Before there was Resident Evil. Before there was Silent Hill. Before there was Amnesia, Layers of Fear and other indie takes on survival horror. Before there was Alan Wake even, there was Alone in the Dark. Released back in 1992, the 3D game laid the foundation for the sub-genre, introducing concepts like extremely limited weapon access and ammo (forcing players to sneak past enemies), puzzle solving, a fixed camera, and oodles of ominous atmosphere.
As influential as Alone in the Dark was, though, the series has shared a fate closer to descendant Silent Hill than Resident Evil. It slipped from the spotlight, with titles releasing almost a decade apart at times. These games enjoyed a lacklustre (at best) response from players and critics, while an Alone in the Dark film adaptation earned notoriety as one of the worst movies of all time. We’re talking “1% on Rotten Tomatoes” bad.
Back to the games, though. Panned Alone in the Dark: Illumination was the last series entry, back in 2015, and since then the IP rights have passed to THQ Nordic. Developed by Pieces Interactive, Alone in the Dark (2024) is the seventh Alone in the Dark game, and has been hyped as a reimagining of the 1992 original for present day players, catering to modern sensibilities and featuring all the new-gen bells and whistles.
After almost ten hours in the game world, though, it’s apparent that Alone in the Dark (2024) hasn’t sparked a change in fortune for the franchise. The new game is far from a disaster, and in fact has several strengths. However, for something set in Louisiana, it’s disappointingly lacking in flavour. Criminally for a survival horror game, it’s also only intermittently intense; even less frequently frightening.
Alone in the Dark is a great looking game though, and it hooks your attention with the fact that its makers somehow got A-list actors David Harbour (Stranger Things) and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) to perform the game’s protagonists: New Orleans detective Edward Carnby and governess Emily Hartwood. There’s novelty to controlling these stars, and their presence lends a further cinematic feel to a game that already leans strongly in that direction.
Alone in the Dark (2024) features an original story written by Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Soma’s Mikael Hedberg. This new tale uses the original game as a foundation, and peppers it with references to other early entries in the series – which should tickle fans. Set in the 1920s, the basic set-up is that Emily has hired Edward to help her retrieve her distressed uncle Jeremy from Derceto, a remote, decaying manor house that has become a mental health facility in the next phase of its sinister history. The pair arrive to find that Jeremy has disappeared and the residents are acting odd, prompting an investigation that takes your hero (you can choose between playing Emily or Edward) from the mansion into other shadowy realms of existence.
Alone in the Dark satisfies most when you approach it as an ultra-slow burn narrative adventure soaked in Cthulhu Mythos. The game’s central supernatural mystery, paired with a string of moderately challenging puzzles, is intriguing, although Alone in the Dark’s execution often destroys that sense of immersion.
Your character may occasionally get stuck on a surface, and the monster encounters are a lumbering, challenge-lite copy of the Resident Evil remakes. These frustrations are minor in comparison to Alone in the Dark’s biggest problems: its structure and writing.
When you are in Derceto, there is zero threat. You wander the corridors for long stretches, looking for items that will let you access blocked-off areas and clues that will help with later cyphers or simply flesh out your understanding of the game world. For the record, players can toggle a Modern or Traditional Player Guidance mode – or customise their experience with check boxes – although there isn’t much difference between them, with the characters spouting hints regardless.
Either way, Alone in the Dark is cerebrally satisfying, but it’s a cool and emotionless pleasure. Though you find yourself increasingly in creature-filled alternate realms in the second half of the game, their separateness from “reality” means that player tension evaporates whenever you leave them and appear again at Derceto.
Narratively, Alone in the Dark is designed to be pieced together. Often later discovered information helps to make more sense of opaque early encounters when you only have half the jigsaw components. And, out of interest, for a complete game experience you should play Alone in the Dark twice, as both Emily and Edward, as their encounters, cut scenes and collectibles (which come with genuine rewards) are different, to a certain degree. A single character playthrough averages at 8 hours.
Again, after-the-fact understanding can be grating but it’s a fairly standard approach used in the psychological horror genre, across artistic mediums. You can give the game makers a pass then as it’s a matter of personal preference.
The larger issue is that characters just do not react to their situation with any kind of believability. Early on, you meet NPCs in other worlds, looking for Jeremy, and they’re as relaxed as if they’re sitting on the couch at home. Similarly, Emily and Edward rarely respond to the insanity around them. Harbour’s character is a bit more expressive than Comer’s muted Emily (there’s a plot reason for the latter), but you’ll hear them hmm and mutter about needing keys far more often than panic or even express the highly valid concern that they’re losing their mind.
It’s possible to excuse a lot about Alone in the Dark, but a lack of plausible feeling shatters player engagement. That truly is the game breaker when you’re making a horror title. Combined with by-numbers gameplay, lacking in the energy that players have come to expect thanks to the likes of Resident Evil 2, and the overall effect is flat and dull.
Though we don’t score games we have yet to complete, Alone in the Dark (2024) is currently feeling like a middling 6.5/10.
Released on 20 March, Alone in the Dark (2024) is available now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.