You are Richard B. Riddick, a convicted criminal with a record as long as War and Peace. You are the most wanted man in the known universe, and you have just been captured and arrested. You are being transported to Butcher Bay, a triple-maximum-security prison, the deadliest prison ever built. No one has ever escaped, and those who tried have been killed. Will you be the first?

As Riddick, you must find your way out of the prison and to safety. You begin in a cell, and soon, hell breaks out. You are left with nothing to defend yourself, so you must find a machine which will allow you to use guards weapons, otherwise you will be shocked, as they are DNA protected.

Throughout your adventure, you will explore the prison complex, caverns, mines, the triple-security area, and even the palace area, where all of the administration is housed.

To help you escape, you will have access to a small but deadly arsenal of weapons, such as a pistol and machine gun. There are a number of melee weapons available too, like a wrench or shiv (shard of glass).

You will have to take on several different enemies, from guards to prisoners to robotics to mutated humans, also called 'dwellers' who lives deep below under the prison.

Vin Diesel voices Riddick. The game is a prequel to the 1999 film Pitch Black, which first introduced Vin Diesel as Richard Riddick, the anti-hero.