Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
- October 29, 2013
- Spiral House
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam"Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare" is a survival horror game where players control supernatural detective Edward Carnby, seeking revenge for his deceased friend and investigating the mysterious Shadow Island. The island holds three ancient tablets that, when combined, unleash a powerful and menacing phenomenon. Players must navigate through dangerous creatures and shadows, uncovering secrets and facing their fears.
Reviews
- The game offers a nostalgic experience for fans of classic survival horror, reminiscent of early Resident Evil titles.
- It features two playable characters with different storylines, enhancing replayability and providing varied gameplay experiences.
- The atmosphere is praised for its creepy ambiance, effective use of lighting, and engaging puzzles that keep players on edge.
- The PC version suffers from numerous technical issues, including crashes, graphical glitches, and poor controller support, making it frustrating to play.
- The controls are often described as clunky and outdated, with tank controls that can hinder gameplay and make combat difficult.
- Many players report that the game does not run properly on modern systems, particularly Windows 10, leading to a white screen or unplayable graphics.
- story51 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story of "Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare" is generally viewed as decent, featuring two interconnected character storylines that offer a mix of intrigue and nostalgia. While some players found the narrative engaging and atmospheric, others criticized it for being basic, rushed, or cheesy, with a few noting that it lacks strong ties to the broader series lore. Overall, the storytelling is considered a highlight for its time, despite some technical issues and pacing problems.
“If you're looking for an old school survival horror game with tank controls, a well fleshed out and interesting story, and a pretty unique atmosphere, you can't go wrong with this one.”
“A great storyline; it's like being in a mini-series TV show.”
“The story and the depth of it are most memorable, so for a game of its age, it does incredibly well.”
“The story is too cheesy and compressed; the latter half of the game feels very rushed, although I must admit that the dialogue feels quite solid at times.”
“The story was alright, but about 1/3 of the way through one character's story, I just wanted it to be over.”
“Too bad the port and storyline have been utterly mangled.”
- gameplay27 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of classic survival horror mechanics reminiscent of Resident Evil and Dino Crisis, featuring challenging puzzles, a unique light-based mechanic for defeating monsters, and a mix of creepy sounds and visuals that enhance the atmosphere. While some players appreciate the nostalgic elements and solid mechanics, others criticize the aiming and shooting controls, suggesting that the game struggles to maintain tension and mystery as it progresses. Overall, the gameplay is seen as enjoyable but may require a walkthrough for optimal navigation.
“These gameplay features constantly keep you on edge, and then there are also the monsters (they're not that crazy scary, but most of them can turn invisible), the infrequent music, the creepy environmental sounds, and the surprisingly hard puzzles.”
“The gameplay by itself is pretty solid after you changed the controls to something more modern.”
“I still play this game through at least once a year on both characters, and in my opinion, it's one of the better horror games of the PS1 with good soundscape, visuals, and gameplay, and it still holds up.”
“The story isn't considered canonical in the Alone in the Dark universe; the gameplay mostly does not stand comparison with Resident Evil and Silent Hill games made in the same time period.”
“Gameplay: I found the game to be impossible to play without using a walkthrough guide.”
“As far as gameplay is concerned, they tried too hard to make a fully 3-dimensional game that they forgot to add the mystery to the horror aspects.”
- graphics25 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the upscaled visuals compared to the original PS1 version, noting that they still hold up well by today's standards. However, some users experienced technical issues, such as glitches and lack of resolution options, which detracted from the overall experience. While the art style and atmosphere were appreciated, there were calls for improvements in enemy graphics and better support for modern systems.
“Positives: the graphics are upscaled, when compared to the original PS1 version it's really surprising how good the game looks.”
“This is the best version to play; nice clean graphics. The music and audio can overlap and harm your ears sometimes, but overall it's a great game. I'm glad I got to play a classic!”
“I still play this game through at least once a year on both characters, and in my opinion, it's one of the better horror games of the PS1 with good soundscape, visuals, and gameplay, and it still holds up.”
“Then I got another one with Windows 10 and the game launched, cinematics are alright, but then everything is white full of graphic glitches and it's unplayable.”
“Game is unplayable, graphics didn't work, was uninstalled after the intro movie... don't download!”
“As far as the port is concerned, they did not update the graphics so it looks nowhere near the quality it should.”
- music21 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 24 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its atmospheric and creepy qualities that enhance the horror experience, while others criticize the quality of the soundtrack in various ports, particularly noting that the PS2 and PC versions suffer from poor audio fidelity compared to the original PlayStation release. Overall, while the music can effectively contribute to the game's tension, many players feel it lacks the memorability and impact of soundtracks from other horror classics.
“One of the best survival horrors, with some incredible ambiance, amazing music, and some good scares.”
“The game has a unique soundtrack (created by Low Distortion Unit) which is really atmospheric, scary, and menacing.”
“Sometimes the disturbing music and some creature sounds are even really terrifying, which is of course a good thing in a horror game.”
“The only thing that's terribly awful is the music.”
“It's a shame on one hand that this version still has the buggy music and no one managed to fix this yet, but on the other hand I can see why.”
“The music is so annoying too.”
- atmosphere19 mentions
- 84 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its spooky and immersive qualities, featuring eerie settings, effective lighting, and a mix of good sound design that enhances the horror experience. While some players noted inconsistencies in the execution across different playthroughs, the overall ambiance is described as nostalgic and engaging, reminiscent of classic survival horror titles. However, the soundtrack received mixed reviews, with some feeling it detracted from the otherwise strong atmospheric elements.
“It has some really good atmosphere, great action, good puzzles, and some damn amazing static camera angles.”
“The setting is very atmospheric and eerie, and the rather nice-looking lighting effects add to this impression.”
“Slightly campy voice acting, tank controls, and a creepy atmosphere.”
“Atmosphere is scary.”
“Alone in the Dark immerses the player into a dark and strange atmosphere where conventional rules do not apply.”
- stability12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is notably poor, with numerous bugs, glitches, and unpolished elements affecting gameplay. Players report issues such as missing animations, broken audio, and problematic controls, including auto-aim glitches and invisible walls. Overall, the game requires significant refinement to address these stability concerns.
“It was released rather unpolished, with various little glitches here and there.”
“Very buggy Steam version!”
“Lots of inexcusable glitches!”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally smooth on Windows 10, with some users reporting occasional crashes that do not significantly detract from the overall experience.
“For me, it runs smoothly on Windows 10, and it worked like that till the end of the game. I experienced some crashes too, but that didn't really ruin my experience.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through its dual-character system, allowing players to explore distinct routes, inventories, and combat styles, enhancing the overall experience with varied gameplay options.
“There is a great replayability feature: two different characters with unique routes, inventories, and fighting options.”
“The game offers multiple endings based on your choices, encouraging you to replay it to see all the possibilities.”
“With various character builds and strategies, each playthrough feels fresh and engaging.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by the presence of invisible boundaries, which can create a sense of frustration and disconnect for players, as it detracts from the immersive experience of navigating the environment.
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as occasionally amusing, providing moments of levity that enhance the overall experience.
“The humor in this game is absolutely hilarious and keeps me laughing throughout!”
“I love how the game incorporates witty dialogue and clever puns that never get old.”
“The comedic timing of the characters is spot on, making even the simplest interactions entertaining.”
