The release of Pieces Interactive’sAlone in the Dark,a “reimagining” of the 1992 game,draws near after half a decade of development. Players of the original title should not expect to step into Derceto Manor for a familiar experience, however. The newAlone in the Darkpromises to be a thorough re-imagining of the 1992 title, playing referential curveball with its source material, while staying true to the themes and spirit made the original a landmark title.
Game Rant recently had the opportunity to speak withAlone in the Darkcreative director and writer Mikael Hedberg and THQ Nordic producer Andreas Schmiedecker, among others, about the upcomingsurvival horror game. We talked about everything from recreating Derceto Manor to nailing its horror vibes.The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Renovating a Classic Haunted House
Q: What’s it like to work on a reimagining of Alone in the Dark 32 years after the original 1992 game first released?
Hedberg: I feel honored becausethe originalswere a part of my childhood. I have the greatest respect for what Frédérick Raynal and his team managed to do. I did my best to nerd out on all the material I could find and attempt to repurpose as much as possible in our game without simply copying it.
Q: The game offers a new original story with characters, places, themes from the originals and with no prior knowledge of the franchise required. Why did you decide to reimagine the story in this way?
Hedberg: Beyond the technical achievement that wasAlone in the Dark (1992)– the wow-factor of simply playing 3D! I was mostly taken by the classic turn of the century horror story that was presented. I love how over the top it was and how it included so much of thefun Lovecraftian stuffI had been reading at the time. I just wanted to keep that feeling, but still try to have it be modern enough that it didn’t feel dated.
Also, rewriting it meant that we could offer something new to everyone, even people who had played the original.
Q: As well as reimagining the Alone in the Dark story, in what other ways is the game a reimagining rather than a remake as a love letter to the original?
Hedberg:I guess it’s all semantics in the end. To me, calling it a remake just wouldn’t make sense. Having played the original games wouldn’t help you play our game or know where things were going. What you do get if you have played the originals is the opportunity to go on an absolute reference bender.
Beyond the story, the gameplay is certainly recognizable, but still includes the natural progression of that type of play. We can pretend that we looked hard at the original and tried to make it modern while keeping the spirit of the old games, but that would be silly. The truth isAlone in the Darkkind of got the ball going with 3rd person survival horror games. That style was then passed on toResident EvilandSilent Hilland beyond. So, thirty years later, we could just pick up where all those types of games had gone.
The big part to reimagine would be the story, the setting, the places, the characters, and so on.
Q: How did you find a balance between staying faithful to the franchise and coming up with new elements?
Hedberg:By not really seeking that balance. As soon as we were heading down that road, we just doubled down. If the player feels like we excessively repurposed things, then that is just a win in my book. From a meta perspective, I hope people think we went off the rails a bit, like we were obsessed fans.
Q: How would you describe the key themes of Alone in the Dark’s story and Lovecraftian horror elements for those new to the franchise?
Hedberg:The cheeky answer would be:A haunted house, being visited by haunted people, in a haunted story. The more straight answer would be something like: Desperate people looking for ways of salvation and meaning, without losing faith or sanity. The people in our story try to climb their way out of misery, but find that sometimes simply keeping themselves from not falling back down again takes a lot of work.
I don’t want to risk spoiling anything, but theLovecraftian and supernaturalaspects of our game come in due to something called the Hartwood curse. Something is haunting Jeremy Hartwood, maybe even possessing him. This has some interesting side-effects that I wouldn’t want to spoil here.
Design Evolutions in Alone in the Dark
Q: The prologue has various types of jump-scares, including environments that shift in the blink of an eye. How scary is the game and how would you compare its overall scare-factor to the original games and other horror game experiences?
Hedberg:I wouldn’t necessarily trust myscale of horror. You get a bit jaded after having worked with the genre for so long. To me, our game falls into a category where I would also put the original games. So I would say they are equally scary.
Q: What are you hoping players will take away most from playing Alone in the Dark?
Hedberg:To be honest, just a good time. There is a delightful sense of matinée that I hope the player will enjoy. Sure there are scares, but there is also somewarmth, and even humor.
Q: Are there incentives for players to complete multiple playthroughs and unlock bonus features?
Schmiedecker:Yes, the main incentive will be to play through both campaigns and experience the story from Emily’s and Edward’s perspective. They both feature unique cutscenes and levels and together form a whole story.
Additionally, players will only be able to find all collectibles (“Lagniappes” as we call them) on multiple playthroughs. And last, but not least, there might be secret endings and cutscenes that only the most attentive players will discoverafter multiple playthroughs….
Q: In terms of Alone in the Dark’s campaign, how long can players expect an initial playthrough to last?
Schmiedecker: An initial playthrough with one character will take you about six to ten hours, depending on your playstyle—how much time you take for the puzzles, whether you find and read all the clues, etc.
Q: How much non-linear level design will Alone in the Dark feature?
Schmiedecker:Alone in the Darkfeatures both linear and non-linear passages. While thehorrific nightmare worldstend to be built for a more linear experience, within Derceto manor the player has more freedom to find their own route. Especially later in the game the player will actually be able to complete some objectives and visit some places in a non-set order.
A Reimagining with Its Own Identity
Q: Alone in the Dark is often considered to have been a huge influence on Resident Evil and the survival horror genre as a whole. Has Alone in the Dark (2024) learned any lessons from Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Dead Space in turn?
Schmiedecker: As you know,Alone in the Darkactually predates all other popular survival horror franchises and established most of the genre’s rules and traditions. So we’re excited to bring it back—and we think that grounding in the original game is also what makes our re-imagination (our “love-letter to the original”) so interesting and unique.
We conserve the classic survival horror elements of (scary) exploration, challenging puzzles, fraught combat and a deep story (in the best tradition ofSilent HillandearlierResident Evilgames) with the presentation of a contemporary 3rd-person game. And while many other games go more into the “terror” part of survival horror, we see ourselves more in the tradition of psychological horror—and in that regard, we’re lucky to have David Harbour and Jodie Comer on board, whose spellbinding performances will convince everybody who’s here for the narrative experience.
When talking about elements like control schemes, camera, etc. there are certainly some principles that have been codified by horror and action games of the last 1-2 decades. So there’s definitely something to be learned here. But in terms of story and atmosphere, I’d sayAlone in the Darkis very much its own thing.
Q: We have seen a streak of extremely successful horror remakes including the recent releases of Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space. Do you think there is an overarching theme or reason behind this survival horror revival?
Schmiedecker:Both games are great experiences and we think it’s great they get a broad audience to enjoy games and horror games in particular. If we talk about remakes being successful, I think it’s not specific to horror games, but a general trend to make experiences from two or more console generations in the past accessible to a new audience or give more seasoned gamers a chance to re-live those old memories on new hardware. Certainly, THQ Nordic does its fair share of those projects, with upcoming titles likeDisney Epic Mickey: Rebrushedor theGothic 1 Remake.
And whileAlone in the Darkis not a Remake, we’re still hoping that both fans of the original and new fans will enjoy our game.
Alone in the Dark
WHERE TO PLAY
Alone in the Dark weaves a chilling tapestry of psychological horror and Southern Gothic charm, reimagining the iconic game that set the benchmark for the genre. We invite you to join us on a journey into madness, where each encounter could be your last. With each step you take closer to unravelling Derceto’s mystery, the eyes that watch from the darkness grow hungrier.Every bullet means the difference between survival and an unthinkable end. The next door you unlock could lead to a nightmarish realm offering nothing but slashing claws, grasping tentacles, and frayed sanity. Journey to interbellum Louisiana, where an era of decadence hides a darker tale - of escape from past traumas and an intolerant society, into the waiting grasp of something darker, something that has patiently lurked for impossible eons.This is Alone in the Dark as you’ve never seen it - a skillfully-woven narrative of Southern Gothic elegance and eldritch madness that pays homage to its legendary origins while taking the next step forward in survival horror storytelling.
