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It can easily be argued that Alone in the Dark is the series that created the survival
horror genre. The first game was released in 1992 for the MS-DOS and laid the groundwork
for the genre. After a couple sequels the series fizzed away, until Resident Evil came
around and recreated survival horror. So obviously the original had to come back to the field
and compete, and what it came back with was Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare.
The game starts with Edward Carnby, a private detective, finding out that his partner is
dead off the coast of Shadow Island. Edward soon learns of some ancient tablets that can
unlock a secret power. Edward teams up with Aline to find the tablets and avenge his friend's
death. Their plane is attacked by some mysterious creature, forcing them to parachute, become
separated, and become stuck on Shadow Island.
Here the game makes you decide which character you want to be, either Edward or Aline. Each
has their own storyline and adventure, which intersects at certain points. The gameplay
is what you would expect from a survival horror game. Your character controls like in Resident
Evil, where up moves forward and you pivot. The game also uses pre-rendered backgrounds,
that are in fact very detailed and dark. The game has a great atmosphere that is mostly
focused on darkness. You will grow to fear the darkness and the nightmare creatures that
lurk within it.
And like most survival horror games, the game has a heavy emphasis on combat and puzzle
solving. What is different is, while both characters will see their fair share of both,
one is more prevalent in each character’s campaign. Edward has his trusty double barreled
revolver and will always have it in hand. His story involves mostly fighting the nightmare
creatures. The enemies are very tough and ammo is scarce, making you have to know when
to stand up and fight, and when to run away. Aline starts off in a huge mansion and must
solve the puzzles littered through mansion to advance. It is interesting how they separated
these two gameplay mechanics, allowing you to play the game the way you want. But whether
you are solving puzzles or fighting monsters, the darkness will always be there.
This is a great return of the original of the genre. With the separate campaigns and
the beautiful but dark graphics, the game is full of tricky puzzles and terrifying enemies.
This is another strong reason why you should be afraid to be alone in the dark.