Alone in the Dark Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Alone in the Dark, informally named Alone in the Dark 5 or Alone in the Dark '08, is the fifth installment of the Survival Horror video game series under the same name created by Atari. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, X-Box 360 and Wii in Europe, North America, and Australia in June 2008.

The PC and Xbox 360 versions were developed by Eden Games while the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions were simultaneously developed by Hydravision Entertainment. The PS2/Wii version of Alone in the Dark is a completely different game from the PS3/X360 version; though both have a similar plot, it has largely different levels, interactivity, scenario and certain characters only appear on certain versions. Despite receiving mixed to negative reviews, Alone in the Dark was a financial success.

The game was later reworked and ported to the PlayStation 3 as Alone in the Dark: Inferno, released on November 18, 2008. It addresses a number of gameplay issues found in the Xbox 360 version, such as the additions of a full 360° camera control, a more zoomed-out third-person camera view, a more user-friendly inventory system, and tighter driving mechanics. It also includes an exclusive new gameplay sequence in Episode 6.

Plot summary[]

Episode 1: Blackout[]

The game begins with a amnesiac Edward Carnby waking up in a room, not remembering his own name or the people in the room, an old man tries to talk to him, only to be beaten by one of the thugs, another man walks in and orders one of them to leave with him, and the other to take Edward to the roof and kill him. The guard is killed by an unseen force, allowing Edward to escape. As he wanders the building looking for a way out, he finds himself on top of the elevator that the old man is in, and he is being held hostage by these thugs to find something called The Path of Light. The elevator is attacked by a crack, one of the thugs is sucked into it and the elevator falls, Edward escapes after nearly falling with it. He tries to find a way down, and ends up on a floor with a woman named Anna and a man stuck in his office. Edward manages to rescue him, but the building collapses and they end up separated, and the man is taken by another crack and Anna flees. Edward finds a gun near a dead guard, and as soon as he reaches the other room, he is caught by a crack, but is saved by a falling debris on fire killing it. As Edward moves on, and tends to his wounds, the room starts to collapse, and he falls along with the floor beneath him, but he saves himself hanging in one of the ornaments on the building's wall.

Carnby falls from the ornament and hangs on a cable, he swing to the side of the building with the help of another man, that is soon killed by falling debris. Edward moves on to find a way into the building, avoiding debris and exploding cars flying towards him. He reencounters Anna on the way, and they do through the offices on the floor, but the building collapses again, they are separated and Anna is taken by a crack. Edward proceeds into the building, and is aided by Jack, the watchman, to go through the dark space between them. When Edward reaches him, they see Anna creeping up on the wall, Jack reaches to her and has his neck snapped by a possessed Anna, who reveals to be an entity that knows of Edward's past.

Episode 2: Questions[]

The entity demands that Edward gives him his stone, to which Edward does not acknowledge and curses back at it. Edward clashes with the entity and manages to defeat it with fire.

On his search for a way out, Edward meets Sarah Flores, who is just as confused about the situation as him, calling for help, accidentally attracting the creatures in the shaft, who jump the elevator, causing it to plummet all the way to the hall. They make their way to the parking lot, where they find the old man, who seems to know Edward and introduces himself as Theophile Paddington. He reveals that Edward lost his memory due to an exorcism that was performed on him and that the leader of the occultists, Crowley, is the one responsible for the chaos that unsued, by forcing Theophile to retrieve the stone and to release the entity, and now they have no other choice but follow the Path of Light and save the city from being swallowed by the evil attacking it.

Edward finds a car and hot wires it, he drives over humanz and avoids the collapsing floors, until they get stuck after a crash. They find a taxi and proceed towards the exit, finding that the city is already being hit by the evil forces unleashed. Theophile reveals that he released Edward from the entity, that was until then trapped inside him, and that he was the one that forcibly released the wickedness attacking the city, and that they need to go to Central Park, the epicenter of the chaos. After outrunning an apocalyptic earthquake with giant fissure wiping out the streets as it follows them, they crash the car in Central Park. Confused and lost, Edward and Sarah start to argue, the stone starts glowing, indicating that other creatures are nearby, causing Paddington to snap and point the gun at them. Paddington claims that he lacks the strength to continue and that they need to continue on the Path of Light, and asks Edward and Sarah to meet him at the museum, room 943, then shoots himself with Edward's gun.

Episode 3: Painful Answers[]

On the way to the museum, Edward finds out that his last name is Carnby. He tells his name to a doctor that he meets who tends to his wounds. As the doctor checks Edward’s medical history, he informs Edward that the only Edward Carnby in his records disappeared in 1938.

At the museum, the ghost of Paddington explains more about the stone. It contained Lucifer after he was cast out of heaven, until Crowley released him. Lucifer now wants to use the stone to bring about the end of the world. Paddington tells Edward that there is a secret in Central Park that will allow Edward to stop Lucifer. As Edward makes his way back to Central Park, Sarah remains at the museum, e-mailing excerpts from Paddington’s diary that she believes will help Edward. Once at Central Park, Edward meets Hermes, who holds a stone similar to the one that Edward has.

Edward and Hermes return to the museum to find Crowley holding Sarah at gunpoint, demanding Edward’s stone. Edward shoots Crowley in the head, then Hermes opens a cavern in the museum that leads to Lucifer’s gateway to reality. Hermes combines his stone with Edward’s then tells Edward that Lucifer will soon be reincarnated. As Lucifer begins to take Edward’s body, Sarah grabs the stone to prevent Edward from being possessed. At this point, the player is given a choice: to kill her and take the Light Bringer into his own body, or to let her live and allow the Devil to use her as his vessel. If he chooses the former, he becomes fully possessed by Lucifer and declares his intention to rule over humanity. If he chooses the latter, Sarah becomes possessed and the Devil mocks Edward for being so alone; to which he replies, "I'm used to it", before walking away in defeat. It is unknown what happens to Edward, Sarah, and Hermes.

Location[]

Characters[]

Enemies[]

Limited Edition[]

Aitd2008 limited edition

A Limited Edition of the game was released for the European market. In the UK, the Limited Edition was only available through Game Retail Limited stores.

Along with a copy of the game, the Limited Edition contains:

  • A 15cm Edward Carnby Figurine
  • An art book
  • A bonus 'Making Of Alone in the Dark' DVD
  • A CD audio soundtrack

The U.S. market had a PS2 limited release with a bonus CD audio soundtrack.

Trivia[]

  • Alone in the Dark is the first game in the series to be released under Infogrames's new brand Atari.
  • Before announcement, the game was originally named Alone in the Dark: Near Death Investigation.
  • The game is dedicated to the memory of Jean-Michel Herve, 3D programmer in Eden Games.
  • In the PS3 version (Inferno), running is Carnby's default movement.
  • The game pays homage to the first game with many similar elements of gameplay but modernized.
    • The Roots of Evil, that you must kill with fire, recall Ezekiel Pregzt;
    • The dark maze in the Path of Light refers to the labyrinth beneath Derceto;
    • The name of the antagonist, Crowley, refers to Aleister Crowley, a British occultist mentioned in the first entry's literature.
  • This is the first title in the series not to make use of the famous window shot, a historical trend of the previous game.
  • In the Room 943 in the museum, you can see several photos on the walls of the Morton Manor that appeared in Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare; the same photo that portrays Edward and Theo in 1936 have its villa on the background.
  • In the second chapter, once traced the eaves of the hotel and reached the room where you find Anna, you will see a picture with all members of Eden Games development. Another reference to the development team can be found in the subway, where some posters written report Eden's Yummies.
  • On the canopies of Central Park Taxi is the logo of the game Test Drive Unlimited, another title developed by Eden Games.
  • The first teaser trailer of the game site shows some disappearances in Central Park documents, the names of the journalists on the articles are Raimi Samuel, Jonathan Carpenter and Ashley Campbell, all based, respectively, on the famous horror movie directors Sam Raimi and John Carpenter, and actor Bruce Campbell, mixed with his most famous character Ash Williams, the main protagonist of the Evil Dead franchise.
  • Some traces of the soundtrack have been remixed by DJ Tijs Michiel Verwest, aka Tiësto.

Box Cover Gallery[]

07

Xbox 360 cover




References[]

See Also[]

Alone in the Dark (2008)/ Alone in the Dark: Inferno
Advertisement