Download and play
Download The-Darkness-Recomp-v0.1.3-windows-x64.zip under Assets. The Source code archives are for developers.
Extract the entire ZIP, copy your own supported Xbox 360 game dump into Darkness, then run Launch.cmd. Only the original extracted files, including default.xex, are required: XexTool preparation, _uncrypted.xex, and basefile.exe are no longer needed. The supported game revision is checked automatically at launch.
Use LaunchWithSettings.cmd to choose graphics settings and language before playing. No game files are included. Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11, an SSSE3-capable CPU and a Direct3D 11-capable graphics device. No compiler or Python installation is required to play on Windows.
Changes since v0.1.2
Rendering and effects
- Restored missing water materials, projected marks and lit blood/decal effects.
- Restored in-world TV video playback and corrected video chroma ordering.
- Restored missing ground blood spatter by retaining the original decoded geometry until its matching draw.
- Fixed death effects that rejected the original game's deliberately empty mask bindings.
- Restored the original Other World grain and scene composition, fixing the smaller duplicate view visible in the upper-left corner of the sewers.
- Fixed player screen fades leaving uncovered edges on ultrawide displays.
Settings and controls
- Added LaunchWithSettings.cmd, sharing saved graphics settings with Options > Video Settings.
- Added language selection: System default, English, German, French, Spanish, or Italian. Matching language content must exist in your dump; in-game changes apply after restarting.
- Added mouse-wheel navigation for dialogue and menus, including while the mouse is captured. E confirms.
- Added F5 developer tools for mission selection, player speed and invincibility. Mission loading can autosave; see CONTROLS.md before using it.
- Updated every README and setup guide with current release, build and launcher instructions.
Linux launch and setup
- Added Launch.sh for running the Windows build through UMU/Proton.
- Added SetupLinux.cmd and PlayLinux.cmd for Ubuntu under WSL2, plus a Python setup tool for Linux desktops.
- Added Proton file I/O compatibility fixes and Linux/Steam Deck setup instructions.
- Setup keeps Linux saves, settings and the Proton prefix when updating.
Updating from v0.1.2
Close the game. Extract this ZIP into the folder containing your existing Launch.cmd, replacing the included program files. Keep Darkness, saves, and DarkRecomp.settings.ini. Existing prepared executable files may remain in Darkness, but this release reads the original default.xex.
For an existing WSL installation, rerun SetupLinux.cmd to update its Linux copy while retaining its saves and settings. Windows saves/settings are not copied into Linux automatically.
Validation
- Packaged from clean source commit
69fec5342bf61b7eabc2c9dac9cab3bc544559c9. The AOT manifest reported zero semantic diagnostics, and native source fingerprints matched the validated build after the final documentation-only edit. - All 76 Windows automated checks passed, including hardware and WARP rendering, effects, original game-file loading, file I/O, saves, audio, settings, controls and setup contracts.
- Ubuntu fixture suites passed, including all 40 Linux setup tests and 19 WSL graphics tests, plus the applicable release checks.
- Verified the ZIP, every file hash in
RELEASE.json, and the SHA-256 checksum file. Game dumps, saves, local settings and diagnostic logs are excluded. - Tested extraction over a v0.1.2 fixture: game files, saves, settings and the existing Linux setup configuration were preserved.
- The extracted launcher setup check and native renderer smoke test passed with Python and compiler tools removed from
PATH.
Known limits
Linux development testing used Ubuntu 24.04 under WSL2/WSLg with UMU 1.4.4 and GE-Proton11-7. It reached the opening first-person level with audio and created Chapter1 and Checkpoint saves. This does not establish Steam Deck performance or full-game Linux compatibility. Visible camera movement and completion of the opening tutorial were not confirmed; physical controller input, audio quality and suspend/resume still need target-device testing. There is no native Linux executable.
This remains a pre-release and has not undergone a complete gameplay playthrough. Include the newest build_native/run/desktop-*/runtime.log when reporting a problem. For Proton failures, also include the Proton log and Linux/Proton versions.