The Darkness II

Intense overall intensity
Highest flag: Dark themes — graphic
HorrorModern/RealisticShooter

What's in it

Violence graphic & gore
High

Constant firearm and supernatural combat against human enemies with heavy blood spray and on-screen killing.

Dark themes graphic
High

The story depicts the murder of Jackie's girlfriend, the bombing of an orphanage, and a descent into a hellish afterlife.

Mutilation / body horror player performs it
High

Demonic tentacle 'executions' let the player tear, split and dismember enemies on screen as a rewarded combat mechanic.

Language strong
High

Frequent strong profanity including 'fuck' runs through the dialogue.

Nudity partial/artistic
Moderate
Substances depicted
Moderate

The plot centres on a mob drug-trafficking operation, and characters drink alcohol in social-club scenes.

Horror & psychological frightening
Moderate

A demonic entity, undead soldiers and a hell-like Otherworld create frightening, grotesque supernatural imagery.

Crime & lawlessness player commits crime
Moderate

The player is a Mafia figure who kills rival criminals and corrupt enforcers as the core of play.

Occult & ritual occult ritual depicted
Moderate

A demonic force and a cult-like secret society perform dark rituals to seize supernatural power, with demonic and hellish imagery throughout.

Torture depicted
Moderate

The antagonists capture and torment the restrained protagonist, depicted on screen.

Sexual content innuendo
Moderate

Crude sexual jokes and references appear in dialogue from the Darkling and criminal characters; nothing is shown.

Suicide & self-harm referenced
Low

The narrative references Jackie's grief and the suicide that closed the prior chapter of his story.

Who can reach your kid

What it is

The Darkness II is a first-person shooter in which you play Jackie Estacado, a mafia boss possessed by an ancient demonic force. Alongside conventional firearms, you wield two dark tentacles that grab, impale, and rip enemies apart, so combat is extremely gory: enemies are dismembered, torn in half, and decapitated, with heavy blood throughout. The story is a bleak crime-and-supernatural drama built around the murder of Jackie's fiancée, a hellish otherworld, and an occult society that experiments on and tortures its captives to claim the demonic power. Dialogue is heavily profane, and a crude imp companion adds vulgar sexual humour. A drug-trafficking plot, alcohol in social scenes, and a co-op side mode are also present. There are no microtransactions or gambling.

How it's framed

The game frames its brutality as power fantasy and tragedy at once: tearing enemies apart is rewarded with upgrade points, while the narration and cutscenes present Jackie's violence as a curse that consumes him after he loses the person he loves. The demonic force is treated as horror and corruption rather than something celebrated, and the crime world is shown as violent and self-destructive.

Details

Developer
Digital Extremes
Publisher
2K
Released
Feb 9, 2012
Metacritic 77critic score (third-party) · out of 100

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