My thoughts as I advance through the Alone in the Dark franchise

The horror.......

By Joseph Shaffer · June 25, 2017

Alone in the Dark (original)
"It didn't age well, but I'm glad I got to see where the survival horror genre got its start. It's still a classic."

Alone in the Dark 2
"Okay, okay... The combat's awful, but Grace is just adorable!"

Alone in the Dark 3
"What... is this? It's like they're not even trying."

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (console)
"No. No, stop this. Bring back the Lovecraftian stuff and graphic adventure elements. You're not Resident Evil. Stop this foolishness."

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (portable)
"What have you done, you monsters? What are you doing to Carnby!?"

Alone in the Dark (2008)
"NOOOOOOOO! No! I don't want Die by the Grand Theft Resident Uncharted in the Dark!"

Comments 6

EmP Staff Jun 25, 2017

Just wait until you get to Illumination.

Just wait...

overdrive Staff Jun 25, 2017

I own the 2008 game. I was buying Alpha Protocol at GameSpot and the clerk put the wrong game in the case. And since I have a massive backlog, I never discovered that until at least six months later. I have not once felt the desire to play it.

JoeTheDestroyer Blogger Jun 25, 2017

EmP:
Ugh, turning it into a co-op shooter was a horrible idea in itself. I'm not looking forward to that one.

OD:
It has a lot of really good ideas. They're all just poorly utilized. It's got a crazy amount of variety, but nothing is fine tuned and it's all sloppy. I want to like it so much, but it hurts to play.

Nightfire Jun 26, 2017

The original Alone in the Dark was pretty bad. I distinctly remember feeling this way when I was a kid and far more easily entertained. You might've heard 10-year-old me remark: "What the fuck? Why are the rats in the basement invincible, but the zombies can be killed just by kicking them?" et al.

I even tried going back to that game when I was much older to finally pass it, because as crappy as I remembered it being, it did have a really creepy and inspiring vibe to it. But I just couldn't do it. The controls, the combat, and all the scary gimmicks were just too annoying. I never played any of the sequels, but looking at your list here, it's hard to believe that the games that came it after were even worse...

JoeTheDestroyer Blogger Jul 1, 2017

Nightfire:
I got through the first one alright. It took me a bit of acclimation, but I managed it. The only game that might be playable (and don't take this to mean that I recommend it, because I really don't) is The New Nightmare on either PlayStation or Dreamcast, and even then only if you're okay with tank controls. The 2008 game had a lot going for it, but it blew just about every opportunity it had. But dammit if it wasn't a bold attempt!

Zydrate:
I think I laughed when I first saw the monster birds. I thought the ones in Gothic looked dated, but they have nothing on AitD's. The garishly clothed zombies are great, too. In a way, the game's presentation is like an old school pulp comic, or at least the best interpretation of one that they could manage in the early '90s.

Masters Staff Jul 6, 2017

Ah AitD. I played the second one when it just came out, enjoyed it despite the extremely... challenging combat, and sought out the original. The music is still fantastic, and the Lovecraft elements (tons and tons of esoteric reading material!) make a strong and welcome showing. The zombie-like enemies were underwhelming, but the coloured globes person and the 'burrower beneath' worked pretty well. I still rather like the first two, but the third really went off the rails.