Alone in the Dark

Review

After her uncle disappeared from the Derceto's mansion, an asylum deep in the Louisiana countryside, Emily Hartwood hired a private detective. As they drove towards their destination, she explained that Jeremy Hartwood was possessed by something or someone that he refers to as the Dark Man, who is constantly watching his movements. She also mentioned that most members of the Hartwood family go mad and kill themselves before their time comes. But Jeremy didn't kill himself; instead, he hoped to find a cure with the new method of the Derceto's mansion owner, Dr Gray. However, in his last letter to Emily, he made some accusations that the entire staff of the asylum were part of some cult, and then he disappeared. It's time to discover the mystery of Alone in the Dark.

Alone in the Dark is a third-person Lovecraftian psychological horror adventure game developed by Pieces Interactive and published by THQ Nordic on the 21^st of March on the Steam platform. The game is also available on PS5 and Xbox One Series X|S.

The game has five chapters and will start with a fabulous cinematographic scene. Then it’s time to choose who to play as. Carnby, the private detective, was my choice. If you decide to play as Emily, I understand the game will lead toward the same path but have different commentary and cutscenes. You can play the game with or without hints. If you choose to play without hints, you'll have to figure everything out by yourself.

The gameplay and the character's animations are beautifully done and so smooth. All the locations you visit are visually stunning. In almost every area, there will be things to pick up along the way, such as clues regarding the story and puzzles, ammunition for your firearms and objects you can use as melee weapons, such as pipelines and sledgehammers. There will be locked areas and locked chests; you might find a key for them while playing on your current chapter. But, more than once, these areas or chests will be accessible further down the track in upcoming chapters. What impressed me was the voice-over and the atmosphere in the game. You hear sounds in most places giving you the impression that something is there or that something is about to happen. It made me jump several times. I knew that something was building up, but when it happened, it was not where I had expected it to be.

I would classify the puzzles as average; while a couple of them got me thinking, most were pretty straightforward. Yes, some puzzles will require additional objects to find within your surroundings, but on several occasions, you won't be able to complete these puzzles straight away as some of the objects won't be available in the current chapter. The puzzles with the medallion are also pretty easy when you gather all the information required.

I was slightly disappointed with the fighting and enemies I encountered in this game. There is not a great variety of enemies, and they are easy to dispose of. Even the last two bosses were surprisingly easy to kill. There are objects lying around, such as briks and Molotov cocktails, that you can throw at enemies.  I liked that!  These objects helps damage them significantly, and can also be used to distract them.  You can easily dodge enemy attacks and use the melee weapon if you are close enough. Sure, melee weapons deteriorate pretty quickly, but if you have enough ammunition and keep dodging until you are out of reach, you can turn around and start shooting at them. 

For my first experience with a game of this series, I must say that I enjoyed it. I need to go back and play Emily to see the difference between the two characters' perspectives and to finish collecting all the clues. I have been very thorough regarding clues, so I imagine the other collectables will be discovered while playing Emily.

The graphics, soundtrack and voice-overs are excellent! The game runs very well, and I haven't experienced any issues apart from the mouse sensitivity at the start of my playthrough, which was an easy fix by adjusting it. You can play the game with a gamepad, or if you are like me, the mouse and keyboard are just fine. The game is translated into 16 languages, but the full audio experience is available in English, French, German and Japanese.  I think the initial release price of $99 AUD is too high for what you get in terms of gameplay.  $69 AUD feels more appropriate.

Review written by THE CPT FROGGY for Zeepond.com

Alone in the Dark Steam Store Page