Parents' Guide to

Alone in the Dark

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Fun but flawed horror remake serves tons of violence.

Game Xbox Series X/S , PlayStation 5 , Windows 2024
Game cover art shows haunted looking house in the dark with two people looking from the outside.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Edward Carnby, a private detective in the game Alone in the Dark, is firing a pistol at a creature.
  • This screen shot from Alone in the Dark shows a 1920s-era car entering the gates of a mansion.
  • A dark scene in the game Alone in the Dark, with Edward Carnby looking around a (seemingly) empty room.

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What’s It About?

A love letter to the iconic 1992 computer game, ALONE IN THE DARK is a reimagined take on the classic adventure about surviving a haunted house in the 1920s. The game starts with a short intro movie sequence, where we learn about the mysterious disappearance of Emily Hardwood's uncle Jeremy from the Derceto Manor. Players can choose to play as Emily or as hired Private Investigator, Edward Carnby (David Harbour, from Stranger Things). In order to stay alive in the haunted home and unravel the truth behind the disappearance, gameplay consists of exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat. Played from a third-person view, you'll navigate the large manor look for clues and objects that can be used to advance your efforts (like keys to locked rooms) and use weapons and tactics to take on various demonic-like creatures that stand in your way. Note: All versions of the game look and play in a similar fashion.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Alone in the Dark is a fun update of the 32-year-old classic, with new puzzles, places to explore, and modern graphics. If you like a good scarem you'll enjoy this very creepy mystery-driven game, especially if you play with headphones and the lights off. Where this game really shines is in its exciting storytelling and surprise plot twists

It's not without its flaws, like some minot technical bugs, but a software update fixed many issues and added new content. Despite these small issues, Alone in the Dark shows that old games can be updated with new thrills to keep them fun for today.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in media. Alone in the Dark is an extremely violent and graphic horror game, but several sequences also rely on psychological terror. Do you think games, movies, and books can be just as scary without relying on violence?

  • Is killing demonic creatures ok since they're "evil" and this game is played in self-defense, or should parents be just as concerned about the violence and gore in this game as other games that let you kill innocent humans? Is there a difference?

Game Details

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