[2] The album features guest appearances from Big Sean, Chris Brown, Tory Lanez, Too $hort, Yo Gotti, Lil Wayne, Kehlani, Rick Ross, E-40 and Keyshia Cole.

During recording and production, G-Eazy stated he was influenced by both Wes Craven and Tim Burton, which is why it features many piano loops and “foggy synths” throughout the entire album.

The song features as a duet track between G-Eazy and American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha, with production by Michael Keenan.

The official remix was released after, which features guest appearances from American rappers Lil Wayne and Yo Gotti.

The song features guest appearances from American recording artists Chris Brown and Tory Lanez, with production by Cashmere Cat, Mssingno and Happy Perez.

Billboard gave it 3.5 stars out of 5, and noted that "a few blatant crossover-R&B attempts feel faceless, but they're largely outliers on an album that gives this former greaser novelty three dimensions".

[11] Neil Yeung of AllMusic believed that the 17 tracks were "addictive without it ever growing stale" and commended G-Eazy for how he "executes flawlessly with the shrewdness befitting of his Loyola University music industry studies degree.

"[10] Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork Media thought When It's Dark Out is an improvement from These Things Happen (2014), and that the production and guest appearances seem "like a conscious effort on G-Eazy's part to flesh out his sound into something more dynamic and less one-note.

"[1] Ben Thompson from The Guardian stated that the album "could’ve hit a home run if it hadn’t worked so hard to cover all the bases", criticising the second half of the record.