Derceto Manor oozes character. Wood-panelled halls give way to locked doors, creaking staircases, and all manner of strangely evasive inhabitants, all guarding a secret I'm determined to find out. The grand mansion of Alone in the Dark is now a psychiatric hospital in the remake. I think it would very much feel like a third protagonist were it not somehow working against me.
As I play through the game's first three chapters, first as Emily Hartwood and then Detective Edward Carnby, I uncover more questions than answers. It's a thrilling experience, bolstered by a doom jazz soundtrack that ebbs and flows with the action as I navigate its maze of puzzles, monsters, and paranormality. THQ Nordic's upcoming take on a survival horror classic does a brilliant job of recontextualizing the game and its characters, leaning into the new 1920s setting with confidence while holding fast to the spirit of the original. The result so far is an intriguing detective yarn that feels more thriller than all-out horror at times, and although I was hoping for a good scare, a creepy whodunnit seems a far better fit this time around.
