Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 53 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 53
  2. Negative: 11 out of 53
  1. 40
    Alone in the Dark seems to hold open contempt for its players...You've seen survival horror done scarier and better elsewhere. Don't get burned by this one.
  2. Is there anything good about Alone in the Dark? The fire effects are stunning and the music theme is quite good. Other than that though, nothing.
  3. Alone in the Dark will surely come to be known as one of the biggest let downs of the year. Impressive set pieces and an initially compelling opening are horribly betrayed by a diabolical control system and frustrating glitches that strongly suggest the game would have benefitted from at least another six months intensive development and testing.
  4. It’s obvious that a lot of effort was put into certain elements of the game and its presentation. But no matter how nice the car looks on the outside, if the engine isn’t working you ain’t goin’ no place. Alone in the Dark is just that, a game going no place and with no reason in the world to suffer it.
  5. At the end of the day, the bad points massively outweigh the good ones, and when the credits roll you’ll be left with a feeling that it all could have been so much better. The game also has absolutely no replay value whatsoever, and is consequently terrible value for money.
  6. 35
    This confused goulash of driving challenges, old-school puzzles, zombie battles, some late-game tomb-raidering and even a bit of “Grand Theft Auto” in the park fails at pretty much everything it tries to do.
  7. 35
    Nice visuals, great fire effects and valiant efforts at innovation don’t make up for boring combat, frustrating controls, poorly designed levels and a hackneyed story.
  8. The game is boring for long stretches, has an uneven level of difficulty and no worthwhile story.
  9. Every clever use of objects or fire is counterbalanced by sloppy basic design. Edward's movement is sluggish, and his object control imprecise.
  10. Every good idea here is brought down by bad basic design, including a shoddy third-person camera, a too-slow first-person mode, and bizarre forced switching between the two. [Sept 2008, p.82]
  11. 40
    Edward Carnby's return had the potential to be the next Silent Hill. What we ended up with is more reminiscent of Trespasser.
User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 134 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 53
  2. Negative: 20 out of 53
  1. briandead
    4
    I was so looking forward to getting this game at last but found the controls to be overly complex and so utterly frustrating to use, along with the camera angles, for me it's barely playable . What a waste of money. Buy it only if you have the patience of a saint! Full Review »
  2. WilliamH
    8
    Holy crap. I was really looking forward to this game and after seeing all the negative reviews I was completely turned off on it. But today I said what the hell and rented it. Well... I lost track of time and played it all night. The controls aren't that bad, you get used to them pretty quick. The driving is awesome, the cars control pretty similar to GTA4, so I have no clue why there is all the negativity towards them, you don't see GTA4 being given horrible scores with one of it's main complaints being the driving. The fire/light elements are amazing, best I've ever seen in a game before. Inventory system could use a few more spots to hold items, but I guess it adds to the whole 'survival' thing having to make sacrafices on what to keep and what to toss. The story's pretty neat, nothing ground breaking, but it has kept me entertained. The game is a solid 8, not worth the full $60, on sale for anything less then it's a good buy, and as a rental, it's great. Full Review »
  3. RyanH
    8
    This game gets a bad rap. The controls are wonky at times, and the story could be better ... but the gaming conventions they are bucking and the new story telling elements that are introduced are very clever. I've found this to be an enjoyable experience and I am predicting right now, that a bunch of games are going to canabalize elements from this game down the road. Full Review »