History VideoGame / AloneInTheDark

** The UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version of the same game did the same thing, but also sported RandomEncounters. Since there are also no melee attacks and no way to flee monster battles, running out of ammunition during a fight renders the game {{unwinnable}}.

** The 2008 ''Alone in the Dark'' was re-released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 as ''Alone in the Dark: Inferno'', with exclusive new levels as well as improved, faster and more responsive controls. The ScrappyLevel has also been made easier and much less frustrating.

* ''Alone in the Dark'' (2008): A reboot of the franchise known simply as ''Alone in the Dark'' (later given the subtitle ''Inferno'' when it was ported to the Platform/PlayStation3). The game features the original Edward Carnby from the original games, waking up in modern day New York City alive, unaged, and with a major case of amnesia just in time to witness living fissures wreck the city and turn many of its inhabitants into vicious monsters. Taking place in Central Park, the game was a GameplayRoulette featuring elements of {{First Person Shooter}}s, Third-Person {{Platformer}}s, {{Driving Game}}s, {{Beat Em Up}}s, etc. It also borrowed quite a bit from Boll's film; [[FranchiseKiller this was not prudent]].
* ''Alone in the Dark: Illumination'' (2014): A co-op shooter. Originally scheduled to come out in December 2014, it ended up coming out on the 12th of June 2015 and was critically panned.

* ''VideoGame/{{Alone in the Dark|2023}}'' (2024): A ContinuityReboot remake announced on August 2022, after the franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. It's scheduled to be released on March 20, 2024. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.

** To put you in context, grace is **Eight Years Old**. Until then, your character [[ActionSurvivor Edward Carnby]] has been figthing zombie-gansters with TommyGuns and SawedOffShotguns!

* ''Alone in the Dark'' (2008): A reboot of the franchise known simply as ''Alone in the Dark'' (later given the subtitle ''Inferno'' when it was ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3). The game features the original Edward Carnby from the original games, waking up in modern day New York City alive, unaged, and with a major case of amnesia just in time to witness living fissures wreck the city and turn many of its inhabitants into vicious monsters. Taking place in Central Park, the game was a GameplayRoulette featuring elements of {{First Person Shooter}}s, Third-Person {{Platformer}}s, {{Driving Game}}s, {{Beat Em Up}}s, etc. It also borrowed quite a bit from Boll's film; [[FranchiseKiller this was not prudent]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Alone in the Dark|2023}}'' (2023): A ContinuityReboot remake announced on August 2022, after the franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. It's scheduled to be released on March 20, 2024. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.

* ''VideoGame/{{Alone in the Dark|2023}}'' (2023): A ContinuityReboot remake announced on August 2022, after the franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. It's scheduled to be released on January 16, 2024. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.

* CriticalEncumbranceFailure: In the first game every item has a certain (hidden) weight. Once your inventory reaches the weight limit, you cannot pick up anymore item. Fortunately you can reasonably guess most items' weight (hint: don't lug the gramophone around).

* {{Feelies}}: The original trilogy boxes include fictional printed newspapers from the 1920s, which expand a bit the setting and sometime contain subtle clues for the games.

''Alone in the Dark'' (Creator/{{Infogrames}}, 1992) is an ActionAdventure game [[GenreBusting and]] the progenitor of the SurvivalHorror genre, or at least outside of Japan, where ''VideoGame/SweetHome1989'' was released three years earlier. It was also the first game to feature [[SpritePolygonMix 3D polygon characters over fixed 2D backgrounds]], allowing for cinematic camera angles. Featuring a mix of combat, puzzle-solving, inventory management, and exploration, the game was well-received and made a rather large impression at the time. Set in the 1920s, the game had players take the role of private detective Edward Carnby or socialite Emily Hartwood, who were locked in the haunted mansion of Derceto, searching for a way out while battling zombies, monsters, and a lurking evil inspired by the works of Creator/HPLovecraft.

''Alone in the Dark 2'' (1993) is more linear and [[ActionizedSequel combat-oriented]], featuring a tommygun-wielding Edward Carnby facing off against 1920s mobsters led by the villainous One-Eyed Jack to rescue kidnapped child Grace Saunders. As it turns out, Jack and his gang are in fact immortal pirates, the crew of the Flying Dutchman, who made a pact with witch Elizabeth Jarret and perform regular human sacrifices to retain their life and youth. There were also a few stealth segments where players took the role of Grace Saunders and had to evade the mobsters searching for her.

''Jack in the Dark'', a short free PC game, was released in 1993 as a teaser for the upcoming ''Alone in the Dark 2'', featuring its then-current engine. Using all of the standard ''Alone in the Dark'' mechanics, the small Grace Saunders, dressed as a witch for Halloween, must escape a haunted toy shop.

''Alone in the Dark 3'' (1994) takes place in an abandoned Wild West ghost town, with Carnby attempting to save Emily Hartwood (who was filming a western film along with a film crew in the deserted town), who has inadvertently awakened the ghosts of the town's evil inhabitants, led by prospector Jedediah Stone. Although still linear, the game featured a more balanced mix of combat and puzzle-solving.

''Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare'' (2001) is a re-imagining of the series. Taking place in modern times, the game featured a new protagonist - also named Edward Carnby (No relation) - who teams up with linguistic expert Aline Cedrac to unravel the mystery of Shadow Island and its reclusive inhabitants, the Morton family. This ultimately puts them into a battle against the Creatures of Darkness, reptilian shadow monsters originating from an underground underworld known as the World of Darkness. The game featured many control, gameplay, and presentation elements taken straight out of the playbook of ''Franchise/ResidentEvil''. Its most unique feature was the use of the flashlight to reveal hidden details of the environment, as well as to drive back some of the light-sensitive monsters.

The film ''Film/AloneInTheDark2005'' did borrow a few bits from ''The New Nightmare'' but had little else to do with the games that came out before it. It was also made by the infamous Creator/UweBoll, which should tell you all you need to know about its quality.

Although not an ''Alone in the Dark'' game per se, ''VideoGame/ColdFear'' was originally supposed to be ''Alone in the Dark 5''. Although the end product ultimately had nothing to do with the series, it can still be considered ''Alone in the Dark'' [[{{Recycled INSPACE}} AT SEA]].

In 2008, a new game in the series was released, rebooting the franchise. Known simply as ''Alone in the Dark'' (later given the subtitle ''Inferno'' when it was ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3), the game features the original Edward Carnby from the original games, waking up in modern day New York City alive, unaged, and with a major case of amnesia just in time to witness living fissures wreck the city and turn many of its inhabitants into vicious monsters. Taking place in Central Park, the game was a GameplayRoulette featuring elements of {{First Person Shooter}}s, Third-Person {{Platformer}}s, {{Driving Game}}s, {{Beat Em Up}}s, etc. It also borrowed quite a bit from Boll's film; [[FranchiseKiller this was not prudent]].

In August 2014, Atari announced a new entry, ''Alone in the Dark: Illumination'', originally scheduled to come out in December 2014. It ended up coming out on the 12th of June 2015 and was critically panned due to being an InNameOnly co-op shooter (not even a good one outside the name).

The franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. In August 2022 they announced a ContinuityReboot remake inspired by the original game, named simply ''VideoGame/{{Alone in the Dark|2023}}'', scheduled to be released on January 16, 2024. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.

The franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. In August 2022 they announced a ContinuityReboot remake inspired by the original game, named simply ''VideoGame/{{Alone in the Dark|2023}}'', scheduled to be released on October 25th, 2023. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.

The film ''Film/AloneInTheDark2005'' did borrow a few bits from ''The New Nightmare'' but had little else to do with the games that came out before it. It was also made by the infamous Creator/UweBoll, which should tell you all you need to know about it’s quality.

* CosmicHorrorStory: A major element of the franchise's flavour, most prevalent in the fourth and first game, the latter of which containing many monsters taken directly from the Cthulhu Mythos, and several other direct Lovecraftian references, including [[TomeOfEldritchLore the Necronomicon and De Vermis Mysteriis]]. The name of the mansion from the first ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark1992'', Derceto, is revealed in-game to be an alias of [[MotherOfAThousandYoung Shub-Niggurath]], the Mythos' equivalent of a fertility deity...

* SavingChristmas: The GaidenGame ''Videogame/JackInTheDark''. You play as Grace Saunders -- a young girl who would be important in the then-upcoming ''Alone In The Dark 2'' -- and have to rescue Santa Claus from a [[LivingToys Living Toy]] version of the BigBad of ''Alone in the Dark 2''.

* ToyTime: The series did this with the short freebie ''Videogame/JackInTheDark'', about a little girl trapped in a toyshop.

** In the second game, Carnby's dead body is tossed off a cliff into the sea by one of the zombie pirates you fight throughout the game should you bite it. Playing as the little kid, the scene cuts to Carnby being held by his feet on a ship's mast as soon as you get hit or caught at all.

* CameraScrew:
** The original was the originator of the fixed-camera survival horror angle where movement was based entirely on camera angle, sometimes resulting in losing view of the entrance to the room just when a monster conveniently enters it.
** The second and third game have passages that look like solid walls because of the textures and camera perspective.
** The 2008 game occasionally has some poor angling for the third-person camera. However, the ability to switch to first person view almost any time as well as a lock-on function for melee combat help to alleviate this a little bit. However, the camera still likes to be dramatic and epic in certain scenes, so maintaining control of a car after a dramatic jump is a little addled.

* WhipItGood: One of these can be found in the third game. Its primary use is to somehow steal a bag of gold coins from a zombie.

The franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. In August 2022 they announced a ContinuityReboot remake inspired by the original game, named simply ''Alone in the Dark'', scheduled to be released on October 25th, 2023. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.

The franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. In August 2022 they announced a ContinuityReboot remake inspired by the original game, named simply ''Alone in the Dark'', scheduled to be released in Octobeth 25th, 2023. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.

The franchise was sold to Creator/THQNordic in 2018. In August 2022 they announced a ContinuityReboot remake inspired by the original game, named simply ''Alone in the Dark'', scheduled to be released in 2023. The developers describe it as a third-person over-the-shoulder survival horror game, akin to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', though with a greater emphasis on plot, atmosphere, and a sense of dread.