Alone in the Dark is an extremely important franchise within the sub-genre of survival horror. The first game in the series is considered by many to be the first true survival horror video game ever released. Thus, without this franchise, other iconic survival horror titles like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Alan Wake may never have come to pass.
This is one reason that this reimagining of the original Alone in the Dark was my most anticipated 2024 release, the other reason is because survival horror remakes have been knocking it out of the park lately. Last year alone saw Capcom expertly remaster the iconic Resident Evil 4, after the year opened with EA releasing a masterful remake of the original Dead Space.
All of this combined with the star power of David Harbour and Jodie Comer in the lead roles meant that Pieces Interactive’s 2024 reimagining of Alone in the Dark had a lot to live up to. While the game feels like it is making a valiant effort in some places to live up to this, it is sadly a bit of a let-down in other places.
Alone in the Dark is out now and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
The game’s opening cutscene features two of the finest actors working in Hollywood today, and yet it doesn’t give them the room to show off their respective abilities. It feels so weirdly condensed. Just as we are getting into watching the always impeccable Jodie Comer as Emily Hartwood bantering with her hard-boiled client in Harbour’s PI Edward Carnby, the two abruptly arrive at Derceto Manor, abruptly quashing the pre-amble and forcing the player to select which character they want to play as based on hardly any information at all.
I chose to play through the first time as Carnby, before subsequently replaying the second time as Emily. Unfortunately, unlike Resident Evil 2, the two playthroughs are near-identical experiences, with only a handful of varied dialogue and one solitary mission to really differentiate them. Perhaps opting for a structure like Alan Wake 2, where players got to play as both Alan and Saga in a single playthrough would have been the better option.
A missed opportunity
Another major issue I had with the way structure of the story was again to do with the fact that this game stars two of my favorite actors, and yet features hardly any scenes where the two of them interact. It does happen briefly a couple of times around the middle of the game, but other than the endgame and the intro cutscene, Harbour and Comer share barely any screen time which seems like a major missed opportunity.
Thankfully, the singular story that is told in both playthroughs is pretty interesting. It is spooky, and cosmic, with a heaped sprinkle of Southern Gothic charm sprinkled in for good measure. There is enough intrigue and strange imagery present to keep the player enticed through the fairly brisk adventure.
One thing that doesn’t do a particularly good job of capturing the player’s attention is the enemy design. Apparently Guy Davis, (notable for having collaborated with Guillermo Del Toro in the past,) helped to design the monsters in Alone in the Dark, but they all come off as unoriginal and unremarkable. They feel much closer to the more generic Molded enemies from Resident Evil 7 Biohazard than the more exciting Las Plagas monsters seen in Resident Evil 4.
Fighting them doesn’t feel too challenging either. While ammo can be scarce and melee weapons are breakable, most move pretty slowly and seem pretty dumb, even when playing on a higher difficulty. While there is a bit more enemy variety seen towards the end of the game, it seems like too little too late. The worst part is they commit the cardinal sin of horror-based media, as they aren’t really all that scary at any point.
One could make the argument that neither of Alone in the Dark’s playable characters are necessarily trained combat experts, they are simply two people who have armed themselves with various weapons in order to survive, and that is why the shooting and melee mechanics feels so sloppy, but that feels like somewhat of a cop-out.
If you are coming from something like the Resident Evil 4 remake, or The Last of Us Part 2 straight to this, then you are going to feel as though you are trudging through mud every time you try to aim a gun or swing a blunt object. I am not saying that Emily and Carnby should have been portrayed as Navy SEALS, but combat could have at least feel purposeful and satisfying.
Now, onto the good stuff
Fortunately, there were certain aspects of the game that I did enjoy. Jodie Comer gives us her best Deep South accent and does well with the material she is given to work with. As for David Harbour, I am not sure I can think of a better actor to portray a slightly over-the-hill, chain-smoking, whiskey soaked private detective. The two leads serve as our vessel into this bizarre reality and they both sell it well. I also enjoyed how Derceto Manor itself felt like the game’s other lead character.
What the game lacks in combat mechanics, it makes up for in puzzle design. As a man with very limited free time on his hands, I am notoriously hard to please when it comes to puzzle games. Alone in the Dark manages to strike that perfect balance between making the player engage their brain, without requiring guesswork and being frustratingly vague.
Sound design is always such an important factor in any horror game and thankfully Alone in the Dark nails it in the audio department. Any moments of fear felt during my time with the game came directly though my headphones. Both the game’s quirky score, and the sound effects are effectively implemented to heighten the game’s tonal shifts and keep players on their toes.
It isn’t even just a case of playing a lot of loud noises either, more than once, the more subtle creaks and groans of Derceto Manor made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The sound design of some of the enemies also somewhat makes up for what they lack in appearance. I’d be curious to see if a vinyl soundtrack is released for this game, because I’d likely pick it up.
In summary, Alone in the Dark is a decently made horror title that will be enjoyable for old school survival horror fans and shines in a handful of spots. Unfortunately though, it cannot reach the high bar that has been set by its contemporaries, and thus feels regressive in certain aspects; like how you bizarrely can’t carry or stow a throwable item in your inventory.
Speaking of carrying objects in a horror game, the lack of any sort of inventory management, combined with the generically designed enemies, and the sluggish combat means that Alone in the Dark is rarely scary. However, its quirky supporting cast, uniquely campy tone, strong environmental design, and its ability to allow you to feel like a real detective solving supernatural puzzles does make up for a lot of its misgivings.
Alone in the Dark – 7/10
