that's right everyone, it's alone in the dark again, 2008 PS3 edition. and my opinion on this one is the same as every other one i've seen so far, which is to say ... it's ... a beautiful disaster.

the good news about this particular reboot is that it's lacking the overt objectification & fearmongering of native americans its predecessors had, instead opting to push towards more generic, grotesque, dead space-like monsters, and a well-tread, good-versus-evil, christians-versus-satan style conflict. it's predictable, but it's fine. this game doesn't need a showstopping or unique story to be good, for its charms lie elsewhere: its presentation.

yes, indeed, the charm of alone in the dark seems to never be intentional for me. the various minds involved in this game's inception all looked at this prestigious underdog of an IP & thought, "you know what this franchise needs? another reboot ... but this time, it's like a movie." they've implemented new, groudbreaking ideas like ... adding a blinking feature ( to get gunk out of your eye! it's a game you play almost entirely in 3rd person, by the way ) ... or composing a rousing, swelling cinematic OST, which drowns out the dialogue ( no subtitles available ) and frequently feels out of place during gameplay ( heavy auditory drama, next to nothing happening in-game ) ... you know, typical immersive movie stuff.

maybe my favorite new choice, though, is the writing & character work, which is so bad it's funny. carnaby is a quippy, cynical jerk, grizzled with a side of i-don't-give-a-fuck attitude -- your classic asshole male protagonist -- and has given him a female sidekick, who serves exclusively as 1) a love interest with whom carnaby has zero chemistry; 2) a cheerleader, medic, & general support figure; and 3) an object who dies tragically for male tears. combine this with half-baked plot contrivances & poor pacing, and it's just amazing how on the nose everything is, re: being, like, a B-tier action film. it would normally have me rolling my eyes or stomping my feet in rage. but ... there's something about all the pieces of this game coming together that makes it feel less egregious to me, and more comedic. again: not the intention of the developers, i don't think -- it seems they've taken themselves rather seriously with this work.

when i say "all the pieces", i of course mean to include the gameplay, which is critical to making this experience joyful. this game plays very strangely, with a frantic physics system at the core of its unusual gameplay -- lift bodies & items, ignite things on fire & carry them elsewhere, bounce objects & shoot them to solve puzzles, climb dangling ropes, and more -- all of which function rather ... well ... dysfunctionally. objects lack proper weight, and controls not only fight against you, but appear to have a mind of their own, which means our protagonist ends up doing things like throwing the wrong items from his inventory, or using items at improper times. it's not a problem, ultimately, because item acquisition is not particularly stingy, but it's still baffling to experience as a player.

the oddities & rawness of alone in the dark's gameplay are insurmountable to most, i will admit, but i do think there are some cool ideas. i really like how experimental devs were during this era regarding physics, and how you interact with the world. it's fun how you maneuver carnaby's body with such intent to light things on fire or attack, and i must admit, i'm a sucker for diegetic menus & things, like how you open up your jacket to access your items, which you see all neatly aligned in your pockets & such. that's fun! that's cool! do i think this game needed to be a barely concieved open world experience? no. but do i think the rest of the gameplay stuff is neat? yeah! sure. i just don't think most of it is well implemented.

alone in the dark is a fascinating experience. there's lots of head-scratching stuff in this one, but it's the best of these games that i've seen so far. at least, i find it the most appealing of the bunch. it's bad, don't get me wrong, but ... it's good. you know what i mean?