Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy 1+2+3

Alone in the Dark will always be an important game, being basically the grandaddy of survival horror games. You control either Edward Carnby (who would go on to become the face of the series) or the forgotten Emily Hartwood, heading to the Dercetto mansion to investigate a mysterious suicide. Trapped inside, and under attack by nightmarish creauters, you must solve the mystery of the manor to get out alive. The gameplay of Alone in the Dark is very archaic by today's standards. You must go in and out of the menu constantly to switch between the actions your character can do: fight, search, opening and closing doors and jumping (which is as terrible as it sounds). Added to controls of the tank variety, it will require some patience of you. The strongest aspect of the game is its atmosphere, leaning into the Cthulu mythos. The puzzles are surprisingly logical for the most part, with hints for their solution available throughout the mansion. The enemies themselves are puzzles, while some requiring a certain weapon or item to destroy them. Really, all the staples of the genre are here. While many games would go on to improve it greatly, one must pay respect to the one that laid the groundwork. The sequels (and Jack) are sadly inferior. While there are some improvements to the gameplay, the "horror" aspect gets thrown out the window, leaning more into the fantasy adventure. The puzzles also become pretty obtuse as the series advances. The whole series expects some trial and error but it gets very annoying by the end. A reminder that fancier graphics and mechanics do not necessarily make a better game. The soundtrack is killer in all 4 games. The voice acting is terrible to make up for it. I would recommend this bundle if you like older games, can tolerate dated gameplay, and are interested in the evolution of the survival horror genre. If you are just looking for another horror game to play, I'm sure there are more modern options that will be more apealling to you.

First game is great all around - 5 stars. It's AitD2-3 where, really, they're only enjoyable with a walkthough. Partially for "puzzles" making no sense whatsoever. The other thing is these sluggish tank controls combined with much more unavoidable, and ranged, combat, often while trying to search the environment. AitD2-3 still have fantastic production values, Voice, music, these amazing painterly environments combined with flat-shaded polygons - love this look, even more so than with the original. Even in gameplay there is a lot of creativity, to be honest. They're just terrible to actually play unless you know exactly how it goes. But the atmosphere is there! Jack in the Dark that was between AitD1 and 2 is worth a mention as a neat little Christmas game. Don't miss that one.

The first Alone in the Dark is one of my favorite games ever and the first horror game I ever played that actually scared me when it was first released. I hadn't played it since the early 1990s and decided to give it a try again thanks to GOG. I was expecting an experience full of frustration with the controls and clunky combat but was pleasantly surprised that it mostly held up. Yes, the combat is clunky and the jumping is tough to endure. But now, it's so much faster to reload in an instant to get back in and try again that it's hardly punishment at all. At it's heart it's a point and click adventure but it tried some different things that I had never seen prior to playing it the first time like the fixed camera with tank movement in sort-of three dimensions and real time combat that was avoidable in certain situations wether it was intended or not. Most of the puzzles make logical sense as well, though depending on your tolerance for adventure games, your mileage may vary on that one. Added to that was a unique story couched in Cthulhu mythos set in the American bayou with pirates and zombies that is fun to uncover, especially if you take the time to let the books read themselves to you. The second and third installments were still underwhelming so you can safely avoid those if you don't share any nostalgia for games of this era. But if you pick this bundle up on sale, there's no reason to at least give the first installment a try. It's definitely showing its age but its a really short game and one that packs a lot of spooky fun into a small package.

The best and original horror thriller game..1,2 and 3 were the best in the series..The music and the sound FX were and still are awesome, really do create an eerie feel.. Something about this that makes you wanna go back and get done over and over again.. Just remember to keep saving your game or you'll go back to where you got killed...Brilliantly piece of retro gaming and for the whole 3 of the series at a fiver! It's a steal.. Thanks GOG

There's always a risk when buying games from your childhood that it fails to live up to how you remember it. Alone in the Dark is unique in being a game that I and my brother still quote funny one liners from it to one another even today, 30 years later. This didn't disappoint. I got chills just from the intro sequences. The music, sound effects, and the voice acting really are top notch even by modern standards. I was genuinely surprised by how well the graphics held up for a game this old. Sure, the polygon count on the player character and moveable objects is atrocious, but the rendered backgrounds for the scenery are pretty damn impressive for a DOS based game, and are what really creates that great sense of atmosphere. Gameplay-wise, it's not done so great. Take into account that this was an early 90's series, one that came 5 years before the famed FF7 and 4 years before Resident Evil. Moving is clunky, and having to switch inside a pause menu between searching, pushing, and fighting is also clunky. The odds are, those who load up the original game will likely die within the first 5 minutes to timed combat events that, until you can full grasp the controls, will be frustrating to the max. Saving frequently is a must. What I will say is that Alone in the Dark is not a combat survival horror ala Resident Evil. It is very much a puzzle game first and foremost, and many of the battles can be completely avoided or trivialised once you learn how to manipulate the environment correctly. So those willing to persevere and take the time to learn to play the game will find a rough diamond of a series that took you from haunted demon mansion to ghost pirate ship to undead wild western town. Unfortunately, the fourth installment, while interesting in its own right, never managed to fully capture the voice acting and story elements which made the originals so great, and since then the franchise has sadly been lost to history.