling through tight spaces. Turning on V-sync fixed it for me, and while you may still get stuck occasionally, jumping around usually lets you pass through.
Aside from the campaign, the game also includes Vendetta and Hit List modes, which serve as its multiplayer/co-op experiences. You can play these solo (though a couple of Hit List missions are co-op-only), and they’re essentially side missions that add a bit more content. While they’re not spectacular, they’re okay for a bit of extra gameplay.
Since this is an older game, it goes on sale frequently, so if you can wait, I’d recommend grabbing it on discount. If you can’t wait, it’s still worth trying even at full price.
Achievements:
The 100% completion was fun for me, as I just like the game. I recommend doing two playthroughs: one on easy to complete everything at a relaxed pace, and one on the hardest difficulty for a quick sprint to tidy up anything missed and pick up the last difficulty achievements.
There’s an excellent Steam guide by Cynic 0055 and Kestrel 0010, which provides a thorough step-by-step guide for the achievements. Which you can check out here.
Overall, the achievements are pretty easy, and the guide makes them even simpler. They include kill achievements, collectables, story-related unlocks, and some from the multiplayer mode, which can be done solo. Completing the main campaign achievements should take around 9–10 hours. My first playthrough on easy, focusing on collectables and kill achievements, took 6 hours, while speeding through on the hardest difficulty only took just under 3. Fortunately, you can skip a lot of cutscenes and dialogue, so it’s definitely faster the second time around.
The Vendetta and Hit List achievements are also straightforward—just play through on Thug difficulty, and you’ll breeze through. Although these are co-op/multiplayer modes, they’re all able to be done solo.