Alone in the Dark's 2024 remake is compelling but rough around the edges
It's easy to count the similarities: the 2D pre-rendered backdrops overlaid with 3D polygonal models, a choice of two characters, tank controls, plus a mixture of puzzle-solving and combat.
Every inch of the estate is now beautifully detailed: the third-person camera lets you take in the brushstrokes on every portrait, every decaying ornament - all flanked by shadows from your clip-on flashlight.There's also a form of baked GI, where select rooms emit a vivid hue of green, red or blue - mimicking the eerie lighting of Dario Argento films.Lastly, and perhaps most urgent of all, I experienced a software crash about two to three hours into the adventure on Series S. It's good that the game autosaves regularly - but many of these points do need addressing.On character faces, clothing, or the paintings strewn across the manor, most run with lower definition assets - which isn't flattering viewed up close.With Xbox Series X in its performance mode, there's a higher rate of frame drops abruptly affecting play in moving between rooms - but it's otherwise a solid turnout.