Alone in the Dark Review — Darkness Of The Mind

One of the most critically acclaimed horror games and the grandfather of the survival horror genre makes a stunning return in Alone in the Dark. This recreation of the 1992 classic tells a familiar yet updated story of madness, hauntings, and mystery as you step back into the shoes of detective Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood. Hauntingly familiar horrors stalk the Derceto manor, telling a story familiar enough to honor fans of the original yet evolved enough to deliver something exciting and new.

I should preface this review by letting you know I have never played the original Alone in the Dark. I did, however, research the game in advance of this review specifically so I can compare how this remake holds up to the original. While I’m not fueled by an intimate, nostalgic understanding of the original game, I can say that from my perspective, the remake seems to be starkly faithful to the original, with some improvements to both gameplay and story that you might expect to see 31 years later.

I won’t be making many comparisons to the original game during this review, focussing more on my experience as a newcomer to the series. I will however say that I believe fans of the original should have plenty of familiarity with this title without feeling like there is nothing new in store this time around.

Alone in the Dark opens briefly, introducing the story and the choice between the two protagonists. Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood are on the case to discover what has become of her missing uncle, Jeremy. One big departure from the original, I believe, is that as opposed to trying to simply escape the manor as you do in the original, Edward and Emily are actively on the case to find and bring home the estranged uncle Hartwood and the journey to do so sends you further and further into the mysterious world he’s been exploring.

Both characters play through the same puzzles and levels, with different events and a different story depending on which you’re playing as. There is no predetermined order of which character you should play as, and you can go back and play the other any time after finishing your initial playthrough. Since I’m a big David Harbour fan, I went with Edward for my first playthrough.

On the subject of old David, I want to say that he feels like a great choice for the role, both visually and performance-wise. That being said, I feel like the direction they have him wasn’t the best. While it isn’t too distracting and doesn’t take away from the experience, you can totally tell that he’s having the kind of difficulties film actors have when transitioning to voice work.

Alone in the Dark plays like you might expect a survival horror game, too. You navigate a very non-linear path, solving puzzles and collecting valuable resources to use in monster encounters later. I would compare the gameplay a lot to the Resident Evil 2 remake, which feels almost identical to the mechanical experience of Alone in the Dark.

“Erm. actually, Mr. Erik Tryhard,” I hear you saying, “It plays like Alone in the Dark, not Resident Evil.” Okay. I understand that Alone in the Dark pioneered the genre that Resident Evil would later join, but I’m comparing the game to what I’m familiar with.

Level design and presentation are where Alone in the Dark shines, giving us some spectacular visuals and eerie scares throughout the experience. I never felt jumpscared or too afraid to peer down a hall, but I definitely felt the tense and disturbing nature of everything as I became utterly enraptured in the story. It is a horror experience, one that sucks you in and leaves you wondering what could possibly come next, and not something that aims for cheap screams and heart-pounding frights.

There are, unfortunately, times when some of the game design choices made in Alone in the Dark can fight the experience a little. There are others where bugs can cause a slight roadblock to progress, too. But there was never anything to gatekeep the experience too much.

I’ll be the first to admit that there were some puzzles I simply do not think I would have been able to solve without the review guide provided to me. That’s right; sorry to shatter the illusion, folks, but I got a handy little worksheet that helps me complete sections of the game so my stupid brain doesn’t gatekeep this review from coming out. It is hard for me to say if these puzzles are too hard or if I’m just stupid, but I suspect plenty of players will be looking for walkthroughs in their first run with this game.

The monster encounters are not the greatest aspect of the game. They function fine, and there was no balance issue for me (on normal) that led to me needing more than a second try to pass some enemies. However, I found that most segments that asked you to sneak past an enemy never actually gave you a chance, with the enemies spawning at an angle where they see you before you see them.

Fighting the monsters is more or less easy, but you want to avoid melee attacks when you can. Monster animations can play while they get hit, and it’s really easy for foes to push you into terrain and get you unlocked for an easy kill. I also experienced my only game-breaking bug thanks to the melee feature.

There were a few bugs in my playthrough of Alone in the Dark, but nothing really too serious. A tutorial popup is disappearing too fast here; some light flickering there, no harm, no foul. The biggest had to be when I got clipped into the terrain while melee attacking an enemy, forcing me to exit to the main menu and reload my save (just a few seconds before.) It’s not the most oppressive of bugs; it only cost me a minute or two, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a PC review copy of this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website! Alone in the Dark is available on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation.