It’s the same but different. That’s a phrase you hear a lot when you work in any artistic field, and in our case it essentially means we want something tonally familiar while still feeling "fresh" to the game world. In the past, game makers frequently didn’t have the proper outlet to experiment, and for a number of reasons had to make “safe” bets in what they would develop. As such, many games tended to stick with tried and true formulas without deviation. Then Steam came along. Steam offered developers the ability to take some risks with their games that they wouldn’t normally consider, and try something new. Alone in the Dark: Illumination is our attempt at a new direction for the series - our take on “the same but different”.
We knew we wanted to continue featuring the Lovecraftian monsters players have come to expect, but change the pace and tone of the franchise to something a little more action-oriented. The previous Alone in the Dark games had a more slow cerebral horror feel, and as much as we love those games, we think that being able to just fight the monsters adds an exciting new wrinkle to the formula. With that in mind, you’ll find Alone in the Dark: Illumination to be filled with the same visual terrors of its predecessors, but everything is at a much faster pace. Firearms and supernatural powers will be the tools of your trade, and casting light into the shadows will be your mission. The town of Lorwich is littered with the gruesome remains of its previous occupants, who were murdered by their own machinations. Fiends of all shapes and sizes lurk just beyond the light, waiting for their moment to attack. Resources are scarce and survival is far from certain. And this is still only the beginning: The town is clearly beyond saving, but if the evil that resides within is not stopped, it will unleash Cthulhu himself.
And don’t be mistaken – while you will be armed with powerful weapons and abilities, you are still far outmatched and outnumbered by the enemy hordes. Players will have to use a combination of reflexes and strategy to survive the onslaught of Lorwich. And there are times when fighting is far from your best option – when the growing legions of otherworldly horror descend upon you, and the flickering streetlight dims, your only chance is to run for your life.
This isn’t exactly the Alone in the Dark we all grew up with, but we’re proud of what we created, and how it manages to be the same but different.
Illumination: Characters and Story
Greetings AITD: Illumination Fans!
We’ve been hard at work polishing the game and getting ready to release it into the wild. In the past weeks since the second beta we’ve continued to make huge strides improving many of the areas recommended by our fans. Once again, THANK YOU to everyone who came out and commented. We can’t wait to share the latest chapter in the grim universe of Alone in the Dark.
https://youtu.be/lM0Q63xa9io
As we head into the final weeks of development, we’d like to shed a little more light (pun intended) on various aspects of the game. This week we’re going to look a bit more closely at the game’s eldritch backstory, which was not fully implemented in the last build we showed.
Alone in the Dark: Illumination is set in the mining town of Lorwich, Virginia. The town has mysteriously gone quiet after a supernatural fog draped the area. Ted Carnby, the renowned supernatural investigator and protege of the illustrious Edward Carnby, hears of this disturbance and immediately heads to Lorwich - noting similarities to other events in his past. Our hero quickly discovers the town’s inhabitants are all either missing, or killed - many in horrible, gruesome fashion. In addition, the town is swarming with demons eager to tear the flesh from any who cross their path. The only weakness of these abominations seems to be their inability to withstand light of any kind. As Ted delves deeper into the machinery of this old mining town, he discovers that it is not only this unknown evil that has brought the town to ruin, but the residents of the town themselves.
Carnby is just the first of the four heroes the player will control. As the game progresses, they will unlock The Priest, The Witch, and The Engineer. Each of these heroes has their own motivation for coming to Lorwich, and their own arsenal of weapons and powers to protect themselves as they follow threads leading to the mystery at the heart of this cursed darkness. The Witch follows the lost members of her Coven, The Priest searches for a divine heirloom of tremendous power, and the Engineer strives to clear her family name. Through both single player and co-op modes, players will experience the perspective of each of these unique characters. By unraveling their individual mysteries, the greater narrative of the Lorwich incident will ultimately be revealed.
Stay tuned for more as we head towards the release of AITD: Illumination!
Second Beta Weekend Starts Today!
Hello! We’ve been hard at work adding content and refining gameplay after all the great comments and suggestions from our last beta, and have seen a ton of progress and improvements to the game and want to give our fans another look.
Our second closed beta weekend will focus on the game’s multiplayer mode, revealing three of the four playable characters and showing off even more of the cursed town of Lorwich.
The multiplayer closed beta starts today, Friday, 4/10 at 2 p.m. PST and runs until Monday, 4/13 at 2 p.m. PST. Anyone who has pre-ordered the game can access the closed beta.
Please dive in and tell us what you think in the forums and help us report bugs.
In this multiplayer closed beta, players can choose between three playable characters including the Hunter, Witch and Engineer, each armed with special abilities and weapons:
•The Hunter: A heavy weapon-wielding mercenary equipped with powerful firearms including an Assault Rifle, SMG and Flamethrower attachment.
•The Witch: A lightning-manipulating assassin who utilizes a combination of guns and supernatural powers.
•The Engineer: A mechanically savvy gadgets and weapons expert who is skilled at taking down opponents with precision.
Players can also explore three levels, one from each campaign, including:
•Mines of Lorwich: Ghost Town
•Beneath the Graves: The Coffinmaker
•Factory of Fear: Spectral Railway
Other additions and improvements we made available in this beta include:
•The Engineer Class is playable for the first time
•New Hunter Abilities
•The Witch returns with some tweaked abilities
•The Advancement System and Trait Tree are now implemented – level your character!
•Hit notifications, Spawn AI and Audio have all had significant tweaks.
If you have already pre-ordered the game we invite you to jump in and experience the action-horror game in multiplayer closed beta. If you haven’t pre-ordered, we encourage you to do so now here so you can get in on the action before everyone else. Please also post your comments and feedback in the beta bug forum.
We hope you enjoy the closed beta and look forward to hearing your feedback!
- The AITD Team
Beta Weekend Starts Thursday, 1/29!
The wait is over! Starting tomorrow, Thursday 1/29 at 12pm PST, users who have pre-ordered Alone in the Dark: Illumination will be granted exclusive access to our beta weekend, featuring the assault rifle-wielding Hunter and the single-player mode of the first terrifying campaign: The Mines of Lorwich.
We’d love to hear your thoughts, so we’re creating a Steam Community Hub sub-forum for game owners to list bugs and provide feedback. That sub-forum will go live tomorrow in time with the beta launch.
Thank you so much for pre-ordering Alone in the Dark: Illumination! We’re so excited for you to finally begin exploring the forsaken township of Lorwich, VA.
- The AITD Team
Exclusive “Ghost” Character Skins!
Hello AITDers!
Pre-order AITD: Illumination today and battle the forces of maddening darkness as a spectral hero! This exclusive “Ghost” skin for each playable character is only available for pre-orders of ALONE IN THE DARK: ILLUMINATION.
And as a reminder, pre-ordering also grants you:
•Weapon Skins: Distinctive weapon skins give your hunter an unmistakable look.
•Closed Beta: Be the first to get your hands on AITD: Illumination! More details on Beta access are coming soon.
Have a Happy Holiday!
- The AITD Team
AITD: Illumination in IGN!
Hello! We’d like to share a great preview of AITD: Illumination from IGN. The article details initial impressions and core mechanics of the game. As we get closer to our Beta launch we’ll be unveiling additional info and details on AITD: Illumination, so stay tuned!
- The AITD Team
"Alone in the Dark: Illumination has a good foundation; it's moody but can still pack in plenty of action, while the mix of creating light and properly using ammo and spells creates a nice tension."
Happy Friday! New Screenshots!
Hi all, we wanted to point your attention to some new screens on the main store page. We've included some images of our Hunter and some extra monster looks!
Be on the lookout for additional previews and coverage of AITD as we get ever closer to our Beta and launch.
Thanks so much for checking out AITD.
- The AITD Team
Single Player and Multiplayer Co-op Will Be Available!
We are excited to announce the Alone in the Dark: Illumination - Eldritch Edition is available to pre-order on Steam!
The game will include SINGLE and MULTIPLAYER CO-OP modes!
