The survival horror video game genre can trace its origins all the way back to the early 1980s, with early Atari and PC games using a mix of stealth, scares, and overwhelming odds to capture the feeling of being cornered by a horrifying, unknown presence. Though the survival horror genre has evolved quite a bit in the last 40 years, much of those original games' DNA can still be found in even the latestResident EvilorDead By Daylightgames. One of these founding survival horror games,Alone in the Dark, is about to receive a reboot.
Announced just a few days ago, theAlone in the Darkseries is getting yet another reboot, this time being a direct reimagining of the very first entry in the series, which originally released all the way back in 1992 for the PC. Widely considered to be the first survival horror game to use 3D environments and polygonal character models, the firstAlone in the Darkwas immensely influential at the time, but the series has faded into obscurity since. So, while thenewAlone in the Darkmay feature an all-new story, some players may want to know how the series' original story unfolded.
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Alone in the Dark’s Story So Far
The firstAlone in the Darkgame, released in 1992 and set in 1924, opens with the artist Jeremy Hartwood having just committed suicide in his Derceto mansion in Louisiana. Though the circumstances surrounding Hartwood’s death seem unusual, the Derceto mansion has a widespread reputation of being haunted by evil spirits, so the case is quickly closed by local police. Edward Carnby, a private investigator, is hired to locate a rare piano in Hartwood’s loft.
After entering Derceto mansion, Carnby is trapped inside, with the doors locking shut. Carnby is then ambushed by monsters, who block his pathway to the attic. Eventually, Carnby discovers that Derceto mansion was once home toan occultist pirate called Ezechiel Pregzt, who now inhabits the grounds as a spirit, looking for hosts to use a means to return to the mortal plane. Carnby makes his way underneath the mansion via a series of caverns, and eventually finds Pregzt’s resting place, and proceeds to throw a lantern into the tomb, setting the cavern ablaze. Upon reaching the mansion’s main hallway once again, the doors unlock, and Carnby gets into a taxi, leaving the mansion behind.
About three months later, Carnby and his new partner are hired to investigate a mansionnamed Hell’s Kitchen, where they believe a kidnapped girl called Grace Saunders is being held. It doesn’t take long before supernatural occurrences rear their head once again, with Carnby’s partner being mysteriously murdered inside the mansion. It’s eventually revealed that this mansion is inhabited by the spirits of pirates that traded their wealth for immortality, and Carnby must once again put a stop to the spirits' murderous intentions.
Now nicknamed the “Supernatural Private Eye” by the press for hisoccult detective adventures, Carnby is hired to locate a missing film crew in an abandoned town known as Slaughter Gulch, hidden deep in the Mojave Desert. Carnby soon encounters the spirit that’s kidnaped the film crew, a ghost cowboy by the name of Jed Stone. Carnby manages to fend off the town’s ghostly cowboys and prospectors, and rescues the film crew.
Years later, Carnby wakes up in the middle of an exorcism, and though he’s rescued by his protege, Theo, he suffers from severe amnesia, not even being able to recall his surname. Theo tells him that Crowley plans on using the Philosopher’s Stone to bring Lucifer to the mortal world. During his mission to stop Crowley, Carnby learns that he is actually over 100 years old, though he retains his youthful appearance. Carnby finds the gate between worlds underneath Central Park, and he uses the Philosopher’s Stone either to let the Devil possess him, or his friend Sarah, who sacrifices herself for him. The first choice sees him being fully possessed, ready to conquer the world, while the latter sees Sarah possessed, potentially meaning that the series has no happy ending, but the future now depends onTHQ Nordic’s plans.
Alone in the Darkis currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
