Alone in the Dark is a survival horror video game series originally developed by Infogrames. In most of the games, the player controls private investigator Edward Carnby, who goes to investigate a haunted house or town that is full of undead creatures.
The series, particularly for its debut game, is widely acknowledged as an early instance of survival horror video games and (along with Sweet Home) is often credited with the creation of the genre. The original story was based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft; later games in the series drew inspiration from other sources including voodoo, the Wild West, and the works of H. R. Giger. Seven installments of the series have been created, with various themes and locations. Two comic books and two films were created based upon the games.
In September 2018, Atari SA sold the Alone in the Dark franchise to THQ Nordic.
As of 2007, over 6 million units have been sold.
Games
Main series
Alone in the Dark (1992)
The first game in the series was developed by Infogrames and released for PC in 1992. It was one of the first two games to use polygonal characters over pre-rendered backgrounds. Guinness World Records awarded it the record of "First Ever 3D Survival Horror Game" in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008 edition. Krisalis Software made a port for the 3DO in 1994 that was released by Interplay Entertainment. A Mac version was released in 1994. In 2014, Atari published a port to iOS developed by Kung Fu Factory but was pulled out of the App Store after the latest iOS updates.
Jack in the Dark (1993)
A small game made during the second game's production, Jack in the Dark, was used as a promotional game distributed during Christmas of 1993, just before the second installment's release. The game was on a single floppy disk in a golden wrapping featuring a Jack-in-the-box illustration on the top. It is a short adventure featuring the young child Grace Saunders. During Halloween, she enters a small toy store after dark and gets locked inside. There, the toys are alive, and Grace must save Santa Claus from an evil Jack-in-the-box. Jack in the Dark is an adventure game that focuses purely on puzzles and has no combat. Later CD versions of both Alone in the Dark and Alone in the Dark 2 came packaged with this game.
Alone in the Dark 2 (1993)
Developed by Infogrames and released for PC in 1993, Alone in the Dark 2 was a drastic departure from the original game, being more action-oriented than its predecessor, with a much greater emphasis on firearms and shootouts, and resulting in more difficult combat. Like the original, it was ported to the 3DO by Krisalis and released by Interplay. An enhanced port under the name of Alone in the Dark: Jack is Back (Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack's Revenge in the United States) was released in 1996 for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Both versions were also released in Japan under the original name.
Alone in the Dark 3 (1995)
Alone in the Dark 3 was the last game to utilize the same engine and characters as the original game. Released for PC in 1995, the game returned to the gameplay style of the original game. A version of the game for Windows 95 was released as Alone in the Dark: Ghosts in Town in 1996.
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (2001)
The next generation game of the Alone in the Dark series was created by Darkworks as a console survival horror title, and shows significant influence from the Resident Evil series. The control scheme and gameplay are much closer to that of Resident Evil than the original Alone in the Dark games. Internally known as Alone in the Dark 4, the game was released in 2001, developed by Darkworks for the PlayStation and Dreamcast, and by Spiral Studios for PC and PlayStation 2, also with an alternative portable Game Boy Color version developed by Pocket Studios. The game unlike its predecessors is set in modern settings, features new main character design and no longer features Savate as unarmed combat method.
Alone in the Dark (2008)
Developed by Eden Games for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and by Hydravision Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 and Wii, Alone in the Dark changed the focus of the series back to survival horror. Initially known as Alone in the Dark: Near Death Investigation, the game was re-branded as Alone in the Dark despite having few connections with the original game. The game introduced 3D generated scenarios and interchangeable first and third-person view to the series. The environment plays a large role in core gameplay; any object, even decorative, can be used as a melee weapon or combined to make different styles of weapons. The PlayStation 3 version was released several months after the other versions as Alone in the Dark: Inferno. It had a few gameplay changes and fewer glitches.
Alone in the Dark: Illumination (2015)
Alone in the Dark: Illumination was released on June 11, 2015. Unlike the previous installments, the game is only played online. The game was heavily panned by critics.
Alone in the Dark (2024)
Developed by Pieces Interactive, Alone in the Dark is a reimagining of the original 1992 video game in a similar style to the Resident Evil remakes. The game features a single-player narrative set in the 1930s, where players can choose to play as Edward Carnby (David Harbour) or Emily Hartwood (Jodie Comer), as they make their way through Derceto Mansion to uncover the mysteries within. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 20, 2024.