![the darkness 2 steam badge the darkness 2 steam badge](https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/523650/5aea4c65f4c64ae41d2950e8834cbd4965f74698.jpg)
Not that such lack of knowledge would prevent Jackie from running around and killing a bunch of people anyway. In fact, you pretty much figure all that out before Jackie even does. (They want to suck the Darkness straight out of Jackie's body and use it to take over the world, of course.). You don't have to get too far into the story before you discover what it is that's propelling the occultist sect at the heart of the story. If The Darkness II has one story flaw, it's that it reveals many of its motivations pretty early on. The only way this guy could look any more evil is if he was actually eating a baby in front of you.īut who are these guys? Why are they trying to kill Jackie? And who is this mysterious cripple who keeps popping up to say cryptically threatening things? It doesn't take long to find out. It's not long before things go sideways, and suddenly Jackie is forced to call on his Darkness powers to save him from death. The Darkness II certainly kicks off with a bang, with a gangland assassination attempt by anonymous creeps inside a fancy Italian restaurant.
![the darkness 2 steam badge the darkness 2 steam badge](https://assets.vg247.com/current/2020/09/destiny_2_beyond_light_gear_2.jpg)
Of course, that Darkness also has the ability to consume his very soul, hence why Jackie, having removed the antagonists of the previous game and slid into the role of a major New York City crime boss, has done his best to keep those powers under wraps.that is, until one fateful night. In those two years, Jackie has managed to contain the dark essence within him, the demonic force that appears as sentient tentacles Jackie can command to brutally murder anyone in his path. It's a brief overview, but it's more than satisfactory, especially for those just looking for a refresher course on what previously took place. For those who haven't played the first game (you really ought to), the story does start out with an optional preamble that explains the basic elements of the original plot.
#THE DARKNESS 2 STEAM BADGE SERIES#
The Darkness II finds series antihero Jackie Estacado two years removed from the adventures of the first game. It's not mechanically perfect by any stretch, and the campaign does lose some steam toward the very end, but the overall balance of The Darkness leans far heavier toward the pleasurable than the unlikable. Most importantly, the plot retains the sometimes hopeless, always vengeful flavor of the original game, keeping its hooks in you all the way through to the story's intriguing conclusion. The Darkness II is a game that effectively channels the brooding atmosphere and brutal, fast-paced combat of the original while managing to insert a few quirks of its own that actually benefit the overall experience.
![the darkness 2 steam badge the darkness 2 steam badge](https://images.gnwcdn.com/2021/articles/2021-10-01-15-52/inscryption_screenshot_prospector.jpg)
Fortunately, somehow, some way, Digital Extremes pulled it off. The tone and feel of The Darkness was something oddly specific that you'd be right to fear wouldn't come through after being filtered through an entirely different studio and its own proprietary game engine. You wouldn't be incorrect to feel some trepidation at the possibility of a sequel coming so far removed from the first game's release, especially a sequel developed not by Starbreeze, but by Canadian mercenaries Digital Extremes. Jackie Estacado is back, and ready to tear ass (literally) through a new set of villains. It's one of those games that never quite became a runaway success, but has seemingly managed to entice new players in small doses over the last several years, and continued to make new fans long after its release. After all, it's been nearly five years since that game introduced us to the delightfully gory adventures of mobster-turned-demonic killer Jackie Estacado, and yet it has continued to maintain a vehement, enthusiastic fanbase. At this point in time, it's probably safe to assign the "cult classic" badge to Starbreeze's The Darkness.