The Darkness II

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

The Darkness II is a multiplayer first-person shooter game.

The game has significant issues on OS X, due to the port using Cider.^[1]^[2]

General information

The Darkness II 2K Forums

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Limited Edition also available

Humble Store
Steam

All versions require Steam DRM.

Version differences

Limited Edition content includes the Gourmet Hearts & Relic Hunter character abilities, Crazy Abdul Darkling Outfit, custom illustration by Marc Silvestri, and The Darkness Origins Volume 1 & Volume 2

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files^{[citation needed]}
Go to `<path-to-game>\Cache.Windows`. Delete or rename `F.VideoTextureSlow.toc`, `F.VideoTextureSlow.cache`.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\DarknessII\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/67370/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Configuration files are encrypted.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\DarknessII\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/67370/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

Video settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		Use Flawless Widescreen.
Ultra-widescreen		May only work in windowed mode. Fullscreen mode may result in a stretched 16:9 image. Use Flawless Widescreen. Some screen effects are pillarboxed 16:9.^[3]
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)	Features an in-game slider, but it is Windows only. Use Flawless Widescreen for higher settings.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	Enabled by default. No option in-game. Most likely an FXAA implementation.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	Exceeding 60 FPS causes an issue in one part of the game.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Input settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Choose between Default and Southpaw controls
Controller sensitivity		Mouse and Controller share the same sensitivity slider
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		The game will prioritize gamepad prompts over KB/M prompts when a gamepad is plugged in

Audio

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Auto detects and outputs up to 5.1 surround.^[4]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Polish				Fan translation, download.
Russian
Spanish

All other languages have the in-game option to select English audio.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play	4	Co-op Use Nucleus Co-op.
LAN play
Online play	4	Co-op

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues fixed

Yellow Screen Issue

For Nvidia users^{[citation needed]}
Open the Nvidia Control Panel. Go to Manage 3D settings. Select Application-controlled for Antialiasing - Mode under Global Settings. Ensure there is no custom profile for The Darkness II under the Program Settings tab overriding the global option you just set. Play.

For AMD users^{[citation needed]}
Open the Catalyst Control Panel. Set Anti-aliasing to be application-controlled. Play.

For OS X users^{[citation needed]}
Unfortunately, no solution has been found for fixing this issue in the OS X version of The Darkness II, and developer support seems to have ceased. The issue is likely to be caused by Intel integrated graphics cards, and may not occur if using Nvidia or AMD cards.

Crashes right after pressing the Play button

Run `DarknessII.exe` with disabled desktop composition.^{[citation needed]}

"Could not load image"

Run the game directly from `DarknessII.exe`^{[citation needed]}

Getting stuck in an invisible wall inside a vent

Possible solutions^{[citation needed]}
Capping to 60 FPS^[5] Verifying game cache Enable VSync Mash the jump button

Performance/FPS problems

Run the game in windowed mode^{[citation needed]}

Blurry screen

Switch from fullscreen to windowed mode and back

This is not a permanent fix and will need to be performed every time it occurs.

Pause the game and go into Options, Display.
Switch Display Mode from Full Screen to Windowed. Apply changes.
When the game asks if to keep or revert changes, revert them.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)			This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work* on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.*

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX
Cutscenes	Bink Video

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	Vista, 7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+	2.4 GHz Quad Core
System memory (RAM)	1.5 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8600 ATI Radeon HD 2600 256 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX or ATI equivalent 512 MB of VRAM

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.6.8
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	11 GB
Video card (GPU)	AMD Radeon HD2600 Nvidia GeForce 9600GT 256 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX 512 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/67370/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (67370) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ "darkness 2 for mac is just a wine-wrapped pc version" - 2K Forums - last accessed on May 2023
↑ "Yellow screen" - Steam Community Discussions - last accessed on 17 May 2023
↑ The Darkness II 21:9 Gameplay (2560x1080) (60fps) (Ultrawide) - YouTube - last accessed on May 2023
↑ PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up - last accessed on 17 May 2023
↑ Invisible wall bug-fix - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)

[Proton_path_note-3] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/67370/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (67370) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] "darkness 2 for mac is just a wine-wrapped pc version" - 2K Forums - last accessed on May 2023

[2] "Yellow screen" - Steam Community Discussions - last accessed on 17 May 2023

[4] The Darkness II 21:9 Gameplay (2560x1080) (60fps) (Ultrawide) - YouTube - last accessed on May 2023

[5] PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up - last accessed on 17 May 2023

[Invisible_wall_bugfix-6] Invisible wall bug-fix - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Developers

	Digital Extremes
macOS (OS X)	TransGaming Inc.
Publishers
	2K Games
Engines
	Evolution
Release dates
Windows	February 7, 2012
macOS (OS X) (Cider)	April 24, 2012
Reception
Metacritic	77
IGDB	77
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Shooter