The Darkness II — a light title that runs on modest PCs: specs & FPS
2012 · Action · 2K · ESRB Mature · Metacritic 77
Official system requirements
Publisher-published Minimum / Recommended values via RAWG, retrieved 2026-08-21. Real-world performance varies with drivers, resolution and your full build.
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Minimum: | Recommended: |
| Processor | OS: Windows XP/Vista/7 | OS: Windows XP/Vista/7 |
| Memory | Processor: Intel Core 2 @ 2GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ | Processor: 2.4 GHz Quad Core processor |
| Graphics | Memory: 1.5GB RAM | Memory: 2GB RAM |
| Storage | Hard Disk Space: 10GB | Hard Disk Space: 10GB |
| DirectX | Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600 / ATI Radeon HD 2600 | Video Card: 512+ MB NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX |
| Item 7 | Sound: DirectX Compatible | Sound: DirectX Compatible |
| Item 8 | Additional: Requires installation of Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, DirectX and nVidia PhysX version 9.11.1107 (included with download) | Additional: Requires installation of Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, DirectX and nVidia PhysX version 9.11.1107 (included with download) |
Multi-GPU FPS estimate
Estimated average FPS by GPU at 1080p / 1440p / 4K, derived from The Darkness II's demand tier (tier 3, Light (entry discrete GPU)) and published TechPowerUp-style relative-performance indices (RTX 4090 = 100), retrieved 2026-08-29. Planning estimates, not benchmarks.
| GPU | 1080p | 1440p | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4090 | 285 | 188 | 108 |
| RTX 4080 Super | 256 | 169 | 97 |
| RTX 4080 | 246 | 162 | 93 |
| RX 7900 XTX | 273 | 180 | 104 |
| RX 7900 XT | 256 | 169 | 97 |
| RTX 4070 Ti Super | 218 | 144 | 83 |
| RX 7800 XT | 218 | 144 | 83 |
| RTX 4070 Super | 205 | 135 | 78 |
| RTX 4070 | 192 | 127 | 73 |
| RX 7700 XT | 198 | 130 | 75 |
| RTX 3070 | 179 | 118 | 68 |
| RX 6800 XT | 215 | 142 | 82 |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 158 | 104 | 60 |
| RX 6700 XT | 192 | 127 | 73 |
| RTX 3060 | 145 | 95 | 55 |
| RX 6600 XT | 163 | 108 | 62 |
| RTX 2060 | 131 | 86 | 50 |
| GTX 1660 Super | 108 | 71 | 41 |
| RX 580 | 125 | 83 | 48 |
| GTX 1060 6GB | 102 | 68 | 39 |
| GTX 1650 | 82 | 54 | 31 |
| Intel Arc A770 | 166 | 110 | 63 |
| UHD 770 (integrated) | 33 | 22 | 13 |
Method: a game's demand tier maps to a “GPU index needed for ~60 FPS at 1080p”; each GPU's relative index produces an estimate via a diminishing-returns curve, then scaled for resolution. Source: TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), 2026-08-29.
For the full hardware spec sheet and a deeper performance breakdown, see Full specs & performance data on GameFigs.
Age rating & regional compliance
GameRulePro pairs each title with its ESRB age rating and, where documented, real regulatory notes on loot boxes, skin gambling and randomized monetization. Every line is source-linked and labeled with its retrieval date. This is an educational reference, not legal advice — verify the specifics that apply to your jurisdiction.
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age rating | ESRB Mature | ESRB rating via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21. |
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Open profile →Best graphics settings for The Darkness II
Pick your PC and get a starting preset — resolution, upscaler, shadows, ray tracing and an FPS cap — tuned to how demanding The Darkness II is on hardware. Print it and tune from there. Everything runs in your browser.
Best graphics settings for The Darkness II
The Darkness II hardware-demand tier: 3/9. Pick your PC above to get a starting preset, then tune up if you have FPS headroom or down if you're under your target.
Estimated starting point — real FPS depends on drivers, thermals and background load.
The Darkness II — Best settings (Mid-range (GTX 1660 – RTX 3060))
Generated at GameRulePro · 2026-09-25
Release, patch & rule-change notes
Official release date: 2012-02-07. Ongoing patches and version history are published by the developer — for the latest patch notes, see the official store or support page. GameRulePro summarizes the official release only and does not invent patch dates. When a developer ships a rule-affecting update (balance pass, mode change, or ranked-reset), re-run the generator above to keep your house rules in sync.
About The Darkness II
With a gap of five years, Darkness II is a sequel for the first part of the franchise following the story of James Estacado. After becoming the don of the Franchetti family, he still fights the fact that his girlfriend Jenny died in the first game and fighting against the Darkness itself. Things turn pretty bad when a group of attackers catch James and his men off guard in a restaurant. Being severely injured he still refuses this powers even if they save them. The attack doesn't end so fast, and after an explosion, James is left to bleed out and die. James gives up and embraces the Darkness fighting off his attackers and begins his fight with the Brotherhood and his own sanity. The core feature of the game is to control the tendrils. Being Darknesses spawns, two tendrils will help the player to fight off his enemies. You can execute people, throw them around and throw things at them. Also, you can use it to merely attack or defend yourself in any fighting situation. In case you will want to do the campaign with your friends, the game gives you Vendetass. The plot of it follows four hitmen from Jackie's family to stop the mysterious Brotherhood.
Performance reality & how to tune The Darkness II
GameRulePro editorial — these notes are based on The Darkness II's published specifications and genre profile, not a single benchmark run. Use them to set expectations before you open the settings menu.
As a 2012 action title, The Darkness II sits at demand tier 3 (Light (entry discrete GPU)) — light on PC. It is light enough for older hardware and even integrated graphics at lower settings.
What to tune first on The Darkness II
- Start from the Best graphics settings generator on this page for a hardware-matched preset.
- Shadows and post-processing effects are usually the cheapest FPS wins.
- If you crash or stutter, jump to the crash-fix and optimization guides linked below.
The FPS table above is a model estimate from the demand-tier + GPU-index method. Real frame rates vary with drivers, background apps, thermals and resolution. Treat it as a buying or upgrade planning aid, then verify in-game. For step-by-step fixes, see the crash-fix and optimization guides linked on this page.
Sources & attribution
- Game data (release year, genres, platforms, system requirements, description, cover art) via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21.
- GPU relative-performance indices via TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), retrieved 2026-08-29.
- FPS estimates on this page are GameRulePro planning estimates from the demand-tier + GPU-index model — not benchmark results.
- House rules and tournament formats are community-style templates for casual play, not official rulebooks.
- Pre-launch intelligence (release windows, settings, editions, pricing, beta dates) is compiled from each title's official publisher / studio announcements and is source-linked per item with its retrieval date (2026-09-09). Where a detail is from reporting rather than a primary source, the item's source line states so. This is preview material, not an official specification.
- Per-game age-rating & regional compliance reference (ESRB rating via RAWG; curated regulatory notes) from the GameRulePro game-rules dataset, retrieved 2026-08-29.
How the The Darkness II FPS estimate and rules generator are computed
Each game is scored on a 0–9 demand tier from its published PC requirements (and a year/genre fallback when requirements are absent). The FPS estimate compares your selected GPU's relative-performance index against the tier's required index using a diminishing-returns curve, then scales for resolution. The rules and tournament builder is a community-style template engine: it formats your group size, match format and tiebreaks into a printable sheet. All outputs are planning guides — verify in-game and agree house rules with your group before play.
Do more with The Darkness II
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