History Videogame / TheDarkness

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: {{Lampshaded}} in a conversation between Butcher Joyce and another mobster, who both agree that "that fuckin' thing of his" was what made Jackie the Don.

* WeaponOfChoice: Each Vendettas character has his or her own specialized Darkness relic.

** Jimmy uses the [[AnAxToGrind Dark Axe]].

* MeanBrit: The Darkling that accompanies Jackie through almost the entire second game. It has a British accent, speaks with British idioms, and wears a tattered shirt with the Union Jack on it. Why it has a cat-skin for a hat is unknown... The "mean" part is subverted, since he is rather friendly and helpful to Jackie.
** He's quite mean to Jackie's enemies ("rip out their throats and piss on their corpses" kind of mean) but is actually one of Jackie's few friends.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: One of the Relics you find [[spoiler: in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon]], is "The Ashes of the Unnamed". In a case of ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, it's the ashes of a Brotherhood member who saved the world by releasing the Darkness from the Brotherhood's control, preventing them from destroying the world. The Angelus's response? KillItWithFire UpToEleven, so much so, that said Brotherhood member was RetGone. His ashes are all the remains of him on Heaven, or Earth.

** One of Jimmy Wilson's combat dialog after killing multiple enemies in Vendettas is "[[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Don't make me crabbit. You won't like me when I crabbit.]]"

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Inugami, in his lust for revenge and desire to fulfill Kusinagi's bloodthirst has made him even more AxCrazy than most of the brotherhood he kills.

* FiveManBand: In the sequel, Jackie gathers up one of these, who are playable in their own Cooperative campaign.
** [[TheHero The]] ([[AntiHero Anti-]]) [[TheHero Hero]]: Jackie
** TheLancer: Inugami, master swordsman and part of an entire bloodline of [[TheAtoner Atoners.]]
** TheSmartGuy: J.P. Dummond; physician, WitchDoctor, Darkness Scholar, and wielder of the [[MagicStaff Midnight Stick]]. For good measure, he's one of the more eloquent team-members.
** TheBigGuy: Jimmy, in spades. A ViolentGlaswegian with BloodKnight tendencies. If his backstory is to be believed, he simply found his [[AnAxeToGrind Darkness-empowered axe]] and has been making a living off it ever since.
** TheChick: Shoshanna, a Mossad agent who HatesBeingTouched. The only one of the group with a strictly-ranged Darkness weapon in the form of a handheld double-barreled shotgun. Fights GunsAkimbo as a result.
** Jackie and his lieutenants also function as this, for the most part:
*** [[TheHero The]] ([[AntiHero Anti-]]) [[TheHero Hero]]: Again, Jackie.
*** TheLancer: Vinnie, Jackie's [[TheConsigliere Consigliere]].
*** TheSmartGuy: Johnny Powell, who provides most of the information on the Darkness, the artifacts found in the game, and the Brotherhood. *** Jimmy the Grape is implied to have been this to Jackie before the games start for more mundane matters.
*** TheBigGuy: Tony.
*** TheChick: Aunt Sarah.
*** TheSixthRanger: Dolpho.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Jenny. She's barely a character, and pretty much is Jackie's primary angst source in the story. She's far better developed in the sequel, [[spoiler:where she spends the entire game dead]].

* EvilSoundsDeep: As in the original, the Darkness is extremely guttural. Brain Bloom is also quite deep as Jackie.

*** TheSmartGuy: Johnny Powell, who provides most of the information on the Darkness, the artifacts found in the game, and the Brotherhood.

* ZeroEffortBoss: [[spoiler:Uncle Paulie is the final boss of the first game. Considering he's [[CurbStompBattle an out-of-shape fat guy going up against a heavily-armed hitman whose girlfriend he killed possessed by a spirit of primordial Darkness that's just been supercharged by the recent eclipse]], he goes down with one hit.]]

** [[EvilUncle Uncle]] [[BigBad Paulie]] [[TheDon Franchetti]] is a BadBoss whose [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating men openly hate his guts]], and he keeps making [[StupidEvil increasingly bad decisions]] over paranoia about Jackie. All of Jackie's misery is a result of Paulie's actions, and the entire first game is spent with Jackie coming for Paulie's head. Paulie is such a DirtyCoward that he throws everything he can into stopping Jackie, none of which helps him; if anything, Paulie's ever-increasing desperation makes more of his men turn on him.

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Uncle Paulie is the final boss of the first game. Considering he's [[CurbStompBattle an out-of-shape fat guy going up against a heavily-armed hitman whose girlfriend he killed possessed by a spirit of primordial Darkness that's just been supercharged by the recent eclipse]], he goes down with one hit.]]

* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: Much more so than the original game. There are a few corners to poke around it for Relics, but it is mostly just shooting and mutilating your way forward.

A sequel was released in February 2012, developed by Digital Extremes and taking place two years after the first game. Jackie i now the head of the Franchetti Crime Family, and has managed to suppress the Darkness. However, when a mysterious group known as The Brotherhood attacks him looking for the Darkness, he must unleash it once again.

->''Once The Darkness gets ahold of you, you start to lose control. You start to wonder what the fuck you're doin'. Time slips away from you. And then, all of a sudden, it's like you're sittin' in a theater, watchin' a movie of your own life. And you're up there on the big screen. Big as life, you're a fuckin' movie star. And you're killin' all the bad guys, tearing them limb from limb. And you feel good. You look good. Fuck, you are good. And then you realize something. Everyone else in the theater: they're screamin', 'cuz they're watchin' a horror movie. And you're not the hero...''

->''You're the monster...''

A 2007 game based on [[ComicBook/TheDarkness the comic series]]. The Darkness features Jackie Estacado, nephew of don Paulie Franchetti, and hitman for the Franchetti Crime Family. However as soon as his 21st birthday comes, he inherits the evil known as the Darkness, which grants him abilities beyond his wildest blood-spattered dreams. Among these is the power to summon Darklings, little gremlin bastards that act somewhat as his multiple tiny alter-egos that are mostly interested in spouting off politically incorrect commentary and humor, but can disembowel an enemy at a moment's notice if Jackie commands it. Before Jackie first manifests the Darkness, Uncle Paulie betrays him and marks him for death, leading Jackie into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.

A sequel was released in February 2012, taking place two years after the first game. Jackie is [[spoiler: now the head of the Franchetti Crime Family]], and has managed to suppress the Darkness. However, when a mysterious group known as The Brotherhood attacks him looking for the Darkness, he must unleash it once again.

For tropes exclusive to the original, [[ComicBook/TheDarkness see here]].

* GoodOldWays: Jackie receives aid [[BadassGrandpa from the]] [[CoolOldGuy old]] [[CoolOldLady guard]] [[RetiredBadass of the]] [[RetiredMonster Mafia]].

** [[TortureTechnician Captain]] [[{{Jerkass}} Edward]] [[SmugSnake Shrote]] is an irredeemable DirtyCop of the first order who abuses his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good publicity]] so he can do evil things behind closed doors. In addition to being a sadistic and unrepentant scumbag, he shamelessly helps Paulie with his plans (blowing up the orphanage Jackie grew up in, kidnapping Jenny as bait to lure Jackie), as well as covering them up. He spends most of the game trying to slow down Jackie's efforts to get to Paulie and generally making things consistently worse than they already. However, what makes Eddie especially loathsome is how he callously taunts Jackie over [[spoiler:Jenny's death]] before engaging in some ColdBloodedTorture on Jackie.

** [[EvilUncle Uncle]][[BigBad Paulie]] [[TheDon Franchetti]] is a BadBoss whose [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating men openly hate his guts]], and he keeps making [[StupidEvil increasingly bad decisions]] over paranoia about Jackie. All of Jackie's misery is a result of Paulie's actions, and the entire first game is spent with Jackie coming for Paulie's head. Paulie is such a DirtyCoward that he throws everything he can into stopping Jackie, none of which helps him; if anything, Paulie's ever-increasing desperation makes more of his men turn on him.
** [[TortureTechnician Captain]] [[{{Jerkass}} Edward]] [[SmugSnake Shrote]] is an irredeemable DirtyCop of the first order who abuses his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good publicity]] so he can do evil things behind closed doors. In addition to being a sadistic and unrepentant scumbag, he shamelessly helps Paulie with his plans (Blowing up the orphanage Jackie grew up in, kidnapping Jenny as bait to lure Jackie) as well as covering them up. He spends most of the game trying to slow down Jackie's efforts to get to Paulie and generally making things consistently worse than they already. However, what makes Eddie especially loathsome is how he callously taunts Jackie over [[spoiler:Jenny's death]] before engaging in some ColdBloodedTorture on Jackie.

** [[TortureTechnician Captain]] [[{{Jerkass Edward]] [[SmugSnake Shrote]] is an irredeemable DirtyCop of the first order who abuses his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good publicity]] so he can do evil things behind closed doors. In addition to being a sadistic and unrepentant scumbag, he shamelessly helps Paulie with his plans (Blowing up the orphanage Jackie grew up in, kidnapping Jenny as bait to lure Jackie) as well as covering them up. He spends most of the game trying to slow down Jackie's efforts to get to Paulie and generally making things consistently worse than they already. However, what makes Eddie especially loathsome is how he callously taunts Jackie over [[spoiler:Jenny's death]] before engaging in some ColdBloodedTorture on Jackie.

** [[BigBad Paulie]] [[TheDon Franchetti]] is a BadBoss whose [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating men openly hate his guts]], and he keeps making [[StupidEvil increasingly bad decisions]] over paranoia about Jackie. All of Jackie's misery is a result of Paulie's actions, and the entire first game is spent with Jackie coming for Paulie's head. Paulie is such a DirtyCoward that he throws everything he can into stopping Jackie, none of which helps him; if anything, Paulie's ever-increasing desperation makes more of his men turn on him.
** Captain [[SmugSnake Shrote]] is an irredeemable DirtyCop of the first order, engaging in some ColdBloodedTorture on Jackie and generally being a sadistic and unrepentant jerkass. Not only does he make things consistently worse, he slows down Jackie's efforts to get to Paulie. However, what makes Eddie especially loathsome is how he callously taunts Jackie over [[spoiler:Jenny's death]].

** Captain [[SmugSnake Shrote]] is a DirtyCop of the first order, engaging in some ColdBloodedTorture on Jackie and generally being a sadistic and unrepentant jerkass. Not only does he make things consistently worse, he slows down Jackie's efforts to get to Paulie. However, what makes Eddie especially loathsome is how he callously taunts Jackie over [[spoiler:Jenny's death]].

** Paulie is a BadBoss whose men openly hate his guts, and he keeps making increasingly bad decisions over paranoia about Jackie. All of Jackie's misery is a result of Paulie's actions, and the entire first game is spent with Jackie coming for Paulie's head. Paulie is such a DirtyCoward that he throws everything he can into stopping Jackie, none of which helps him; if anything, Paulie's ever-increasing desperation makes more of his men turn on him.
** Captain Shrote is a DirtyCop of the first order, engaging in some ColdBloodedTorture on Jackie and generally being a repulsive and sadistic jerkass. Not only does he make things consistently worse, he slows down Jackie's efforts to get to Paulie. However, what makes Eddie especially loathesome is how he callously taunts Jackie over [[spoiler:Jenny's death]].

** Eddie Shrote also counts, since he thinks it's a wise a idea to taunt Jackie over the murder of [[spoiler:Jenny]], which is just TemptingFate, considering that Jackie has the Darkness on his side, and Shrote is well-aware of that.

** Eddie Shrote also counts, since he thinks it's a wise a idea to taunt Jackie, which is just TemptingFate, considering that Jackie has the Darkness on his side, and Shrote is well-aware of that.

** Captain Shrote is a DirtyCop of the first order, engaging in some ColdBloodedTorture on Jackie and generally being unpleasant. Not only does he make things consistently worse, he slows down Jackie's efforts to get to Paulie.

* BigBadWannabe: Despite being a powerful mob boss, Paulie is this in shades. He doesn't stand a chance against Jackie so he runs off, hides and gets his men to do all the dirty work for him, and most of the evil deeds Paulie commits end up working against him, since it causes his own men to turn against him and helping Jackie, leading to his downfall at the end.

--> [[spoiler:'''The Darkness''': "Jackie, I fixed your broken head ball."]]

%%* ConvenientEclipse

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Both games end very, ''very'' badly for Jackie.]]

%%* FirstPersonShooter
* FirstPersonSmartass: Jackie's monologues.

%%* GoodThingYouCanHeal

* HateSink: [[BadBoss Paulie]] [[TheDon Francetti]] and [[DirtyCop Edward]] [[SmugSnake Shrote]] are two of the most despicable characters you'll ever see in a video game.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: [[spoiler: Jenny. She's barely a character, and pretty much is Jackie's primary angst source in the story.]]
** [[spoiler: Ironically, she's far better developed in the sequel, where she spends the entire game dead.]]
* StupidEvil: Paulie's downfall at the end of the first game is a direct result of his own despicable behavior, such as mistreating his own men (who end up turning against him), killing them or abusing them for the slightest of reasons, and committing atrocities such as blowing up the orphanage and killing [[spoiler:Jenny]].
** Eddie Shrote also counts, since he thinks it's a wise a idea to taunt Jackie over the death of [[spoiler:Jenny]], which is just TemptingFate, considering that Jackie has the darkness on his side.

%%* TheyWereHoldingYouBack

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler:Jenny]]

* NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters: In the sequel, Jackie's family are foul-mouthed and amoral, but don't do anything too evil on-screen. Even Jackie's pretty amiable, so long as you aren't at the business end of his guns or demon arms
** But with that said, anyone can look good [[EvilVersusEvil compared to The Brotherhood]]

* OneBulletClips: Averted. Despite being an first-person shooter (where this is common), Jackie does not reload his pistols, but [[ThrowAwayGuns picks up new ones]] [[HyperspaceArsenal from his coat]]. As well, assault rifles accurately lose all unused bullets in the clip being discarded for a new one. Ammo is categorized by "Bullets in gun"/"Total clips/guns", and if you reload early, you have full bullets in gun, and lose 1 clip. Somehow, though, you realize the same rule [[FridgeLogic applies to shotguns]]...

* BlandNameProduct: The game has "The Green Olive Grove" restaurant.