The Darkness Recomp
A native Windows x64 port of The Darkness (Xbox 360). The 360 executable is
translated to C++ ahead of time and built into DarkRecomp.exe with a D3D11
renderer — no emulation at runtime.
Bring your own game dump. This repo contains no game code, assets, or
binaries. Dump your Xbox 360 copy and drop the files into Darkness/
(step 1 below).
Playable today: full gameplay, mouse look + controller input, video settings
(resolution, FOV, gamma, bloom, frame cap, VSync), XMA audio, and saves.
Download and play
Download the Windows release.
Choose The-Darkness-Recomp-v...-windows-x64.zip under Assets.
The GitHub Source code downloads are for building the project yourself.
- Right-click the Windows ZIP and choose Extract All.
- Copy your own extracted Xbox 360 game dump into the included Darkness
folder: the original
default.xex, Content, System, and all the other
files and folders from your dump. No XexTool preparation is required.
- Double-click Launch.cmd to play with sound.
Use LaunchWithSettings.cmd to choose settings and language before playing.
No compiler, Python, or separate audio setup is needed for the Windows release.
Use 64-bit Windows 10/11 with a Direct3D 11-capable graphics device.
See START_HERE.txt for the folder layout and troubleshooting.
An ISO alone is not enough; use an extracted dump of the supported game revision.
The port decodes default.xex in memory at startup; _uncrypted.xex and
basefile.exe are no longer required.
Click the game window to capture the mouse. F1 shows controls, F2 toggles
capture, and Esc releases it. Graphics options are in Options > Video Settings.
Choose Language there or in the settings launcher: System default, English,
German, French, Spanish, or Italian. In-game language changes save automatically
and take effect after restarting. See CONTROLS.md for details.
Preparing the game files
Copy the original extracted files into Darkness, then launch the game.
The runtime uses Windows' built-in AES provider to decode default.xex and
expand its zero-filled blocks in memory. It checks both the original file and
decoded image against the AOT build's SHA-256 hashes before executing game code.
The source generator also reads the original default.xex directly.
Existing prepared files may be left in the folder; they are not read.
Checking the supported game revision
For builds with original-file loading, run this in your Darkness folder:
Get-FileHash .\default.xex -Algorithm SHA256 | Format-List
The supported original file's SHA-256 is (case does not matter):
default.xex aace35a8f9bcdc7f28aeab9ff8cf3bdf200353f5c83705f6284487347acb3c5f
Direct decoding reproduces the previous memory image exactly (SHA-256
180b7fc8f57462f6bac3404ecab061a8d79914c7a3e9a12c238bd3449e72d049).
The tested XEX metadata reports Title ID 545407EE, Media ID
0F213645, version 0.0.0.1, and All Regions. That does not establish
compatibility with every USA/Canadian/international disc revision; the generated
hash is the decisive check for this revision.
If the hash differs, report the hash and your disc revision. Do not post game files.
If the game closes after launch, also attach the newest
build_native/run/desktop-*/runtime.log. A different result can indicate a
different revision or a modified dump. Previously published releases may still
require prepared files; use a build containing the original-file loader.
Build from source
1. Game files — from your own dumped copy, fill in Darkness/:
Use the original extracted dump; no decrypted executable or raw image is needed.
Darkness/
default.xex # original encrypted executable
Content/ Content_Eng/ .../ ExtraContent/
System/ # engine shaders and system data
darkness_switch_tables.toml already ships with the repo — keep it and add
the rest from your dump. Nothing else under Darkness/ is committed.
2. Build — one step (dependency setup + generator + translation + XMA codec + compile + tests):
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\build.ps1
The build downloads the pinned XenonRecomp source and applies the bundled
Darkness patches automatically. Existing checkouts from the old setup instructions
are supported too. The first build needs an internet connection.
You'll need 64-bit Windows, Git, Visual Studio 2022 with the ClangCL toolset,
CMake 3.24+, Python 3.11+, and ~15 GB free. Output lands in
build_native/Release/.
The XMA audio build also requires MSYS2 at C:\msys64 with MinGW64 GCC and
make, plus standalone LLVM at C:\Program Files\LLVM (for llvm-lib.exe).
3. Play — double-click Launch.cmd:
| Command |
What it does |
Launch.cmd |
Play with sound |
LaunchWithSettings.cmd |
Choose settings and language, then play with sound |
Launch.cmd mute |
Play muted |
Launch.cmd preview |
Engine preview build (muted by default) |
Launch.cmd stutter |
Play with sound while recording slow-frame timings |
Launch.cmd performance / render-profile / steady-60 |
Diagnostic recording runs |
Launch.cmd help |
Full usage |
Extra arguments reach the game untouched, e.g. Launch.cmd play --fps 120.
Click the game window to capture the mouse (F1 controls guide, F2
toggle capture, Esc release).
Docs
Updating a downloaded release
Close the game, extract the new Windows ZIP into your existing game folder,
and replace the included program files. Keep Darkness/, saves/, and
DarkRecomp.settings.ini to preserve your game files, progress, and settings.
You do not need to rebuild.
Updating a source build
Pull the latest version and run the build again:
git pull --ff-only
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\build.ps1
Keep your game dump and existing build directory. Unchanged generated files
retain their timestamps so the native build can reuse previous compilation work.
If an older setup stopped with AOT gate: Generator failed (0), these same
commands install the missing generator patches and regenerate the output.
Packaging a release
Maintainers can build, test, and package a Windows ZIP with:
python tools/package_release.py --version v0.1.1
Run from a clean, committed checkout with the build prerequisites installed.
The ZIP and SHA-256 checksum land in build_native/releases/. The packager
includes the launcher, runtime dependencies, notices, and audio-library source;
game dumps, saves, settings, build tools, and diagnostic logs are excluded.
Tests
The build already runs the full suite. To re-run it later:
ctest --test-dir build_native -C Release --output-on-failure
Project layout
| Path |
Contents |
app/ |
Windows entry points and display settings |
assets/ |
Button-prompt artwork bundled with the game |
cmake/ |
CMake helpers |
config/darkness.toml |
Translation configuration |
renderer/ |
D3D11 backend and engine scene reconstruction |
runtime/ |
Native kernel, audio, input, XMA, and filesystem bridges |
tools/ |
Translator driver, build.ps1, shader/menu/XMA codegen |
tests/ |
Native and contract tests run by CTest |
License
GPLv3 — see COPYING, matching the upstream
UnleashedRecomp /
XenonRecomp toolchain this port builds on.
这是 Xbox 360 游戏《The Darkness》的原生 Windows 移植版，做法是将原始 360 可执行文件预先静态翻译成 C++，再用 DirectX 11 渲染器运行，全程不涉及模拟器。