Alone in the Dark

Overview

Throughout most of the series, the player controls Edward Carnby who would usually investigate a haunted mansion or undead infested town and was based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Though some of the later games also drew inspiration from voodoo, the American Old West, and the writings of H.R. Giger.

Alone in the Dark

In 1992, the first Alone in the Dark game was released for PC and spawned what has now become a much larger genre unto itself in the video game industry. The original was developed by Infogrames and was one of the first 2 games to use polygonal characters over pre-rendered backgrounds. Later ported over to the 3DO in 1994 by Interplay.

Alone in the Dark 2

Infogrames released Alone in the Dark 2 for the PC in 1993 and was a large departure from the original. Where the original was more focused on character interaction with the environment, the second was much more action-based. Focusing on firearms and gun battles with enemies. This game was also ported to the 3DO, by Interplay, in 1995.

Alone in the Dark 3

The final game in the Alone in the Dark trilogy was Alone in the Dark 3 and the very last to utilize the same engine and characters as the original two. Again, released on the PC but attempted to go back to the first in the series in terms of gameplay mechanics.

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

The next generation of Alone in the Dark games, called Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, was developed by Darkworks as was more geared for the console survival horror genre. Released in 2001 for the PlayStation and Dreamcast by Darkworks, and for the PC and Playstation 2 by Spiral Studios. An alternative GameBoy Color version was developed and released by Pocket Studios. The game resembles the Resident Evil series in control scheme and gameplay. Generally, this game in the series is not considered canon with the others.

Alone in the Dark Reboot

In 2008, Alone in the Dark underwent a same name reboot and was developed by Eden Games for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. The PlayStation 2 and Wii consoles were developed by Hydravision Entertainment. The focus of the game changed back to a more traditional survival horror containing complex puzzles, the environment playing a core part of the gameplay mechanic. The player can pick up any object in the world, use it as a melee weapon, or combine items and weapons.

Other Media

Eventually, the series expanded beyond videos including a movie tie-in, which earned the title "Worlds Lowest Grossing Movie Game" by Guinness World Records.