Alone in the Dark, the OrroRetro That Keeps Setting the Standard

The stairs creak at every step, and with you you have only a chipped lantern, a good dose of courage mixed with recklessness, and an old pistol that might jam when you least expect it and when you need it most. But the most important thing is that you are alone, alone in the darkness.

Title seminal as regards “modern” survival horror, Alone in the Dark is considered the progenitor of the line of video games devoted to the concept of Fear, defined in all its forms. Produced by the late Infogrames, the game was released in 1992, immediately laying the foundations for future survival horror: a constant sense of anxiety throughout the video game experience, threats that seem impossible to counter, and the protagonist’s equipment that will never, or almost never, be up to the dangers to be faced.

As the decades went by, these cornerstones were overturned by the hyperkinetic Resident Evil saga, reshuffling them for a younger audience less inclined to enjoy the Lovecraftian atmospheres of Alone in the Dark. The polygonal graphics reflect the assiduous use (what we would now call “mainstream”) of the graphic engine par excellence in those golden years. Alone in the Dark gave rise to several sequels and a reboot, not always up to the quality of the first installment, with the exception of the second chapter, magnificent and featuring excellent cinematic direction.

Over time, the world of video games has been able to cyclically rediscover the pleasure of Gothic fear, the foggy atmospheres alternating with more claustrophobic and oppressive ones: Silent Hill and the already mentioned Resident Evil, for example, but we must not forget System Shock and Clock Tower, which we will talk about in the future and whose collector’s editions still exert a special charm today.

Funziona tutto, in Alone in the Dark: the soundtrack features subliminal tracks capable of scratching the player's mind and dragging it into the depths of Derceto Mansion, the game's main setting; the sound effects are also spot-on, and hearing your own footsteps echo through the silent, but not empty, halls will give you goosebumps. The gameplay, decidedly stiff and awkward when compared to modern standards, is a product of its time, as it should be: moving Edward Carnby, the protagonist, is a challenge within a challenge, but we are long-time video gamers, we certainly won't be brought down by these little difficulties, right?

Playing it today allows for one of those most memorable dives into the past, a dive from which the writer of these lines is certainly not exempt. The bond that is formed between the player and the private investigator still strikes a chord in my heart, and I am certain, in yours as well. Because it can be damn fun… to be Alone in the Dark.