Darkling

Overview

A cockney-accented, foul-mouthed public urination enthusiast, the Darkling in The Darkness II differs over his predecessors during the original in some key ways. Most notably is the fact that he will interact with Jackie Estacado considerably more so, and will follow him throughout most of the combat segments providing minor support. He will also provide some added insight into what the darklings are; he confesses that he is but a slave to The Darkness, and will in fact semi-jokingly suggest that both he and Jackie flee and head to Vegas, after The Darkness was temporarily separated from Jackie.

The Darkling exhibits a strange amount of loyalty to Jackie, even going as far as to help him escape the illusionary 'Asylum' that The Darkness places Jackie in during key moments of the story. Though this will also result in his accidental death, as he quickly leads Jackie up to the roof to escape, only to open the doors and die by the sunlight outside. The realm which Jackie was mentally imprisoned was unfortunately permanently fatal for darklings. Just before he dies, the Darkling urges Jackie to go on and finally beat ''the motherfucker'', referring to The Darkness.

Gameplay

Unlike the darklings seen in the original Darkness, this one needn't be summoned by the player manually and will instead follow close on his own accord. While he can still be 'killed' as well--even at the player's hand--he will quickly be revived only seconds after. On his own, the Darkling will scurry around a single enemy giving Jackie the chance to grab him with his darkness powers. Though via a skill update, the player may eventually grab the Darkling and hurl at an enemy much like any other object, resulting in the Darkling beating his prey to death.

On two occasions during the story, the player will gain control of the Darkling after he is forced to separate from Jackie. Because of his small stature, the player is encouraged to play stealthily during these segments - moving through air vents and executing enemies from behind. Should the player wander into a light source, they will quickly die. Though much like when he's an AI companion, the Darkling will respawn soon after should he perish, with all of the player's kills persisting no matter how many times they may die.