Alone in the Dark

Solid story, good acting for the most part and a stellar setting! Absolutely loved exploring all the locations and the great detail put into those locations. Combat was a bit janky for me. Struggled especially against one small enemy that would consistently glitch under the floor on PC. Frustrated me greatly and is my biggest knock on this fun game.

I completed the Edward Carnby run in about 11 hours which is probably a bit longer than average. I encountered a few other glitches (like getting stuck on objects and walking on air instead of descending a stair case). Overall, I had a mostly good time and recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of old-school horror games as it has some good references to the original in here.

I won't go into too much detail here. Graphics - decent. Acting - well done. Plot - was ok .

Mechanics - was...... ok.

To be honest though..... I haven't finished the game! I have spent the last two days trying to work out a bug / find a patch, that can help me push past this area I'm stuck in.

But my average score is purely based on my experience and inability to play, read next to the other plays who had issues.

FYI. I'm in the library, in chapter 2.

Just got the shotgun.

Really hope they're fixed, as I was really enjoying.

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Alone in the Dark (2024) developed by a Swedish studio Pieces Interactive can't even be called a virtual game. De facto, this is an advertising product that at the end of the action tells you that you will learn all the secrets of Alone in the Dark in the next game. And what you've already gone through is a visual prologue. The scariest thing about AiD was not the dead and monsters, but soulless commerce.

AiD was frankly disappointing. New Orleans is not like itself. An unremarkable location can be attributed to any city in the South of the United States in the first half of the 20th century. The psychiatric hospital does not shine with plausibility and aesthetics, only the bathroom and bar elegantly made by the game designer occasionally remind that the action takes place in the 1920s. Because of the monotony of the environment, the Spirit of that time is not felt. The mission on the vintage steamer was the weakest and most shameful moment of the game. Players expected something remotely resembling BioShock Infinite from the horror world, but got a meaningless run from point «A» to point «B» with a dull shooting range consisting of stupid monsters controlled by artificial intelligence. I was pleased with the moment of transition from the American house to Egypt. The entrance in front of the tomb evoked flashbacks from the movie Mummy (1999) and the animated series Mummies Alive (1997), which amused nostalgia. But the tomb of the Pharaoh itself turned out to be another disappointment, made more primitive than the arenas from the game Unreal Tournament, which the brain memorized by heart.

The plot is interesting for the first 50% of the time, then it is flooded with garbage from other timelines, as a result of which the story turns into a farce, and the players get a scenario mess. The gameplay is dull and monotonous. Riddles are primitive and boring. Cheap casual games from the «Searching» genre, even despite the scarcity of two-dimensional graphics, can surprise and impress the player more than their expensive counterpart - Alone in the Dark.

93% of the characters are not charismatic, expressionless and quickly forgotten. Emily Hardwood which was copied from actress Jodie Comer fit well into the atmosphere of the 1920s, her image corresponds to that time. Emily Hartwood is a gumption, inquisitive, moderately brave (not a feminist caricature of a «Strong and Independent» woman), tactful, unopened Coquette a slight touch of pleasant (not too vulgar, but not feigned) sexuality. The character of Ruth Tallant is the opposite of Emily Hartwood, depicted grotesquely cliched with hypertrophied infantilism - a fake image of a «Starlet from the 1920s» created by an ignorant screenwriter. Ruth cannot be called a «Woman-Riddle» («Mystery Woman»), she does not have natural charm, but she has a naturalness, a weak realism, a trail of mystery stretches behind her. Ruth is an unfinished but interesting character.

Computer graphics have proven themselves well in the drawing of faces, facial expressions, clothes and in scenes related to the ignition of fire. Very realistic. Buildings, cars, interior, nature, are made on 3 out of 5 points and do not strike the mind with aesthetic beauty or subtlety of the image. AiD has in settings wide category of debugging the game of light and shadow, but the end result is not impressive. After playing with the sliders, the player gets a shadow depth weaker than in Deadfall Adventures from back in 2013. It would seem that a game with a difference of 11 years, with more technologically imperfect graphics, should be inferior to Alone in the Dark in everything... but the scene with the awakening of the mummy in a dark corner of the ruins of the temple looks more beautiful and realistic than that of his colleague from 2024.

Summing up, I was already going to give Alone in the Dark 3.5 points, but an unnecessarily naturalistic scene with a child forced me to deduct 1 point. I am not a prude and I perfectly understand the fashion for immoral realism imposed by HBO. But everything has its limits. In the game Outlast 2, the topic of victims of pedophilia was touched upon tangentially. But the developers were smart enough to show the evil of the lawlessness indirectly, without a naturalistic scene. In AiD, for the sake of HYPE, a cruel scene was shown, softening it only with a third-person view. The laurels of the scandalous bear from Baldur's Gate 3 are haunting the Swedes.

The result is 2.5 points out of 5. I do not recommend Alone in the Dark (2024). Will I wait for the release of the second part? It depends on which one. If it is made as mainstream by the Swedes as the first one, then NO. If the developers take the plot and atmosphere seriously, without chasing a large infantile audience, then commercial and artistic success awaits the sequel, and the gaming industry will be able to get another cult masterpiece into the hall of fame.

My first playthrough as Emily Hartwood in the remake of Alone in the Dark proved to be a bit of a challenge, particularly against the final boss. Despite the struggle, the game had many thrilling moments and is well worth playing. One aspect that stood out to me was the game's self-awareness of its limitations, refusing to overcomplicate what worked. The game mechanics are simple yet effective, with three weapons at your disposal, including a shotgun, machine gun, and pistol/revolver, depending on your character choice. The melee attack system, which utilizes items you find, adds to the gameplay.

Jodie Comer and David Harbour's performances as Emily and Edward are fantastic, with impressive modeling, rigging, and motion capture. The story, however, is a bit disorienting, throwing you into the mysterious world of Derceto Mansion, a facility for the mentally ill. As you navigate the narrative, the lines between reality and the characters' perceptions become blurred, keeping you guessing until the very end.

The game's score and sound design are its strongest aspects, featuring a haunting jazz-like melody that sets the tone. The characters you meet along the way add to the sense of disassociation and confusion, making it difficult to discern what's real and what's not. The varied locations, from the streets of New Orleans to graveyards and Antarctica, make the game unique and compelling. The puzzles are engaging and sometimes frustrating, keeping you intrigued and invested in the game.

Overall, Alone in the Dark is a more straightforward survival horror game, likely due to budget constraints. Despite receiving mixed reviews, I believe the game has potential for a sequel, especially if Jodie Comer and David Harbour return. Their performances are a highlight of the game, and their characters' chemistry adds to the experience.

I would still enjoy this game without a star cast. It was buggy upon release as if they hadn't tested the game before. It has been updated but I still had an environmental bug that I had to reload a save from. If you're looking for a scary horror game this isn't that. It's more of a gothic horror suspense thriller! I enjoyed the puzzles, and only had to look up walkthroughs once or twice cause I couldn't figure it out. The combat is light, which I enjoy it not being a total shooter game. I like that they added New Game +. I think they nailed what they were going for, but the game deserved to be polished up a bit more. Characters feel clunky at times and the graphics seem lazy in some parts. I really enjoyed the Louisiana Southern Gothic feel of the 1920s-30s. Everyone says it's 1920s and I would agree but I found an item stating The Great Depression, which the market crashed in 1929. At the end of the day I think people are dwelling on that too much. Also yes the story switches between "reality" and "places" which I didn't find confusing at all. Its part of the story and is supposed to be whimsically off putting. Perhaps people don't enjoy an unreliable narrative which we get when playing as Emily. I will agree at times the building had people to talk to and then randomly at times felt vacant, whether or not that's intentional I'm unsure.

I did find the switch to "Egyptian vibes" confusing as it had voodoo elements at first, but it's a small detail to the story, so in the end it makes sense.

I will be playing this game again, and looking forward to additional titles being released.

This game oddly reminds me of (or plays similarly to) Resident Evil Village and The Last of Us, but feels below the bar those games set. I also felt like this game was a marketing fail, I'm just now hearing about it a year later.

In conclusion if the game had polished its graphics, and tested better before release I'm sure it would have been 10/10.