{"id":48024,"date":"2024-03-19T15:00:36","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T14:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2011332"},"modified":"2024-03-19T16:46:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T15:46:08","slug":"alone-in-the-dark-review-jodie-comer-shines-in-surprising-new-horror","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/alone-in-the-dark-review-jodie-comer-shines-in-surprising-new-horror\/","title":{"rendered":"Alone in the Dark review: Jodie Comer shines in surprising new horror"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Harbour is also in the star-studded cast for this spooktacular. <\/p>

By Rob Leane\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 19 March 2024 at 14:00 PM<\/p>

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<\/div> 4.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

The new Alone in the Dark<\/a> game, a relaunch of the horror series that first launched in 1992, is not quite what we expected it to be. And for the most part, being surprised is a good thing in this case!<\/p>\n

One thing we knew in advance is that Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) and David Harbour (Stranger Things) are starring in the Alone in the Dark cast<\/a>, with their likenesses and voices both being unmistakable from the off.<\/p>\n

What we didn\u2019t expect is that you have to pick one of these big-name stars right at the start of the story. The one you pick becomes the sole playable character, while the other fades into a background role and you\u2019ll hardly interact with them at all. This is something of a shame, but it does give you an incentive to go back and play the campaign with the other character in the driving seat.<\/p>\n

For our first play-through, we opted for Jodie Comer\u2019s Emily Hartwood, as her character seemed to have closer ties to the main story. She\u2019s arrived at the creepy Derceto Manor psychiatric hospital after receiving a mysterious letter from her uncle, a patient there, and she\u2019s brought David Harbour\u2019s Detective Edward Carnby as a bit of extra investigative muscle.<\/p>\n

What we expected in terms of the gameplay, given the decades-old comparisons between Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil<\/a>, is that we\u2019d spend most of our time at Derceto. It seemed at first that the hospital is effectively this game\u2019s version of the Resi 2 police station, with numerous puzzles to solve and keys to find that will gradually allow you to explore more rooms and piece the story together.<\/p>\n

\"David\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
David Harbour\u2019s character explores Derceto.<\/span><\/figcaption> Pieces Interactive \/ THQ Nordic<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

To an extent, that is true. Derceto is a fascinating place that \u2013 cliche alert \u2013 feels like a character in its own right. With gothic design, gloomy lighting and a confusing layout, it\u2019s a great location for this sort of Resi-like gameplay. However, it turns out that Derceto is not the only location you\u2019ll be exploring here.<\/p>\n

Making some brilliant use of the speedy loading times that come with the current crop of consoles and PC graphics cards, the developers have engineered some fantastic moments when you\u2019ll suddenly find yourself transported out of Derceto and into totally different places and even different time periods. To say why this happens might be a bit of a spoiler.<\/p>\n

This location-hopping mostly works really well, and as the game progresses, you may find yourself looking forward to your next excursion more than you\u2019re enjoying each return visit to Derceto. The other locations keep things feeling fresh, while the Derceto puzzles do start to feel a bit repetitive over time.<\/p>\n