Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

This game really scares me. Every details in this game look so real. The shadow of the character, lightning, thunder.

The character's movements are good. This game is like a horror movie.

Greatest horror game since Resident Evil.

While the 1992 original is a pioneer of survival horror games, this 2001 reboot is the first modern game in the series. The story, characters, setting and atmosphere are all on point and very engaging. The game has serious flaws though like re-spawning enemies, some very confusing & cryptic puzzles, and the boss fights were at times confusing and frustrating to handle as well due to their puzzle-like sequence. Even so, I enjoyed New Nightmare for what it is, and it was suppose to be the beginning of another trilogy, but those plans got scrapped, which is unfortunate. I feel the series would've been in far better shape had they just proceeded with the New Nightmare reboot trilogy. The 2008 game and 2015 Illumination were so bad, they virtually killed the series. So, it's an amazing miracle that Alone in the Dark 2024 got made which is now possibly the best game in the series thanks to modern gameplay & graphics, and being a faithful & respectful homage to the 1992 original.

Hi, Alone in the dark: the new nightmare one of the most enjoyable and scariest survival horror game ever for PS1. The graphic is great for a PS1 title , it could be better than Resident Evil if you look to the game from the bottom of you heart, the game is not forgettable also even when you finished it, you will feel like you want to play it more and more. The best part of the game is in the library, the music make you feel your body trembling with fear, the fear of the haunted mansion.

The music is well done to make your tension goes high, the lightening bolt in the sky and the thunder is also well done and it's look real somehow, the flashlight one of the best feature in the game, thats why they called this game the master of horror.

No more to say , the game is too old and even if you haven't played it yet, buy it and play it.

(This is a review for the PS1 version)

This really is, or would be a GREAT resident evil clone if not for one thing: respawning enemies. Yup. Enemies will often respawn in this game.

Having a very limited set of resources such as ammunition or health pickups is a classic element of survival horror. Managing your resources in these type of games adds a layer of complexity to each playthrough. You have to consider: can you attack the enemy in this situation? Do you have the ammo? Or would dodging/running from the enemy in question be more wise? Can you come back later and clear the room out when you might have more ammo? This is where the "survival" part of the term or survival horror comes into play.

But because the enemies respawn in this game, that whole balance is completely ruined imho. In a good survival horror game from this era, the player will eventually become so skilled at conserving resources that they'll end the game with a surplus of ammo/health pickups. Here though, every time you start to amass a nice cushion of heath/ammo pickups, you'll wind up wasting it on enemies you didn't realize were going to respawn.

...and no, running past these enemies isn't as easy as it can be in other survival horrors because often you'll be in a very narrow corridor with no way to go forward down the hall without bumping directly into enemies. The game also does NOT have some sort of melee weapon (like RE's combat knife) to be there as an option when you're out of ammo. When you're out, you're screwed.

It kind of boggles my mind that these game developers CLEARLY understood what made games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil appeal to people. This game is ALMOST a classic. I love the pre-rendered backgrounds, the voice acting isn't laughable, and the story has a very nice Lovecraft vibe. I really want to love this game. You might even like this game, if nothing I've described above puts you off. But it's not for me. I need more balance in my survival horror.

I have been a huge fan of survival horror, ever since I started playing Resident Evil for the PSX some four years ago. Since then, I have played through countless tired imitations...only a few of which captured the genuine atmosphere of the first RE. I used to play Alone in the Dark 1 and 2, and it became obvious that if any game was to give the genre the boost it needs, it would have to be the one that started it all...

So when AITD: The new nightmare was announced (it's been a while...), I was more than thrilled. So I took it home just last week and hoped for a revelation. Turns out Infogrammes were really devoted to making this a special game...still, they could have done better.

The graphics are simply great for a PS1 title. The lighting effects and the rendering used for the flashlight are extremely well done. The monsters look pretty decent...and the backgrounds rival those of RE3.

The gameplay is basic Resident Evil, altough the inventory screen does add some "new" features...you run around a deserted mansion and slowly discover what happened on Shadow Island. This brings up the story, and it is a very decent one. The only drawback is that you can guess the ending, and thus, the whole story after only an hour or so of gameplay.

My only real complaint would be the polygonal characters. They are very poorly animated (especially Aline Cedrac).

So I guess we'll have to wait for Silent Hill 2. I guess SH will be the game to lead survival horror beyond the B-Movies (however enjoyable they could be...)