Alone in the darka reinterpretation of 2024 the survival horror classic from 1992 which paved the way for generations of horror games afterward, will be released on March 20, 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Windows. Based on the story of Emily Hartwood (played by actress Jodie Comer from Kill Eve) or Edward Carnby (played by David Harbor from Stranger Things Fame) you are tasked with exploring the inner workings of an old mansion in Louisiana in the hopes of finding Emily’s manic and missing uncle.
I’ve spent a few hours with this new version of Alone in the dark before publication. It’s a sufficiently strange and creepy game that might be enough to satisfy many survival horror fans who are patient with idiots and a dose of “meh.” And although I’m not so sure about it resident Evil And The last of us-inspired, mostly lifeless combat, the sound design (from the sound effects to the soundtrack) is a true siren call of terror that keeps me coming back to this modern take on an old-school classic.
Alone in the dark 2024 conveys an acoustic mood from the moment the game starts. A slow, smoky jazz melody led by a gentle drum beat, double bass and driving vocal lines that move through the stereo field before a piano and horns come into play to pull you further into the darkness. It’s a perfect soundscape that doesn’t immediately fill you with haunting horror. It lulls you into an acoustic liminal space somewhere between safety and the knowledge that fear awaits you.
This terribly wonderful sonic joy continues throughout the game, and not just with the music continuing the gentle rhythm towards madness. The ambient sounds at work in the Derceto mansion and the nightmarish realms you’re often transported to also provide enough fear. As you explore the halls of this mystery-filled spookfest of a mansion, you’ll frequently hear the occasional sound of running away cockroaches, spontaneous but suspicious knocking noises, and creaking noises coming from the walls. It teases you with the anticipation that something bad is about to happen, even though these sounds are rarely predictable signs of a fright. Sure, there are jump scares here, but the seemingly random nature of the ambient sounds makes them a treat that may well leave you on edge.
Even in these moments of exploration, the music returns, with honky-tonk pianos and growling horns and menacing blaring noises that sometimes feel like they’re a physical part of the horror of the mansion. It’s a wonderful auditory hallucinatory phenomenon that reminds me of some of my favorite experimental ambient artists Robert Rich (but much more terrible).
Alone in the dark alternates between this mansion setting and a mysterious alternate reality. In these locations, the tone of the music and environment drifts into more familiar survival horror territory – but that doesn’t stop it from feeling fresh. In one area there is a huge piece of oil drilling equipment that sets off a chilling drumbeat as you are forced to advance further into the level, where even worse creatures lie in wait.
That’s the kind of thing that gets me into survival horror: terrifying sensory experiences. While Alone in the dark There is a risk that 2024 will be too similar resident Evil At times there are standard over-the-shoulder shootouts that feel a little out of character, especially for Emily’s character, and fall far short of the standard she has set RE), his sound palette and the atmosphere of his mansion are quite unique and kept me coming back, preferably at night, with the lights off.
Also, I may feel a connection to Emily, a spinster who struggles with the fear of going mad and whose job it is to take on the ever-tedious task of correcting people on her behalf while healing their wounds, by taking a sip of alcohol. Relatable.
But cool sounds are the be-all and end-all Alone in the dark 2024 is here. It’s a shame that this reboot of the horror classic of the same name falls short in other respects. Facial animations overall lack visual sophistication. It can feel very clunky. The combat is deeply uninteresting. And it can be confusing to keep up with the story as it almost contradicts itself from time to time.
Alone in the dark 2024 is now available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Windows.
