The Darkness II

The Darkness II leans on the fantasy of fighting with a gun in one hand and grotesque shadow powers in the other. By our assessment, the standout part is the dual rhythm of shooting and using the darkness creatures, which gives the combat a nastier, more playful edge than a standard cover shooter. The limit is that the whole game is built around that same idea, so once the novelty settles, the rest of the structure is mostly familiar corridor shooting. In practice it is fast, loud, and a bit comic-book grim, with powers that want aggressive movement instead of cautious peeking. Against other shooters of its era it has a stronger personality than most, but it is not trying to be a deep systems game. The Darkness II suits players who want a short, characterful action campaign with a weird combat hook, and it does not offer much beyond that basic loop. Its best moments come from how quickly it swaps between gunplay and the shadow arm reaching into the room.