This game contains themes and imagery that may be disturbing to some.
Alone in the Dark 2024 got a shiny new coat and was re-introduced to a new crowd of players. Some might think that this title is a new IP, a new world for players to get immersed in, but this game is a re-imagining of the 1992 classic, Alone in the Dark. This was my first time diving into the game and experiencing the world it had to offer, and after playing the game it left me feeling a mixture of happiness from the nostalgia it evoked, and slight disappointment with how some parts of the game flowed.
While yes, this game brought in a new audience, and folks like myself who have never heard of Alone in the Dark, it also didn’t meet player expectations with how much it was changed from the original in 1992, to the re-imagining in 2024. Changes by nature are a great way to amplify parts of the story, however, taking a game that was made 32 years ago requires a bit more love and a lot more changes. These changes will either improve the game vastly or in some circumstances make the game somewhat unrecognizable to the people who loved the original.
Striking a balance:
I got this game on a whim, it was a “oh I see there’s a new horror game, let’s see how this goes” type of purchase. Throughout playing the game I felt like I was back in the early 2000s in some sections with how it’s paced, and how the story flows. The entirety of the game is very much a slow-burn experience, taking the player through extensive notes and journeying between the real world and glimpses of the trauma experienced by characters in the game. There are bits of psychology here and there, and interesting plot points, but the story overall focuses on two narratives mashed together. A major downside of two separate stories in the game is that it could be convoluted, and end up confusing the player. There are a lot of notes, which I think is great, but not a lot of people want to spend time reading long notes throughout a game. Some of these notes are up to five pages long, and while yes it adds to the story, some of them if not found will result in lost context for the player. All the notes and clues found will have an audio description with them, so while you don’t have to take the time to read them all, it’s still laborious to go through.
It’s all about striking a balance in any game, and I feel this game lacked a solid balance between equal parts of notes and giving the player the story through natural progression. By the end of the game if you don’t read/listen to any of the notes or only check out some of them, then the ending will seem confusing and convoluted. There’s one plotline of deciphering the thoughts and madness in Jeremy’s mind of his pact with the Dark Man, and then the other realizing that everyone’s in the cult of the Black Goat of the Woods.
The experience as a whole:
Story aside, the mechanics are another issue entirely. Sometimes they would work well, and sometimes I would get caught on tables, chairs, and stairs. Some moments during the game even led to crashes, where I would lose some progress, having to play certain sections all over again. Even though the mechanics and crashes were not ideal, there were a lot of things about this game that made parts of the experience fun, and immersive. The Dark Man I feel (on camera) was so underutilized, I would have loved more sections with him, running in fear, or cutting scenes, either is fine. The ambiance and photo mode were especially immersive with how gorgeous the surroundings were. I took several minutes just to sit in areas and soak up the gorgeous views, beams of light, and cascading colors. The switching back and forth as well between Emily’s reality and Jeremy’s was jarring yet effective in delivering an immediate scare and changing in pace. If anything the ambiance and art of this game is the main reason why I would heavily recommend playing this title.
With a slow burn story that might not be for everyone, to a mixture of things that ranged from just ok to holy cow that’s stunning, getting into this game will be tough for some. There’s a lot of wasted potential with Alone in the Dark that could have been handled a lot better for long-time fans of the franchise. For someone like me who’s brand new, I thought the game was good but not one I would play for a second time. The puzzles for being on story mode were really fun, so if you’re a puzzle person like me, you’ll enjoy that aspect as well as the other things I’ve mentioned. Since this game was originally released in 1992, transporting yourself back to that time is easy with certain parts of this game, at the end when Emily starts to visit her trauma, Detective Carnby thinks Emily’s going mad when she steps through a wardrobe, I saw a momentary glimpse of what the original must have been like. I would have loved to have seen more of the original title's soul in its re-imagining.
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