Alone in the Dark: Illumination

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Alone in the Dark: Illumination is a single player and multiplayer shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by Pure FPS and was released on June 11, 2015. It received negative reviews from both critics and players.

In Alone in the Dark: Illumination, players must combat monstrous hordes in the darkness-filled town of Lorwich. As one of four heroes, they'll utilize both weapons and the power of illumination to defeat enemies. Players can build their party by rescuing companions, each with unique abilities and weapons, and face danger in every shadow in this action-horror experience inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's writing.

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Alone in the Dark: Illumination screenshot

+10

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23%

Audience ScoreBased on 196 reviews

atmosphere6 positive mentions

story10 negative mentions

The game can be enjoyable if played with friends, providing a fun co-op experience.
Some players appreciate the unique character classes and their abilities, adding variety to gameplay.
The atmosphere and lighting mechanics create tension, making for some engaging moments.

The game is riddled with bugs and technical issues, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
Many players feel the game strays too far from the original Alone in the Dark series, lacking the beloved puzzle elements.
The repetitive objectives and lack of a compelling story make the gameplay feel dull and uninspired.

story
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
75%
19%
The game's story is widely criticized for being minimal and poorly executed, primarily conveyed through text rather than engaging cutscenes or voice acting. Players find the missions repetitive and lacking in narrative depth, often reduced to mundane tasks with little connection to the characters or overarching plot. Overall, the storytelling feels incomplete and fails to capture the essence of the horror genre, leaving many players disappointed.
- “Each character is unique and plays differently and has their own story.”
- “And whilst on the subject, some of the inspiration towards the enemies and story in this game comes straight from Lovecraft, which is a niche more game developers really should capitalize on because there's such great source material.”
- “Ok, where to begin... while a fan of the horror genre, and I mean the Lovecraftian kind, I have been surprised by the storytelling in the game. No cutscenes at all, a text storyline which leans more on the gothic/emo prose than actual Lovecraftian storytelling.”
- “Firstly, there is like no story other than zombie things are out to get you.”
- “No intro, no cut-scenes, more or less no noteworthy story (provided in text form only).”
- “The game doesn't consider details like story or world-building important.”
gameplay
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
77%
14%
The gameplay of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing it as slow, clunky, and unbalanced, leading to a frustrating experience. Critics highlight issues such as boring enemy design, repetitive mechanics, and a lack of depth, while some appreciate the core concept but feel it was poorly executed. Overall, the game is seen as a missed opportunity, suffering from technical problems and a lack of engaging gameplay elements.
- “The gameplay isn't deep, but the core works well enough.”
- “Moving away from the general structure of a survival horror game, Alone in the Dark: Illumination instead focuses on co-op and multiplayer gameplay in the same vein as Left 4 Dead and any other wave-based survival shooter.”
- “General gameplay feels good, and the game presentation is nice.”
- “The gameplay is slow, clunky, and directionless.”
- “Not a compelling squad shooter, not a compelling survival horror, and its core mechanic is incredibly meaningless when the monsters are so easily stunned.”
- “From the awful graphics, boring gameplay, horrendous audio design, and overall lack of quality, it's clear that this was simply a cash grab from Atari.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
61%
27%
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being outdated and reminiscent of early Xbox 360 titles, with low-resolution textures and stiff animations. Many reviewers noted that the visuals are subpar, contributing to an overall feeling of a rushed, low-quality product, despite some acknowledging that they serve the game's atmosphere adequately. Overall, the graphical quality is seen as a significant drawback, with numerous reports of glitches and stability issues further detracting from the experience.
- “It's not bleeding-edge top-of-the-line graphics, but it's good enough for the atmosphere the game creates.”
- “Aka, great concept, good lore, and even the graphics aren't too shabby but a few things make it a hot steaming melty mess.”
- “Graphics wise, well they seem a bit dated, I want to say a mix between Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the new Killing Floor 2 graphics.”
- “The graphics look like an early Xbox 360 game.”
- “From glitches that cause your character to freakishly convulse to graphics that are borderline Ride to Hell level cheap, the graphics and stability of the game are abysmally poor.”
- “Graphics: outdated and clunky.”
stability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely criticized for its significant stability issues, with numerous bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, including progression-blocking errors and frequent crashes. Many players report frustrating experiences, such as character freezes and unresponsive mechanics, leading to an overall impression of a "buggy, clunky mess." While some hope for future patches to improve stability, the current state is deemed largely unplayable.
- “Each stage comes with its own progression-blocking glitches.”
- “From glitches that cause your character to freakishly convulse to graphics that are borderline Ride to Hell level cheap to the game becoming more unstable and eventually crashing if you so much as turn on lights, which by the way, you have to do if you're fighting as anyone other than the witch, the graphics and stability of the game are abysmally poor.”
- “A buggy, broken, unplayable mess.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its detailed environments and effective use of lighting, creating a spooky and immersive experience in locations like abandoned mines and graveyards. While the artwork and audio contribute positively to the overall ambiance, some players feel that the game's core mechanics detract from the experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a strong point, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The atmosphere is pretty nice, with some spooky locations on dark stormy nights, abandoned mines, or in a graveyard, for example.”
- “The level design, the surroundings, and the atmosphere of light and darkness are impressive.”
- “It's not bleeding-edge top-of-the-line graphics, but it's good enough for the atmosphere the game creates.”
- “The artwork, atmosphere, audio, and other details are well done, but the game is broken.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Overall, the game's replayability is severely criticized, with many reviewers noting that the linear level design and lack of engaging mechanics lead to a monotonous experience that offers little incentive to revisit. While the cooperative mode and unlockables provide some replay value, the general consensus is that the game is not worth its price, especially for single-player experiences.
- “The first campaign alone should last you two or three hours, and there's three campaigns in total here (not counting the escape map, which is pretty replayable it seems).”
- “Co-op and unlockables add to replayability.”
- “The worst entry in the series, worse even than the 2008 game; even after all the updates, the combat still feels very sluggish and unresponsive, the animations are stiff, the level design is linear, the enemy AI is simplistic, the graphics are outdated with low-resolution textures, and poor effects. There is no real horror, just waves upon waves of enemies, and no replay value as all levels feel the same and there's no incentive to revisit them after completion.”
- “If you are still interested in the game, wait for a 75% discount to avoid frustration right now. There isn't any replayability value, and the game wasn't made for single-player but multiplayer, so the overall quality is nowhere near $30; $15 is the farthest the game is worth.”
- “The first campaign alone should last you two or three hours, and there are three campaigns in total here (not counting the escape map, which is pretty replayable it seems).”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
50%
The humor in this game is largely perceived as unintentional and derived from its numerous glitches and shortcomings, leading players to laugh at its failures rather than enjoy any comedic content. Many reviewers express disappointment, likening the experience to a frustrating classroom scenario rather than a fun gaming experience, with the game's design choices seen as a cruel joke. Overall, the humor fails to deliver genuine entertainment, leaving players feeling more bemused than amused.
- “Even then, there are some commands, like pausing the game and pressing F to activate something, you cannot rebind because the game has a sick, twisted sense of humor and wants you to suffer.”
- “The Alone in the Dark franchise, if you can even call it a franchise anymore, is now buried with an unbelievably lackluster co-op shooter (which is hilarious considering it's Alone in the God Damn Dark).”
- “There's no enjoyment to be taken here other than laughing at what exactly Atari has become as a publisher.”
- “This game is so lame it's not funny.”
- “The jokes fall flat and feel forced.”
- “I expected humor, but it was more cringeworthy than comedic.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with users noting issues such as improper looping, a lack of ambient music, and missing sound effects. Many feel that the overall sound design feels cheap and detracts from the gaming experience, with some tracks being described as annoying. Improvements in music quality and sound effects are strongly recommended.
- “I think the screen is amazing, mutants and music horrifying.”
- “The music on the main menu doesn't even loop properly if you leave the game open for too long.”
- “Sound and music: feels very cheap.”
- “There's little to no music, very little ambience, and many of the sound effects are missing.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be extremely repetitive and tedious, as it involves picking up items one by one and constantly backtracking due to a limit on item carry capacity. The requirement to gather specific items like wires or batteries, combined with stamina limitations, further detracts from the enjoyment and makes progression feel laborious.
- “Wander around picking up items one by one while constantly luring enemies into ever-failing streetlamps, barrel fires, etc. It's an extremely repetitive and tedious experience.”
- “There is an impact on enemies when you shoot, but they downgraded it by limiting you to only being able to carry 1 item for progression, making it even more tedious as you have to go back and forth to fetch the items.”
- “You either get 3 wires, 3 batteries, or start up a generator to proceed. There's not much fun in doing it, and the fact that your stamina gets drained makes it even more tedious to do them at a walking pace.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant frame rate fluctuations, dropping from 160 fps to 70 fps even on high-end systems like the i7 6700k and GTX 1080. Overall, the performance is considered subpar and disappointing.
- “This title also has horrid optimization, with framerates constantly fluctuating from 160 fps down to 70 fps with all settings on max while running on an i7 6700k/gtx 1080 system.”
- “The performance is a joke too.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users pointing to poor graphics, unengaging gameplay, and subpar audio design as indicators of a lack of quality and effort.
- “From the awful graphics, boring gameplay, horrendous audio design, and overall lack of quality, it's clear that this was simply a cash grab from Atari.”

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10%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Alone in the Dark: Illumination review – absolutely horrific
Disgracing the name of Alone In The Dark is just one of the many crimes committed in this hatefully frustrating, and patently unfinished, survival horror.
Co.uk
10%

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2h Median play time

2h Average play time

2-2h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Alone in the Dark: Illumination is a shooter game with horror theme.

Alone in the Dark: Illumination is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 2 hours playing Alone in the Dark: Illumination.

Alone in the Dark: Illumination was released on June 11, 2015.

Alone in the Dark: Illumination was developed by Pure FPS.

Alone in the Dark: Illumination has received negative reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its atmosphere but disliked it for its story.

Alone in the Dark: Illumination is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Dementium II HD, Day One: Garry's Incident, Redfall, Overkill's The Walking Dead, Earthfall and others.

Alone in the Dark: Illumination

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