Alone in the Dark review

Our VerdictUnsettling and narratively ambitious, this is the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.

Our Verdict

Unsettling and narratively ambitious, this is the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.

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Need to knowWhat is it?An intelligent reimagining of the 1992 classic that inspired Resident Evil and ushered in the era of survival horror.Release dateMarch 20, 2024DeveloperPieces InteractivePublisherTHQ NordicReviewed onRadeon 5700 XT, i5-9600K, 16GB RAMSteam DeckN/ALinkOfficial site$14.99View at GameStop$22.19View at Amazon$51.54View at WalmartSee all prices (6 found)

Need to know

What is it?An intelligent reimagining of the 1992 classic that inspired Resident Evil and ushered in the era of survival horror.Release dateMarch 20, 2024DeveloperPieces InteractivePublisherTHQ NordicReviewed onRadeon 5700 XT, i5-9600K, 16GB RAMSteam DeckN/ALinkOfficial site$14.99View at GameStop$22.19View at Amazon$51.54View at WalmartSee all prices (6 found)

What is it?An intelligent reimagining of the 1992 classic that inspired Resident Evil and ushered in the era of survival horror.

Release dateMarch 20, 2024

DeveloperPieces Interactive

PublisherTHQ Nordic

Reviewed onRadeon 5700 XT, i5-9600K, 16GB RAM

Steam DeckN/A

LinkOfficial site

$14.99View at GameStop$22.19View at Amazon$51.54View at WalmartSee all prices (6 found)

$14.99View at GameStop

$22.19View at Amazon

$51.54View at Walmart

See all prices (6 found)

From the moment a plump-looking frog merrily hops across a forlorn Louisiana dirt road in Alone in the Dark’s first cutscene, echoing a similar scene from the original game’s introduction, I was certain that it would do the expected remake thing of incorporating numerous little callbacks to its predecessor’s history. And when, seconds later, an alligator locks its jaws on its hapless amphibian prey, briefly interrupting my trip to PC gaming’s most iconic creepy mansion, I was certain that it was going to playfully mess with my expectations anyway.

(Image credit: THQ Nordic)

Edward Carnby exploring a grotesque hallway

Scavenger hunt

In typical survival horror fashion, ammo and medical supplies are severely limited, making combat an engagingly tense affair. I flinched with every wasted bullet and always looked for ways to outsmart the game’s misshapen monstrosities, getting them stuck in a narrow passage to bash them in the head with a rusty (and breakable) shovel, or sneaking to a safe distance before surprising them with a well-aimed molotov. Having said that, the conspicuous presence of numerous empty containers coupled with my exceedingly thrifty play-style makes me suspect that the game adapts to your most pressing needs and allocates supplies as needed. Earlier scuffles were especially enjoyable, charged with the fear of the unknown and memorably staged (with the French Quarter encounters a particular highlight). But some of the later sections, including a rather frustrating final showdown, rely too heavily on combat, so much so that the bustle proves a distraction from Alone in the Dark’s suffocating sense of cosmic dread.

(Image credit: THQ Nordic)

Emily Hartwood coming across a creature

As do the game’s omnipresent bugs which range from the unintentionally amusing, such as a row of ravens perched in mid-air, to the genuinely disconcerting, such as quest items reappearing in the spot where I’d previously picked them up, interactive hotspots randomly refusing to activate, and invisible barriers barring me from progress. Thankfully, the truly catastrophic ones, in particular the game forgetting about my previously discovered collectibles after I’d started a second run (even though it’s explicitly stated that to gather everything, you need a full playthrough with both Edward and Emily), seem to have been fixed with the latest update, so there’s hope that these irritations won’t be a concern on release.

These minor qualms aside, Alone in the Dark is a resounding success, not a cynical attempt to cash in on a moderately recognisable brand name, but made with intelligence and a fondness for the series that really shines through. The fact is nowhere more apparent than the myriad little callbacks that are organically, rather than prosaically, injected into proceedings: from Grace Saunders holding up a mask that recalls Edward’s original character model, to a striking late-game section that had me locked in a fixed-camera perspective.

On its own merits as a survival horror experience, the game performs admirably, too. It made me peek round corners and hesitate before opening a door. It made me eager to be transported to the next bizarre location in search of Jeremy, and find out more about his fate and backstory after I’d arrived there. And, most importantly, it made me care both about its troubled protagonists and Derceto’s loopy crew—enough so that completing my second playthrough to uncover the full story is a given beyond the needs of this review. Pieces Interactive is clearly punching above its weight. While Capcom remains some years away from the next mainline Resident Evil instalment and Konami is perpetually locked in a series of questionable decisions regarding Silent Hill’s direction, the Swedish studio has managed to deliver a refreshing twist on the survival horror formula with Alone in the Dark, three decades after the series invented the genre.

XBox 360

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The Verdict76Read our review policyAlone in the DarkUnsettling and narratively ambitious, this is the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.

The Verdict

76Read our review policyAlone in the DarkUnsettling and narratively ambitious, this is the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.

76Read our review policy

Alone in the DarkUnsettling and narratively ambitious, this is the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.

Alone in the Dark

Unsettling and narratively ambitious, this is the best Alone in the Dark game since 1992.

More about alone in the darkEmbracer has closed Alone in the Dark studio Pieces InteractiveThe original Alone in the Dark did more than invent survival horror—it pioneered new ways to play and new ways to fearLatestMy Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early accessSee more latest►

More about alone in the dark

Embracer has closed Alone in the Dark studio Pieces InteractiveThe original Alone in the Dark did more than invent survival horror—it pioneered new ways to play and new ways to fear

Alone in the Dark protagonists

Embracer has closed Alone in the Dark studio Pieces Interactive

Edward Carnby in the original Alone in the Dark.

The original Alone in the Dark did more than invent survival horror—it pioneered new ways to play and new ways to fear

LatestMy Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early accessSee more latest►

Latest

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

The protagonist of My Summer Car smoking a cigarette outside while a truck in the background pumps out a septic tank.

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

See more latest►

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Our Verdict

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