THQ Nordic announces Alone in the Dark remake

The survival horror game Alone in the Dark is getting a remake for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. Revealed during publisher THQ Nordic’s game showcase, the new game will be developed by Magicka 2 developer Pieces Interactive. 

THQ Nordic previously acquired the rights to Alone in the Dark from original owner Atari SA in 2018. The first game released in 1992 from developer Infogrames, and the series went on to spawn numerous sequels and two live-action films. Its last release was the 2015 online game, Alone in the Dark: Illumination. 

Pieces’ remake has been described as a “love letter” to the original game. Players will take on the role of series protagonist Edward Carnby, a 1920s private investigator tasked with exploring Derceto Manor in Louisiana. Emily Hartwood, the niece of the manor’s missing owner, is the game’s second playable character. 

Earlier in the week, the Alone in the Dark remake was leaked shortly before THQ Nordic’s showcase.

Writing the Alone in the Dark remake will be Mikael Hedberg. Hedburg is best known for writing survival horror titles Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Soma, both of which were developed by Frictional Games. American illustrator Guy Davis, whose work includes Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain and The Shape of Water, has also been brought on as a creature designer.

On Sony’s PlayStation Blog, THQ Nordic promised that the Alone in the Dark remake would incorporate elements and characters from the first three games in the series, while telling a “completely original” story.

A heaping helping of horror

With the newly announced Alone in the Dark remake, triple-A gaming continues its gradual return to the survival horror genre. 

Capcom’s Resident Evil series went back to its roots with 2017’s Resident Evil 7 and 2021’s Resident Evil Village, both of which were critical and commercial successes. In 2023, the Japanese publisher will release a remake of Resident Evil 4, following the success of earlier remakes for Resident Evil 2 and 3. 

Towards the end of 2022, new survival horror IP The Callisto Protocol will debut from Striking Distance Studios. The game’s notable for being directed by Glen Schofield, who served as the executive producer on Visceral Games’ Dead Space franchise.

In January 2023, the first Dead Space is receiving a remake of its own from EA Motive.