Alone in the Dark is a celebration of the survival horror genre past and present

21.03.2024 - 15:01 / gamesradar.com / David Harbour / Emily Hartwood / Edward Carnby

Without Alone in the Dark, quite simply, there is no survival horror as we know it today. Way back in 1992, when the original game led us down the haunted hallways of the Derceto mansion for the first time, the impact that ill-fated journey would have on the landscape of video games could not have been fully understood. 

Fast forward 32 years, however, and everything from Resident Evil to Silent Hill, System Shock and The Last of Us owes at least something to Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood's maiden voyage. Those survival horror classics have all been remade for modern audiences in their own right in recent years, and so it seems fitting that the original Alone in the Dark has been given the same treatment in 2024. 

With Pieces Interactive and THQ Nordic at the helm, this titular reimagining takes the old tale to new extremes, brought to life (and death) by Killing Eve's Jodie Comer and Stranger Things' David Harbour. Assuming you've got the stomach for it, it's once again time to be left Alone in the Dark. 

As seen there, the reworked Derceto mansion – a country hospital and home for the mentally fatigued – is as stately as it is spooky, with dusty hallways and overgrown gardens that just scream Southern gothic horror. Set after WW1 but before WW2, Alone in the Dark's inter-bellum timeline – which unfolds on the shift between the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression – adds an abstract sense of underlying dread to Emily and Edward's tale. 

When the HP Lovecraft-inspired monsters show up and we delve deep into the protagonists' twisted alternate-dimension memories, though, that dread is far more explicit – to the point where your primary goal of investigating the disappearance of Emily's uncle Jeremy takes a backseat. Simply surviving in this survival horror nightmare is, very clearly, a job into itself, as you scramble for health items and ammo – both of which are in typically scarce supply – while fighting back against the things that go bump in the night. Godspeed and good luck… you're going to need it. 

So raise a glass – and, evidently, the dead – to the return of a stone-cold classic. Alone in the Dark is back, and we dare you to leave the lights off as you play. 

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