Alone in the Dark

My first playthrough as Emily Hartwood in the remake of Alone in the Dark proved to be a bit of a challenge, particularly against the final boss. Despite the struggle, the game had many thrilling moments and is well worth playing. One aspect that stood out to me was the game's self-awareness of its limitations, refusing to overcomplicate what worked. The game mechanics are simple yet effective, with three weapons at your disposal, including a shotgun, machine gun, and pistol/revolver, depending on your character choice. The melee attack system, which utilizes items you find, adds to the gameplay.

Jodie Comer and David Harbour's performances as Emily and Edward are fantastic, with impressive modeling, rigging, and motion capture. The story, however, is a bit disorienting, throwing you into the mysterious world of Derceto Mansion, a facility for the mentally ill. As you navigate the narrative, the lines between reality and the characters' perceptions become blurred, keeping you guessing until the very end.

The game's score and sound design are its strongest aspects, featuring a haunting jazz-like melody that sets the tone. The characters you meet along the way add to the sense of disassociation and confusion, making it difficult to discern what's real and what's not. The varied locations, from the streets of New Orleans to graveyards and Antarctica, make the game unique and compelling. The puzzles are engaging and sometimes frustrating, keeping you intrigued and invested in the game.

Overall, Alone in the Dark is a more straightforward survival horror game, likely due to budget constraints. Despite receiving mixed reviews, I believe the game has potential for a sequel, especially if Jodie Comer and David Harbour return. Their performances are a highlight of the game, and their characters' chemistry adds to the experience.

I would still enjoy this game without a star cast. It was buggy upon release as if they hadn't tested the game before. It has been updated but I still had an environmental bug that I had to reload a save from. If you're looking for a scary horror game this isn't that. It's more of a gothic horror suspense thriller! I enjoyed the puzzles, and only had to look up walkthroughs once or twice cause I couldn't figure it out. The combat is light, which I enjoy it not being a total shooter game. I like that they added New Game +. I think they nailed what they were going for, but the game deserved to be polished up a bit more. Characters feel clunky at times and the graphics seem lazy in some parts. I really enjoyed the Louisiana Southern Gothic feel of the 1920s-30s. Everyone says it's 1920s and I would agree but I found an item stating The Great Depression, which the market crashed in 1929. At the end of the day I think people are dwelling on that too much. Also yes the story switches between "reality" and "places" which I didn't find confusing at all. Its part of the story and is supposed to be whimsically off putting. Perhaps people don't enjoy an unreliable narrative which we get when playing as Emily. I will agree at times the building had people to talk to and then randomly at times felt vacant, whether or not that's intentional I'm unsure.

I did find the switch to "Egyptian vibes" confusing as it had voodoo elements at first, but it's a small detail to the story, so in the end it makes sense.

I will be playing this game again, and looking forward to additional titles being released.

This game oddly reminds me of (or plays similarly to) Resident Evil Village and The Last of Us, but feels below the bar those games set. I also felt like this game was a marketing fail, I'm just now hearing about it a year later.

In conclusion if the game had polished its graphics, and tested better before release I'm sure it would have been 10/10.

**Review of Alone in the Dark**

Having a long history with the Alone in the Dark franchise, it's fair to say my expectations for the latest installment were high, especially given my nostalgia for its origins. My first real encounter with the series was playing the Dreamcast version in the early 2000s, and I've always appreciated the blend of horror and adventure it aimed to provide. When I finally got my hands on the current version on PS5, I was eager to see how the series had evolved. Unfortunately, while it does offer some good moments, it ultimately falls short of its predecessors and similar titles in the genre.

The story revolves around Emily Hartwood and private investigator Edward Carnby as they delve into the mysteries surrounding Derceto Manor, searching for Emily's missing uncle, Jeremy. Right from the start, I felt a disconnect with the narrative. The plot veers into bizarre territory almost immediately, with characters popping in and out as the duo transitions through a disjointed series of locales, ranging from the streets of New Orleans to arid deserts. The shifts feel abrupt and confusing, and it's hard to invest in the storyline when understanding what's happening becomes a chore.

This installment markets itself as a survival horror game-a classification I agree with, though not entirely convincingly. The encounters with various monsters, including mutant skeletons and Swamp Thing-esque creatures, become repetitive quickly. While the enemies looked decent and had varied designs, their AI lacked depth; they mostly charged at you without strategy, resulting in encounters that felt more like an inconvenience than a challenge. Surprisingly, I found myself indifferent to many of the puzzles as well, often resorting to online guides for solutions. They tend to be pattern-based and lack the cleverness that keeps players engaged.

Weapons in the game-ranging from a revolver to a shotgun and a tommy gun-perform well in terms of animation and sound design. I gravitated towards the shotgun for its effectiveness. Post-patch, the availability of ammo seemed improved, which is certainly a positive note. However, the game lacks the feeling of progression one often appreciates in games of this genre. There are no upgrades to your abilities or weapons, causing encounters to feel somewhat stagnant and unrewarding.

Graphically, the game isn't particularly awful, yet the environments lack a sense of personality or atmosphere. It felt as though the design team focused on delivering a game rather than creating an immersive world. The character animation appears stiff at times, particularly during actions like climbing ladders. While the voice acting is acceptable, the lack of clarity in the narrative made it challenging to connect with the characters.

Alone in the Dark can be completed in around six hours, but it feels even shorter due to its lack of depth and engagement. There is only one major boss encounter that appears right at the end, further alienating players from building any connection with the challenges the story has to offer. I primarily played as Edward, and I had little interest in switching to Emily due to the narrative's disjointed nature.

Overall, Alone in the Dark feels like a missed opportunity. It holds some production value, but it fails to capture the magic that made early survival horror titles compelling. As it stands, this game earns a rating of 6 out of 10. It may be worth purchasing during a sale-perhaps when it dips to around twenty dollars. For now, those looking for a gripping horror experience might find better offerings within the genre.

Very good idea but I would have expected the stories of both characters to be more related to each other.

For the price of the game, I expected the second character with whom I repeated the story not to be 80% similar to the other character, same puzzles, etc.

It was noticeable that the game imitated older gameplay mechanics but at times, it was a pain in the ass.

Nice but simple puzzles, and I believe the story truly had potential for much more development, especially with two different characters who could approach the story from their unique perspectives.

With the benefit of hindsight, I would have expected the game to be cheaper before buying it since I generally enjoy this kind of games, but I feel that in this case, it wasn't worth as much.

Solid story, good acting for the most part and a stellar setting! Absolutely loved exploring all the locations and the great detail put into those locations. Combat was a bit janky for me. Struggled especially against one small enemy that would consistently glitch under the floor on PC. Frustrated me greatly and is my biggest knock on this fun game.

I completed the Edward Carnby run in about 11 hours which is probably a bit longer than average. I encountered a few other glitches (like getting stuck on objects and walking on air instead of descending a stair case). Overall, I had a mostly good time and recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of old-school horror games as it has some good references to the original in here.