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Hope meets horror

The French moralist Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) once said: “Une goutte de lumière vaut mieux à donner ou à recevoir qu'un océan d'obscurités”, which translates as “It is better to give or receive a drop of light than an ocean of darkness”. Jackie Estacado, the protagonist of the 2007 first-person shooter The Darkness, would probably have done well to take this wise saying to heart.  

Because as the name suggests, he offers his body as a host to an evil demon, the eponymous darkness, and thus has superhuman powers and two hungry tentacles in the best Doc Ock style. Well, in Jackie's defense, he is murdered by his 'uncle' Paulie on the evening of his 21st birthday because he fears for his position as Don. Given the choice between death and vengeance, most people would probably choose option two.

That's probably all you need to know about the story of this niche title, which was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at the time. As a poor PC gamer, I was only able to play the sequel from 2012, so I can only report on that. In terms of gameplay, The Darkness II was an okay shooter with occasional puzzle passages in which we turned off light sources or explored ventilation shafts using tentacle controls. Despite its cliffhanger, the series came to a premature end with the second installment, which was perhaps also due to the fact that both games (as was usual for the time) were only released in cut form in Germany due to their high level of violence.

In this respect, I'm not wearing nostalgia goggles when writing this text, although the premise of The Darkness-series appeals to something in me that I've already described in detail in my Overlordreview: the opportunity to be really 'evil'. After all, that's what video games as a medium are for; to do things that are better left undone in real life. A quick note on this: I don't want to legitimize scumbag games / amok simulators like Hatred here, because they have about as much to do with fun as Call of Duty has to do with authentic war simulation. But games can shock - just like art ... if it's done well.

Enough of that, let's talk briefly about the soundtrack. 'Short' is a bit of a euphemism in this context. In the absence of an original soundtrack, I picked out a five-hour gamerip that comes with 58 tracks. Why am I doing this to myself? Because Gustaf Grefberg, a very capable composer, was at work! At this point, I would like to include another quote in this text. This time, however, it is not from a philosopher, but from a forum user on neogaf.com. His thread is, in my oppinion very fittingly titled “The Darkness: Before Mick Gordon and Doom there was Gustaf Grefberg”. Doom there was Gustaf Grefberg.“

If both names don't ring a bell, don't worry, both composers serve rather 'niche' games with at most half a foot in the mainstream. But while the new Doom-games in particular have a certain degree of notoriety due to their historical legacy, Grefberg's games have rarely been in the spotlight ... or at least not because of their music. The scores for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Wolfenstein: The New Order or It Takes Two are not bad at all. And I have already praised the Swedish composer's soundtrack for the mediocre Enclave on this website.

What the user FF:Enhanced_Reality actually wants to say with his title, however, is that in the past, it was rather Grefberg who was known for his hard rock / metal sounds in the video game sector, before Mick Gordon's electric guitar orgasm halved the life expectancy of many domestic speaker systems in 2016. In the case of The Darkness the composer mixes his fantasy footprint with uncompromising rock rage.

In order to achieve this mixture, Grefberg establishes a main theme (The Darkness Theme (Menu Theme 1)) that runs through the entire score and sets exactly the right tone: it is dark, melancholic and, through the use of wind chimes and vocals, contrasted by low wind instruments, is somewhat reminiscent of the horror films of the past. This effect is further emphasized when the motif suddenly moves to epochal heights, reinforced by drums and wind instruments, taking on almost Dracula-esque traits (Embrace the Darkness, The Otherworld 2 (Menu Theme 5)).

But this is not what is meant when comparisons are drawn with Gordon's work. Away from the fantasy references that lend the theme of possessive darkness, of manifested evil, its tactile quality, Grefberg proves his taste for action. As with his work for The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, the composer shows time and again that his heart also seems to beat for headbanging:

By contrast, tracks such as The Night of My 21st Birthday (Intro) or Angelus [Unused] are fast, dramatic, breathless. They literally drive us forward; Embrace the Darkness on the other hand, is a rock overture for the epic. In general, it is the Combat Suites (New York, Grinders Lane, Turkish Baths, Deval’s, Gun Hill Combat Suite) that cannot deny their genre origins. The crowning highlight of the metal orgy, however, is the twelve-minute Final Showdown (Paulie’s Mansion), which really gets the adrenaline pumping.

As is usual for a gamerip, the tracks are divided up differently and some of them are very long (up to 20 minutes!), which is why it is quite difficult to pinpoint the notable passages or categorize certain moods. Take Save Chen, for example: due to its simplicity, this initially seems to have been taken from Disciples: Sacred Lands but later turns the amplifier up to the max. It doesn't help that the soundtrack also offers calmer sounds alongside the testosterone boosters.

The Subway Themes with their thoughtful combination of violin and harp seem antithetical to the vibe of the rest of the score, while Jenny’s Apartment, St Mary’s Orphanage, Jenny’s Theme (Menu Theme 4) and Ending (Saying Goodbye) seem almost kitschy with their soulful piano and string combination. The tracks Chinatown, German Bunker and Assault on Bunker meanwhile, delve into the musical stereotype box. In contrast to Doom there is not only constant action here, but also variety.

And that would be the end of it if it weren't for the licensed songs. They appear in the gamerip shortly before the end in the form of the hip-hop ghetto beats Ain’t No Thang, I Like It, It’s the SBG Vibe, Old Skool and ST Got It Going on as well as the rocking Credits all of which are uncredited due to a lack of information. In addition, there is also a Licensed Soundtrack, which, according to the fanwikis gamicus.fandom.com and vgost.fandom.com consists of 29 tracks by various bands.

Songwriters such as The 21st Impact, Down and Away and Man Machine Industry take the lead here, which fits in wonderfully with the uncomplicated vendetta of the game. Fans of incomprehensible yelling and gorgeous hair will certainly enjoy songs like Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Blinded Colony), Die Toten Core (F.K.Ü.) or Cruci-Fiction in Space (Marilyn Manson), but I'm more into the more 'moderate' representatives like Open Casket [Edit] (Closer), Pure and White (Joy Serene) and Going Down (Sparzanza).

To sum up: the soundtrack (Gamerip and licensed tracks) pushes exactly the right buttons for the game and cleverly combines classic video game accompaniment with modern rock/metal. Where, for example, Prey from the previous year, which is comparable in terms of gameplay, takes the conventional route, Gustaf Grefberg successfully treads the path of the experimental. Although the score never reaches the brute level of a Doom, it has its own identity that balances the line between horror and hope and is likely to remain in the memory of players and non-players alike. Despite the lack of an OST, I can give it a recommendation, especially for the theme!

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The Darkness

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	XMB Theme	Gustaf Grefberg	4
02	The Darkness Defuct Webpage Theme	Gustaf Grefberg	3
03	The Darkness Theme (Menu Theme 1)	Gustaf Grefberg	4
04	The Night of My 21st Birthday (Intro)	Gustaf Grefberg	4
05	Graves End Construction Site	Gustaf Grefberg	3
06	New York Combat Suite 1	Gustaf Grefberg	4
07	Paulie's Gift	Gustaf Grefberg	2
08	Embrace the Darkness	Gustaf Grefberg	4
09	Subway Theme 1	Gustaf Grefberg	3
10	Jenny's Apartment	Gustaf Grefberg	3
11	Save Chen	Gustaf Grefberg	4
12	Butcher Joyce (Menu Theme 2)	Gustaf Grefberg	2
13	New York Combat Suite 2	Gustaf Grefberg	3
14	Grinders Lane	Gustaf Grefberg	2
15	Grinders Lane Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	4
16	Subway Theme 2	Gustaf Grefberg	2
17	St Mary's Orphanage	Gustaf Grefberg	3
18	Jenny's Death	Gustaf Grefberg	3
19	The Otherworld (Menu Theme 3)	Gustaf Grefberg	4
20	No Man's Land Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	3
21	Suicide Corner	Gustaf Grefberg	3
22	The Village	Gustaf Grefberg	2
23	Anthony Estacado	Gustaf Grefberg	3
24	Ressurection	Gustaf Grefberg	3
25	Your Day, Your Time	Gustaf Grefberg	2
26	Trinity Cemetery	Gustaf Grefberg	2
27	Jenny's Theme (Menu Theme 4)	Gustaf Grefberg	3
28	Aunt Sarah	Gustaf Grefberg	3
29	Turkish Baths Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	4
30	City Hall	Gustaf Grefberg	2
31	Deval's Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	3
32	Chinatown	Gustaf Grefberg	2
33	Turkish Baths	Gustaf Grefberg	4
34	Trinity Church	Gustaf Grefberg	2
35	Trinity Church Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	4
36	Worthless Host	Gustaf Grefberg	2
37	German Bunker Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	3
38	Anthony's Anthem	Gustaf Grefberg	3
39	Assault on Bunker	Gustaf Grefberg	3
40	Schlogg Boss Theme	Gustaf Grefberg	4
41	Anthony's Death	Gustaf Grefberg	2
42	The Castle (Destiny)	Gustaf Grefberg	4
43	The Heart of the Darkness Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	4
44	The Otherworld 2 (Menu Theme 5)	Gustaf Grefberg	4
45	Ain't No Thang	Gustaf Grefberg	3
46	I Like It	Gustaf Grefberg	2
47	It's the SBG Vibe	Gustaf Grefberg	2
48	Old Skool	Gustaf Grefberg	2
49	ST Got It Going on	Gustaf Grefberg	3
50	Lower East Side	Gustaf Grefberg	3
51	Gun Hill Combat Suite	Gustaf Grefberg	4
52	The Island	Gustaf Grefberg	3
53	Angelus [Unused]	Gustaf Grefberg	4
54	Final Showdown (Paulie's Mansion)	Gustaf Grefberg	4
55	Goodbye Uncle Paulie	Gustaf Grefberg	3
56	Ending (Saying Goodbye)	Gustaf Grefberg	3
57	Credits	Gustaf Grefberg	4
58	Light in the Darkness (Menu Theme 6)	Gustaf Grefberg	4

The Darkness [Licensed Songs]

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Try	The 21st Impact	2
02	7 Days	Acid House Kings	3
03	Say Yes If You Love Me	Acid House Kings	3
04	Once Bitten, Twice Shy	Blinded Colony	2
05	Riverbank	Pelle Carlberg	3
06	Open Casket [Edit]	Closer	4
07	Grind and Rewind	Defleshed	2
08	Black & White	Down and Away	4
09	Shoot It in	The Duskfall	2
10	Zon	dyF1.6	3
11	A Nice Day	El Caco	3
12	Substitute	El Caco	3
13	Die Toten Core	F.K.Ü.	2
14	Forever Train	Frame	3
15	I, Deviant	Insense	3
16	Pure and White	Joy Serene	4
17	Lucky Star	The Legends	3
18	Last Injection	M.A.N.	4
19	The Hunt	Man Machine Industry	3
20	To Hell and Back	Man Machine Industry	3
21	Cruci-Fiction in Space	Marilyn Manson	3
22	Later That Night	Path of No Return	3
23	Empty Threats	Searing I	2
24	Die 5 Times Times 5	South Ambulance	3
25	Going Down	Sparzanza	4
26	It Won't Stop Bleeding	Stained Red	4
27	Captain Midnight	Tomahawk	3
28	Rendered in Vain	Zonaria	3
29	Summer's End	Elmer Bernstein	3