The topic of digital curses has long been a normal cultural background. The phenomenon of the videocassette from The Bell easily outlived the videocassettes themselves, and digital artifacts like “PEOPLE WHO WATCH WILL GO CRAZY” are more popular and more obvious than classic devils and drums. As for video games, the topic is not that extensive. There are enough stories about the damned modifications and versions of popular games, but not about the games themselves. Of the completely self-sufficient digital devils, it’s easy to remember only the story of Polybius (not to be confused with Pluribus), a mysterious arcade machine that kids said goodbye to life and just suffered a lot. Then this slot machine was taken away from the halls by Men in Black. In a Black Helicopter, they can’t move otherwise.
Survival Horror is one of the most popular genres among current video games. What is the incredible success of Resident Evil Requiem, released this year. Against this background, the news about the next relaunch of the father of all horror films Alone in the Dark seems surprisingly neglected. It emerged from the darkness in 2024 and disappeared into the darkness. There were casualties: the development studio disappeared too.
The mystique of the Alone in the Dark franchise is added by the fact that no one has played it, but everyone has heard of it. The first part from the beginning were too long ago and this is a history for everyone. The restart of the noughties was mysteriously hijacked and no one saw him alive either. Everyone knows that the game is problematic and not very good, but no one has played it to confirm or deny this. Well, that is, you personally, most likely, have not met such a person among your friends and acquaintances.
![]( "alone-in-the-dark-01-1")
The very first opponent in the game. Makes an impression
And here is a new restart. A retelling of the original Lovecraftian story in a juicy southern Gothic setting, made by Mikael Hedberg, who worked on the legendary Soma and the very first Amnesia. The digitized series stars Jodie Comer from “Killing Eve” and “Bikeriders” and David Harbour from “Stranger Things” in the lead roles. Beautiful modern visual, dark jazz in the soundtrack, perfectly staged cutscenes, traditional gameplay for the genre and… a complete failure. Literally deafening. If it hadn’t been for Steam’s random recommendations, I would never have found out about this game, because there’s not a word about it anywhere. Mysticism, that’s all!
The black goat with the legion of the younger
The most valuable thing in this game is the narrative. Not the plot or its presentation, but the overall atmosphere. This atmosphere is Lovecraftian, but not from Lovecraft, who is a label and a hashtag, but from Lovecraft, who is a writer. Reading the stories of Howard Philips, it is extremely difficult to get scared and it is not worth trying to do it. The plots there are quite simple, and the mythology is that same aforementioned hashtag that has been living its life outside the author’s works for a long time. The very atmosphere of Lovecraftian stories is extremely difficult to convey, which confirms the lack of successful and expensive film adaptations.
But Alone in the Dark is just such a film adaptation, although it does not refer to any specific work. Those are the same lingeringly cozy horrors, in which it is calmer than in objective reality.
Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood head to the Louisiana mansion of Derceto, currently serving as a comfortable sanatorium for the mentally ill. Emily’s uncle, Jeremy Hartwood, who is obsessed with mystical ideas, has disappeared from this most stylish asylum. At this point, the coherent plot ends and David Lynch, not even Howard Lovecraft, comes into play.
![]( "alone-in-the-dark-08-1")
The items in the inventory are two-dimensional, which only adds charm. Like Jeremy's notebook, a man who is no stranger to fine art.
The strange, colorful inhabitants of the asylum-sanatorium have the same Twin Peaks’ charisma. You want to look at them and interact with them, even though you have no idea what to expect from them. It is also necessary to collect tons of lore from this cursed place bit by bit: twenty years ago, an artist’s commune disappeared without a trace here, and before that, the black inhabitants of New Orleans professed some very strange iteration of Voodoo. And an obvious Black Wigwam looks like a journey through Jeremy’s memories and fantasies, which the main characters periodically enter: a somnambulistic world with its inhabitants and not necessarily monsters.
It is difficult to sort out and somehow systematize the story, but it is not necessary. The fragile world, woven of jazz dreams and fog, is good in itself. The investigation of riddles and mysteries is secondary, and the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. It doesn’t matter who killed Laura Palmer, or who Rust Cole was looking for. Cinema only allowed us to observe, but in a video game you can touch such a world.
Except that the final twist looks somewhat disappointing and banal. But you can close your eyes to this and consider it a tribute not only to the 1992 original, but also to the first part of Quake.
Resident in the Dark
So, the narrative part couldn’t be scolded much. So the game has a disgusting gameplay? Well, that’s clearly not the case either. Of course, these are not Japanese games with their impeccable polish, but they are clearly above average. A standard third-person horror film based on the patterns of a remake of the second Resident with a slight departure to the top four, again a remake. We wander around with one of the characters to choose from (they are identical in gameplay), solve puzzles, and shoot back at creatures of either a sick imagination or dark gods. Everything is quite decent.
And yes, it’s very secondary, but since when has it become a problem that games of the same genre are similar to each other in gameplay? Moreover, the genre was not overpopulated with projects. Yes, close combat causes close-range pain here, but it’s not much better in modern combat either. The shooting is acceptable and quite pleasant, in the context of the shooting of infernos from tommy gun. However, it is difficult to figure out exactly how the game wants to be played. It seems that according to the narrative it’s worth running for your life, but in practice it’s easier to shoot everyone. At the same time, in case of tense moments with an abundance of opponents, there is still a commotion.
![]( "alone-in-the-dark-14-1")
Ruth is a truly femme fatale
What’s really poorly done is the mechanics of throwing objects. Because you can’t carry them around. A pebble to distract an opponent or a Molotov cocktail to roast him always lies in a certain area of the location, and not in the inventory. You can only throw it from this area of the location, or carry it with the trigger cocked. That is, with the trigger of the gamepad or the mouse button literally clamped down. This is absolute nonsense and I have never seen a worse idea and implementation anywhere, but fortunately, in most cases, all these thrown objects can be ignored.
There are also very boring bosses from the gameplay, fortunately there are not many of them. The section with the pursuer doesn’t look very appropriate due to its one-time nature. The camera angle is also strangely unpleasant.: everything seems to be fine here, but she is always too close to the character, which is not very convenient in most situations.
The Age of beauty and Jazz
From a visual point of view, there is nothing to complain about. Everything is very beautiful, technologically advanced and expensive. It can be seen that it was made by hand with minimal use of ready-made assets, harmoniously and aesthetically correct. The misty streets of the French quarter, the mysterious Egyptian desert, the flooded steamer, the port and the oil rig, and, of course, the mansion itself – all designed in the same style, despite the variety of locations.
The characters are also beautifully made. The motion capture of the main actors worked perfectly, and in general, everything related to acting in cutscenes is staged and directed perfectly. Yes, I don’t really like the new look of Carnby, but on the other hand, doesn’t it look like the stereotypical boozy private investigator? The interpretation is quite decent and more appropriate than the trendy guy from the restart of the noughties.
Emily is a much more interesting character. It’s rare to meet a female protagonist who looks like a normal woman, and even appropriate in the context of the setting, without excessive sexualization or, conversely, deliberate unattractiveness.
![]( "alone-in-the-dark-20-1")
It's very touching that instead of the usual goal setting, the game predicts itself. It's like Alan Wake's, but that narrator is more reliable.
The Dark Man’s design is also quite good, especially in the scene where the decorative, hitherto motionless golden scarab on the helmet raises its wings. Ordinary opponents are not so curious, but they are an excellent example of Chthonic devils.
And, of course, the sound here is perfect without complaints. The acting of the entire voice acting team is very good and appropriate, and the music is beyond praise. Arnie Bergur Zoega and Jason Kohnen have done something on the level of the early albums of Borhem and Der Club of Gore, filled to the brim with suspense. It is highly recommended to listen, even in isolation from the game.
Listen online or download the soundtrack of Alone In The Dark 2024 (mp3, 169 MB)
I ain’t afraid of no curse
Based on all of the above, I can only call the failure of this game a mystery. The mystique here is not expressed in ghosts and kikimores, but in the unpredictability of the audience. Especially the audience of the survival horror genre. For example, the Callisto Protocol was also insanely hijacked. Yes, there was a very poor technical performance, but at the moment it is playing quite well. But at the same time, the crazy and thoroughly curved Deadly Premonition is considered a lost uncut diamond, because it was inspired by the same Twin Peaks. But in “Alone in the Dark” there is much more Lynch’s influences and it is done much better.
![]( "alone-in-the-dark-25-2")
Egyptian power!
So I recommend that you don’t be afraid of ghosts and enjoy this game. It’s good in itself, but for us, big fans of jazz music, the era of the Great Gatsby, tipsy detectives in fancy hats, southern Gothic and Lovecraft’s chthonic creatures, which Mordechai loves so much, it is highly discouraged to skip this. Enjoy and don’t forget to turn off the lights.
