The Darkness II

oh god the story is fucking god awful JENNYYYY MUH JENNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY but besides that the gameplay is fun! the dual arm stuff is really satisfying, the artstyle and game design overall is just fun to play.

7/10

A very different beast from the original. Even Jackie's voice actor changed, but the most notable shift is in aesthetic, with The Darkness 2 featuring a crazy cel-shade-ish aesthetic, technically making it closer to the comics but distracting from the raw reality of the proceedings, as violent as ever even as they indulge in more outlandish moments, the villain especially. The gunplay is way more frenetic, and the powers more intelligently integrated, but basically any attempt at atmosphere is stripped out beyond the asylum dream sequences, slightly too intrusive for my tastes. The game is also short, too much so to really give any meaningful resolution to the gameplay or the story. It's about as good to experience as the first, but way less interesting.

This game is way too short, which is a shame because its so damn good too. I usually dont like fps which give you powers besides the guns, but this one did it perfectly. The gameplay is so good, the weapons feel really well and there is just so many ways you can kill the enemies. This becomes even more apparent when you play the game in the higher difficulties, where it basically forces you to use your entire arsenal instead of just using your main weapon, and the game becomes a brilliant flow between grabbing people to get their hearts, remaining in the darkness, seeking cover and throwing it to your enermies. And of course shooting a lot of enemies. The weapons feel satisfying to use, and the gore in the game is just a bonus.

The story was surprisingly good as well, particularly the asylum segments (reminded me of movies like Shutter Island and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). It does have its difficulty spikes here and there, but i easily beat it on normal and replayed it on hard.

The cartoonish art style also works very well for the type of game its going for. Despite the chaotic battles, everything is perfectly clear on screen, which is helped by the minimal UI.

Overal i find this one to be one of the best single player first person shooters out there.