Quick, guess which game is getting a remake! Let me give you a hint:
the original was an action/adventure horror game with a 3D character
and fixed camera views, and it was released in the 1990s. No? What if
I told you it had a bunch of sequels of varying quality, released on
consoles and PC, and has been remade before already? Got it now?

Actually, asking such a leading question in a newsgroup such as this
one is more likely to get the correct answer, but ask Joe Average
Gamer and he'll confidently respond, "Resident Evil", when of course
the game in question is "Alone in the Dark".*

Now, on the one hand, I'm happy to hear this. After all, I love
classic DOS games, and have always felt the AitD franchise never got
the love and respect it deserved. Not only did it help invent the
action/adventure genre, it's an impressive piece of tech for its era.

Admittedly, I never warmed up to the game. When it was new, I was
deeply engrossed in classic adventure games, and "Alone in the Dark's"
new formula seemed sacrilegious. Reflex-based action in an adventure
game? Heresy! Later, when I became more open to such radical ideas,
the game's aged visuals and clunky controls made it impossible to
enjoy. Even today, I enjoy it more for its conceptual promise than its
actual implementation.

But that's why a modern-day return to Decerto Manor should excite me;
seeing the classic reborn with modern controls and QOL fixes seems a
perfect combination. Except...

This is a series that has already seen two (or is it three remakes?
Four?) reboots already. Quite honestly, as much as the core conceit of
the game appeals, so much of the surrounding fluff lacks appeal... not
only to me, but - based on the series failure to sell in previous
attempts - with other gamers as well. It's since been passed around so
often that there's no guarantee that its current licensees - it's
being developed by Pieces Interactive - have the talent or resources
to breathe new life into the franchise's aging corpse. Fans of the
series have been disappointed so often before it's hard to get excited
now.

More, this is less 'remaster' than 'reimagining', which is too often
code for 'we're taking a few familiar names and places and slapping
them onto something entirely different from the original.' Based on
the trailer, the game's mood and theme feel less like the original's
pseudo-Lovecraftian story of ancient evil, and more like a pastiche of
the recent "Resident Evil" games, complete with insane family.

Plus, a remake? I know I've said it before, but - even when it comes
to games I might love to see given new life - a greater part of me
would be happier if publishers stopped trying to milk nostalgia and
instead tried creating something new.

Which leaves me quite ambivalent about the news that there's an "Alone
in the Dark" remake. Yay that such a classic title hasn't been
forgotten... but I've little confidence in the remake and really wish
we'd just get some fresh and original instead.

Oh well, it could be worse. At least the announcement wasn't coupled
with news that Uve Boll is making another movie for the franchise...

-------------
* https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/1310410/#

> Based on
>the trailer, the game's mood and theme feel less like the original's
>pseudo-Lovecraftian story of ancient evil, and more like a pastiche of
>the recent "Resident Evil" games, complete with insane family.

This is just a touch off-putting, but I guess we'll see in a year or
whatever. I never played the originals, so am still intrigued

rms