With Halloween beginning to drag its crawling corpse towards us we turn our attention back towards the darkest corners of your gaming nights, facing the feverish despair and ghoulish horrors of being...
Mainline Entry 01 - Alone in the Dark
Formats: PC, 3DO and Mac
Set in 1920's Louisiana, Edward Carnby finds himself trapped in the attic of a haunted mansion one dark night and must try to find a way of surviving the horrors that lurked its hallways. Pretty much the origin point for the survival horror franchise that would later see its popularity explode when Capcom would unleash the similarly moulded Resident Evil series on the world, players have to solve puzzles and defeat creatures using their wits and any weapons at hand as they explore the mansion that other than its four exterior walls is open to exploration. Its tone, and the inventive and original isometric viewpoints blew critics away and the game met immediate sales and critical success.
Spin Off Entry 01 - Jack in the Dark
Formats: PC and Others
A smaller side dish created whilst development of a true sequel was underfoot, Jack featured no combat and focused on a small child locked in a toy shop over Christmas along with a possessed Jack in a Box
Mainline Entry 02 - Alone in the Dark 2
Formats: PC, 3DO, Playstation, Saturn and Mac
As often seems to be the way with survival horror sequels, the second main game stepped back the horror elements in favour of action for this sequel. Taking on more of a pirate theme, the second entry plays out in a more linear manner than the original. Playing as both Carny and the grown up girl from the side game, Grace Saunders, you re-explore the Mansion but also the surrounding grounds and caves as you set out to stop the evil forces returning. The game arrived too late however, Resident Evil having already stolen its crown and limiting the originators appeal.
Mainline Entry 03 - Alone in the Dark 3
Formats: PC and Mac
Arriving the very next year but in a much more, and to this day, limited manner was the third game in the series. Sent to a ghost town on a new case, Edward sets out to find out why people have been disappearing. The games wild west theme marked it out as different but in terms of gameplay the third entry continued down a familiar path. It's limited release however meant the game remained a little played entry and any continuation was always likely to take the form of a rethink.
Mainline Entry 04 - Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
Formats: PC, Playstation, Playstation 2, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color
Rebooting the franchise into a modern day setting, the new game saw Carnby on the hunt following the death of a friend. The new entry took things back to the manor even though it was a reboot and gave two players to choose from, taking its lead from its rival. This was the entry that introduced the 'light' mechanic where your flashlight could hinder enemies. The new game was favourably received and somewhat repopularised the franchise even if some of the players may not have been that aware of the importance of the series origins.
Mainline Entry 05 - Alone in the Dark
Formats: PC, Playstation 2, Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
The new game pretty much rebooted the series again as an open world survival horror with an episodic structure and driving elements. Most of the gameplay retained what had worked from the previous game but in a narrative manner that could potentially be led back to the original trilogy more. Large scale set pieces were included that led to numerous technical issues but this new approach once again led to sales success that the series would again fail to follow up on to its own demise.
Spin Off Entry 02 - Alone in the Dark: Illumination
Formats: PC
Designed as a cheaply made multiplayer title, this closing release came late and very flawed. A four player co-op title, it took elements from the successful predecessor title but was a mess and received franchise low sales and reviews upon release, it now acts as a tombstone to the once promising series.
Share your thoughts and memories of Alone in the Dark
Mainline Entry 01 - Alone in the Dark
Formats: PC, 3DO and Mac
Set in 1920's Louisiana, Edward Carnby finds himself trapped in the attic of a haunted mansion one dark night and must try to find a way of surviving the horrors that lurked its hallways. Pretty much the origin point for the survival horror franchise that would later see its popularity explode when Capcom would unleash the similarly moulded Resident Evil series on the world, players have to solve puzzles and defeat creatures using their wits and any weapons at hand as they explore the mansion that other than its four exterior walls is open to exploration. Its tone, and the inventive and original isometric viewpoints blew critics away and the game met immediate sales and critical success.
Spin Off Entry 01 - Jack in the Dark
Formats: PC and Others
A smaller side dish created whilst development of a true sequel was underfoot, Jack featured no combat and focused on a small child locked in a toy shop over Christmas along with a possessed Jack in a Box
Mainline Entry 02 - Alone in the Dark 2
Formats: PC, 3DO, Playstation, Saturn and Mac
As often seems to be the way with survival horror sequels, the second main game stepped back the horror elements in favour of action for this sequel. Taking on more of a pirate theme, the second entry plays out in a more linear manner than the original. Playing as both Carny and the grown up girl from the side game, Grace Saunders, you re-explore the Mansion but also the surrounding grounds and caves as you set out to stop the evil forces returning. The game arrived too late however, Resident Evil having already stolen its crown and limiting the originators appeal.
Mainline Entry 03 - Alone in the Dark 3
Formats: PC and Mac
Arriving the very next year but in a much more, and to this day, limited manner was the third game in the series. Sent to a ghost town on a new case, Edward sets out to find out why people have been disappearing. The games wild west theme marked it out as different but in terms of gameplay the third entry continued down a familiar path. It's limited release however meant the game remained a little played entry and any continuation was always likely to take the form of a rethink.
Mainline Entry 04 - Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
Formats: PC, Playstation, Playstation 2, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color
Rebooting the franchise into a modern day setting, the new game saw Carnby on the hunt following the death of a friend. The new entry took things back to the manor even though it was a reboot and gave two players to choose from, taking its lead from its rival. This was the entry that introduced the 'light' mechanic where your flashlight could hinder enemies. The new game was favourably received and somewhat repopularised the franchise even if some of the players may not have been that aware of the importance of the series origins.
Mainline Entry 05 - Alone in the Dark
Formats: PC, Playstation 2, Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
The new game pretty much rebooted the series again as an open world survival horror with an episodic structure and driving elements. Most of the gameplay retained what had worked from the previous game but in a narrative manner that could potentially be led back to the original trilogy more. Large scale set pieces were included that led to numerous technical issues but this new approach once again led to sales success that the series would again fail to follow up on to its own demise.
Spin Off Entry 02 - Alone in the Dark: Illumination
Formats: PC
Designed as a cheaply made multiplayer title, this closing release came late and very flawed. A four player co-op title, it took elements from the successful predecessor title but was a mess and received franchise low sales and reviews upon release, it now acts as a tombstone to the once promising series.
Share your thoughts and memories of Alone in the Dark
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