Alone in the Dark Review – Flickers of Inspiration

Before Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or any of the other horror staples were chilling and thrilling fans, there was Alone in the Dark. Unfortunately, after laying the foundation for the whole survival horror genre, the series lost its way with some truly dreadful revival attempts interspersed with long periods of dormancy. And now we’re trying again with a fresh reboot of the series simply titled Alone in the Dark from Magicka 2 and Titan Quest developer Pieces Interactive and publisher THQ Nordic.

So, does the new Alone in the Dark vault the franchise back to the top of the survival horror pantheon? Or does it take a wrong step in the gloom? Grab your flashlight, it’s time to find out.

Alone in the Dark casts players such as Emily Hartwood, who’s on a search for her missing uncle Jeremy Hartwood, or Edward Carnby, a hard-bitten detective Emily has hired to help her with her task. Jeremy has disappeared somewhere within Derceto Manor, a foreboding New Orleans landmark with a dark past that’s been turned into a sanatorium of sorts for the “mentally fatigued.” It quickly becomes apparent things aren’t quite right at Derceto, as multiple patients have gone missing, the staff seems to be involved in some sort of cult, and various notes Jeremy has left behind indicate he’s haunted by a supernatural entity called the Dark Man and may have gained the ability to travel between worlds. As you delve deeper into Derceto you’ll uncover more about its dark past and perhaps Emily and Edward’s own unique connections to its haunted halls.

Alone in the Dark slathers the creepy ambiance on thick and does a good job of layering Lovecraftian themes one on top of the other – mental illness, creeping horrors, dark gods, hidden tombs, and more are all tossed into this sinister stew. It’s all rather intriguing, right up until the point where you’d usually expect the story to start coming together and making some sense. Unfortunately, that never really happens.

While their stories aren’t really as different as promised, playing through the game as both Edward and Emily will give you a better notion of what’s actually going on, but even then, there are still a lot of dangling threads and things that don’t quite make sense. Maybe you’re okay with that kind of uncertainty in a weird horror story, but even if you embrace the unknown, you may still be disappointed by this game’s final moments. Without giving anything away, most of Alone in the Dark maintains a relatively subtle tone for a Lovecraft-inspired tale, but the game’s climax takes a sledgehammer to all that.

In terms of structure, Alone in the Dark is a mishmash of past and present survival horror tropes. Derceto Manor acts as a hub of sorts and is a straight out of Resident Evil 2 or other classics of the genre — full of locked doors, scraps of paper to read, and elaborate puzzles to solve. While enemies will occasionally phase into Derceto from another reality, for the most part, your life is not in danger there. That said, heavy atmosphere and occasional interactions with Derceto’s quirky inhabitants will keep you on your toes.

Fairly early on, you’ll also discover you can use a special talisman to visit various other nightmarish realms, which feel more reminiscent of modern Resident Evil with relatively linear designs and a focus on combat, although they serve up the occasional puzzle, too. These sections run the gamut in terms of quality – some of the more elaborate realms, like one that sends you deep into a puzzle-filled Egyptian tomb, are quite engaging, while others are basically just a series of rote combat encounters.

Whether in Derceto or the various nightmare realms, puzzle design is a mixed bag. Some are quite clever (the aforementioned Egyptian tomb and a sequence where you revisit a mystery Edward once solved stand out) while others are either too simple or frustratingly obtuse. The consistency just isn’t quite there.

Alone in the Dark’s combat, on the other hand, is more consistent. Unfortunately, it’s consistently mediocre. While not broken or too terribly frustrating, combat is very simple. There are only a small handful of guns in the game and most enemies just stagger mindlessly toward you. For the most part, the makers of Alone in the Dark seem to realize the limits of what they’ve created and don’t throw too much at you at once, but that changes near the end of the game, when they attempt some boss fights that are simply too elaborate for this game’s limited combat setup to handle.

Alone in the Dark often feels like it’s pushing a bit beyond its capabilities, as the game’s performance on PS5 isn’t great. I’m not somebody with any qualms about playing the occasional 30fps Quality mode, as long as that 30fps is consistent, but the option feels much too sluggish in this game. Performance mode is definitely more playable, but it still comes with its share of hiccups. Cutscenes stutter no matter what visual mode you pick, and graphical quirks and other glitches are fairly common, although outright crashes were uncommon in my experience. THQ Nordic is promising some of this will be fixed in a Day 1 patch, but for now, I can only comment on what I’ve played.

Performance being shaky is kind of surprising, as Alone in the Dark isn’t exactly on the bleeding edge in terms of presentation. Make no mistake, there are some striking moments here, particularly within the detailed Derceto, and Edward and Emily are well brought to life (likely because they’re played by great actors like David Harbour and Jodie Comer, respectively), but for the most part, the game’s visuals get the job done and not too much more.

Despite my complaints, I have to admit, I still enjoyed this new Alone in the Dark overall. Maybe I’m just a sucker for that old-school survival horror feel, or maybe Alone in the Dark’s faults just didn’t sink in too deeply as no one section of the game sticks around all that long. Your first time through the game will take around 7 or 8 hours, although multiple playthroughs are encouraged in a number of ways. As mentioned, Edward and Emily’s stories aren’t that different, but a variety of collectibles, secrets, and unlockable endings will keep some happily in the dark for a while, although others may feel the urge to flick on the light switch before they collect everything.

This review was based on a PS5 copy of Alone in the Dark provided by publisher THQ Nordic.

Alone in the Dark

Alone in the Dark is the best entry in the franchise in over two decades, although there wasn’t much competition for that title. So-so combat, technical issues, and a frustrating lack of consistency sometimes cast a shadow over the game, and yet, there’s still something enticing here. The game’s intricately-designed Derceto Manor hub, thick Lovecraftian atmosphere, and surprisingly-varied level design ought to be enough to light a spark of enthusiasm in some hardcore survival horror fans’ dark hearts.

Buy for $59.99 from Amazon

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