Alone in the Dark Review

Survival Horror games are known for having jump scares, paranormal experiences and strange interactions, to name the typical tropes.

Alone in the Dark is in a weird spot because while it fits into the survival horror genre, it is not particularly horrifying.

Alone in the Dark (2024) is a reimagining of a game of the same name originally released in 1992, the first-ever 3D survival horror game.

In this article, I will talk about my experience with the game, detail the good and the bad and help you answer the question, is it worth picking up?

To start things off, let's talk about the story.

Alone in the Dark is set in 1930s America.

You can play as either Emily Hartwood or Detective Edward Carnby, who has travelled to Derecto, a mental health institution where Emily's uncle, Jeremy Hartwood, is a resident.

The protagonists have travelled there due to Emily receiving a worrying letter from her uncle about life at Derecto.

When you arrive and find your way into Derecto, you discover all is not well and Jeremy is missing.

Whichever character you have chosen is tasked with finding Jeremy and discovering what is going on at Derecto.

You will find yourself in environments outside of Derceto, which are linear but take you away from the Mansion.

To get the whole experience of Alone in the Dark, you need to do a play-through as both Emily and Detective Carnby, at least once, with both characters having different interactions and experiences.

Overall, I felt the story was well-paced and structured and gave players a reason to want to play due to their interest in what will happen next.

However, I did not care about the outcomes for either the protagonists or the other residents of the Derceto you interact with.

Gameplay is an area of the game where I feel the game needs some combat improvements.

While I like the third-person over-shoulder view is good, other gameplay elements make it difficult to enjoy.

Shooting can feel clunky and ineffective against all enemies in the game.

This is the case no matter what gun you use.

There are three main options of guns: a Pistol, a Shotgun and a Tommy Gun.

The other is the flare gun used in a specific area later in the game.

Melee combat is not much better, as it can feel like you are aimlessly swinging your weapon to kill something before it kills you.

Your melee weapon options are an Adze, Crucifix, Firepole, Ice pick, Hatchet, Oar, Sledgehammer, and Shovel to hit enemies and bricks and thrown items like bricks are used to distract enemies who have not yet seen you.

Related to Gameplay, the difficulty options for combat of Easy, Standard and Hard allow you to choose the kind of experience you have.

Do you want lots of ammo and health items to help you in combat situations, or would you prefer to avoid unnecessary combat situations and experience surviving in Derceto?

Well, the difficulty helps you to get the experience you want.

Also, you can choose between a modern and old-school experience.

Modern allows will assist you to make your experience easier with hints and helpful highlights.

This is recommended to those new to survival horror games.

Old school does not hold your hand and will mean you work things out for yourself.

An essential part of the game is the puzzles.

They are the only way to progress through the game.

The answers to the puzzles are hidden in documents and clues you

pick up during each chapter.

The difficulty of puzzles varies due to how obvious the answers are.

Overall, the Gameplay is alright, but the combat section of the game is weak due to it feeling ineffective at times.

While this was not the most crucial part of the game, I became frustrated with it.

The options for difficulty for combat and guidance are welcome and allow players of different skill sets to play and enjoy the game.

The game's environment is enjoyable as you will explore the whole of Derceto and some areas you enter through the chapters.

All are linear and highly detailed, but some are tight corridors, so you must navigate them carefully, as enemies will crowd and kill you.

The environments slightly differ in the play-throughs with Detective Carnby and Emily, meaning they can become quite repetitive.

Alone in the Dark is a game which will appeal to survival horror fans because of the setting and the story.

The clunky combat may affect how good an experience you have with the game, though I feel the difficulty options for combat being able to be changed at any time save it.

Overall, I think Alone in the Dark has promise and has helped to distance it from the awful attempt at a reboot in the Noughties.

It may not keep you on your toes like other games in the genre, but it is a step in the right direction.