TheAlone in the Darkseries laid the groundwork for decades of survival horror games, and the upcoming reimagining by Pieces Interactive is set to benefit from the genre’s evolution with thoughtful design choices that allow players to experience their ideal playthrough. Rather than imposing their own intended way of exploring the haunting halls ofDerceto Manor, the studio offers two distinct modes. Those are Old School Mode, which harkens back to the unguided approach of the original, as well as Modern Mode, which includes several quality-of-life features to keep players on track.
In an interview with Game Rant,Alone in the Darkcreative director Mikael Hedberg weighed in on the team’s reasoning for including such modes and how these options will affect how players navigate the environment, investigate clues, and solve puzzles throughout the game.
Old School and Modern Mode Are Both Great Ways to Play Alone in the Dark
Old School mode is, of course, the mode that is most in line with howclassic survival horror gamesplayed out. This method means players may occasionally find themselves turned around, stumped by a clue, or unsure of puzzle solutions. With minimal guidance from the game, players may have to take extra care to pay attention to every detail and truly immerse themselves in the environment, taking note of landmarks or noting potential paths to explore.
When starting the game, in addition to choosing the combat difficulty, the player can choose either modern or old-school mode. Basically, the old-school mode has most of the help systems that aid you with navigation and puzzling turned off, while they are all activated in modern mode. But for more granularity, you’re able to activate and deactivate them individually, as you prefer.
We are aware that some players just want to decide this once and not bother with it while playing, while others might enjoy getting some help for specific parts of the game (like finding interactive points or where to go), but enjoy figuring out other parts on their own (like finding clues in texts). Therefore, all the systems can be activated or deactivated individually.
On the other hand, Modern Mode includes a feature set that may be more comfortable for players who are accustomed to contemporary quality-of-life features that keep the focus on advancingAlone in the Dark’s narrative, promoting fruitful exploration, and minimizing downtime. That’s not to say thatAlone in the Darkintends to be overly handholding with these features, but this can ease some of the frustrations of players who enjoy or do not enjoy certain aspects of the survival horror genre.
Players Aren’t Stuck With Just One Mode Choice In Alone in the Dark
Hedberg notes that players don’t need to settle for one or the other, and instead, they’ll have some granular control over which quality-of-life and guidance systems they’d like to enable. Players who don’t enjoy being stumped by a particularly difficult puzzle may wish to enable Dynamic Objectives to hint them toward puzzle mechanics they may be missing, for example.
Those systems are:
Another particularly helpful feature is interaction highlights, something players will certainly feel at home with if they’ve been doing a lot oflooting inStarfieldrecently. Being able to quickly identify world objects that aren’t simply decorative can cut down on a lot of the guesswork when exploring or otherwise highlight something that may have been missed at a glance. Thanks to these options, players should be able to fine-tune their playthrough to be the idealLovecraftian-inspired game.
Alone in the Dark
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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.
