Resident Evil is generally credited with bringing survival horror into the limelight, but it was Infogrames' Alone in the Dark that pretty much invented the genre as we know it. There had been horror games before, but the 3D graphics and environments, puzzles, fight-or-flight gameplay, and scarce resources laid the groundwork for Capcom to improve upon. Make no mistake, the AITD games are deeply flawed. They're almost impossible to control, and nigh inscrutable for a lot of modern gamers. Even I find them difficult to play, and I played them when they were groundbreaking new releases.
One thing that has aged much, much better than the games themselves is their stunning packaging. The original Alone in the Dark trilogy is home to three of the best goddamn pieces of artwork ever commissioned for a video game.
Just look at that gorgeous thing, and tell me it wouldn't grab your attention on a store shelf if you were a kid in the 90s. A lone figure stands hesitantly outside of Derceto Mansion, its door ominously cracked as cosmic horrors swirl above. Interestingly, the protagonist appears to be Emily Hartwood, the niece of the mansion's owner, and not series protagonist Edward Carnby.
I won't belabor the Lovecraft influences noted on the box, or how poorly the game has aged. You can read all about it in my review from a few years ago, if you're so inclined. Instead, we'll move onto the next game in the series.
Different, but equally beautiful, the cover for Alone in the Dark 2 showcases the game's ghostly pirate theme. Most fans agree the sequels are inferior to the original because of the drastic change in setting. Personally, I had no problem with them other than the still-clunky gameplay and absurd difficulty. I attempted to replay AITD2 after I finished my playthrough of the original for my review, but I couldn't get through it. Despite the graphical upgrade, and one of the best intros ever, I couldn't suffer through it.
Similarly, I've hardly ever played Alone in the Dark 3. There used to be a store near my house that would rent PC CD-ROM games, and those two days I had it in my possession were mostly spent trying to figure out how to copy the data from the CD (remember, at this time, CD-Rs were not a thing). As you can tell from the box art, this game has a wild west theme, and that is about the extent of my knowledge. But how about that box, huh? I love how the sequel artwork retains elements from the original game, such as the raised lantern, a ghostly visage, and a pathway to the unknown, be it a doorway, a staircase, or in this case, a mine shaft.
After a seven year hiatus, Alone in the Dark returned. Ironically, the game that beget Resident Evil borrows liberally from its younger sibling. The New Nightmare is a reboot that ignores the original canon and takes place in a modern setting. Similar to Resident Evil 2, there are two protagonists whose paths occasionally intersect, and players will experience different parts of the story depending on who they choose to play as at the start. It's actually a pretty good game that holds onto many of the Lovecraftian influences from the original while updating the gameplay mechanics.
But this isn't a review of the game; it's a review of the box art, and well... I don't hate it, but it's nowhere near the masterpieces the original three games bore. Its status as a reboot is clear to series veterans, featuring Carnby - now wielding a gun instead of a lantern - approaching an obviously evil dwelling. The mansion looms large in silhouette, with shafts of yellow light punctuating everything. It's actually quite clever because the game features some really excellent lighting, which has actually become a mechanic this time around. It lacks the fine details of the original paintings, but it's still very evocative and gives a good sense of what the game is like.
The franchise went dark for another seven years before resurfacing with another soft reboot, simply titled Alone in the Dark. This new game is both a reboot and a sequel - a requel - to the original trilogy, told in episodic format (similar to the spectacular Alan Wake, which is often reminiscent of AITD itself). Like the originals, it's flawed, but the PlayStation 3 re-release, subtitled Inferno, fixed many of the issues from the original Xbox 360 version and is generally worth a look given its cheap price on the secondhand market.
The box art, however...
For a game called "Alone in the Dark," there sure is a lot of light. Carnby stands front and center as a bog standard brooding protagonist, complete with five o'clock shadow and leather jacket. This highlights pretty much everything I hate about modern game artwork. It tells you nothing about the game, other than what the protagonist looks like. Looking at it, one might thing it's some sort of fire-fighting game. There's no real indication of anything supernatural, and it doesn't stand out among the hordes of other pre-rendered faces on a shelf these days. The original 360 release was even worse, if you can believe it, as it is zoomed out further, revealing the gun in Carnby's hand. Yes, another Guy With Gun game cover.
As a series, Alone in the Dark has always fascinated me. The games are all far from perfect, but I have a lot of affection for them - at least the ones I've played. One thing I think we can all agree on is that the box art is pretty phenomenal...except that last one. The last release in the series was in 2015, again a seven year gap, and was an ill-conceived multiplayer shooter. Because when you think "ALONE in the Dark," you immediately think multiplayer! It was critically panned, and worse, it took the place of a canceled 2013 remake of the original game. Given the seven year cycle between the last three attempts, let's hope THQ Nordic does the series justice in 2022.
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