Alone in the Dark originally released in 1992, before many of you reading this were even born. Revolutionary in its time, this survival horror franchise hasn’t seen the light since the oft-maligned 2015 online co-op release Alone in the Dark: Illumination, as Atari sold the rights to THQ Nordic in 2018. Six years after that sale, and almost a full decade since the last release, can Pieces Interactive pick up the, well, pieces, and deliver a faithful third reboot of this age-old series? Our review reveals the answer.

Welcome Back to Derceto

The Unreal Engine 4 runs the show, and it’s more than capable of keeping things smooth. On the PS5, there is the usual choice between Quality or Performance mode, where the engine targets 4K at 30fps for Quality, and up-scaled 1080p at 60fps for Performance mode. Most people will probably choose Performance, though I am partial to Quality mode myself. Things certainly ran better than the freely-available prologue Grace in the Dark, which ran quite choppily.  Perhaps Pieces Interactive were using an earlier version of the game to build the free episode, but it’s not the best impression to make on potential customers. There are also some filters that let you use much blockier character and lighting models, in a funny nod to the original game from the ’90s.

Alone in the Dark takes place back in the place that started it all, Derceto Manor in Louisiana. Originally the home of artist Jeremy Hartwood, it has been turned into a mental hospital. He has penned a letter to his niece Emily which had disturbing descriptions, which pointed to perhaps a bout of some sort of mania. Concerned, she travels to the Manor with a hired private investigator, Edward Carnby, though it quickly becomes clear that all is not what it seems and it might not be mania but something supernatural after all. You can play as either Emily or Edward, with separate campaigns for each, though the story unfolds in a similar fashion regardless. A true ending can also be unlocked by completing both characters’ campaign, thus encouraging at least two playthroughs.

Play It in a Weekend

Those playthroughs will take most gamers 6-10 hours to complete, depending on difficulty level chosen and whether or not you plan on taking your time to pick up collectibles. Alone in the Dark calls its collectibles Lagniappes, and there are various sets of them that unlock additional lore when completed. Some Lagniappes are exclusive to one character, so completing a few of these sets will require at least one more playthrough. With this requirement, that effectively doubles the playtime, though since the story stays largely the same, subsequent runs will no doubt be a bit shorter.

Alone in the Dark features a voiceover cast of more traditional actors, with Jodie Comer from Killing Eve (a TV show) voicing Emily Hartwood, and David Harbour of Stranger Things fame voicing Detective Carnby. Their performances are pretty good, especially considering neither had done this type of acting before. There’s a couple of odd deliveries from time to time, but overall it’s believable that they are actually those characters. The rest of the cast also turns in a good performance. Complementing the voice work is a jazzy soundtrack that so perfectly fits the era and location, with collaboration from Jason Köhnen, a doom jazz artist, which I did not know was a genre of music until reading about and playing this game. The audio work really adds to the mood of the game, which is a bit like a noir film, but with paranormal entities mixed in for good measure.

Clunky Combat

Combat is an occasional occurrence in Alone in the Dark, which is probably for the best because it’s definitely a shakier feature compared to the story and audio work. The camera is at a good distance from the player for taking in a room, but the zoom when aiming down sights can make for some awkward shooting. On the normal difficulty, there is usually enough ammunition laying around to kill all of the current area’s enemies, and if you run out of bullets you can also use melee weapons. Those close-range weapons wear out over time, however I did uncover a bug whereby picking up a new weapon, and then picking up the weapon you just put down will give you back your earlier weapon, completely repaired. Melee weapons don’t seem to have different strengths or weaknesses, though, so this mostly became a way to ensure I always had at least one spare weapon if I broke my current one.

Derceto Manor is a labyrinth mansion, which becomes more unlocked the further into the story you get. Alone in the Dark features various toggles that affect how much the game will give you hints as to what to do next. Even with all of the guide options turned on, however, at certain points in the adventure I had to scour every room I’d been in lately, in order to find some key item I missed. The hints are helpful, but sometimes unintuitive.

A Good Return

Alone in the Dark has an entertaining story that is expanded upon via narrated slips of typewritten paper, which honestly made me want to go and read an actual book. With its playtime no longer than 20 hours for most players who use both characters, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s a single-player, offline game as the series is best known for. This does feel like a return to form, and with some polish, a sequel could help bring this venerable series into the spotlight again.

Alone in the Dark is a fine survival horror game which, while not reinventing the genre, provides for a succinct, well-produced, entertaining story that has incentive to replay at least once. There are a couple of rough combat sequences, but overall if you want an unsettling, focused adventure set around a century ago, then Alone in the Dark should be exactly what you’re looking for.

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:

• Great story and setting
• Good voice performances, stellar soundtrack
• Just-right playtime

Cons:

• Clunky combat
• Occasionally unintuitive hints
• Nothing really innovative to set it apart