Alone in the Dark: Illumination is a 2015 third-person shooter video game developed by Pure FPS and published by Atari S.A., and the sixth installment of the Alone in the Dark series. The game was released only on the Microsoft Windows and is the series' first installment to be played online in a cooperative setting. It is the last title in the series to be published by Atari as the IP has since been acquired by THQ Nordic.
Illumination is considered the worst game in the series by critics and one of the worst video-games of all time, due to its numerous bugs at launch, lacking plot and for deviating completely from the genre with an action-oriented gameplay.
Theme[]
Alone in the Dark: Illumination brings you to the abandoned town of Lorwich, Virginia. Located near Virginia’s southern border, Lorwich was a flourishing industrial town with a bustling business generated by the local mines. These prosperous days came to an end when a flood devastated the mining facility, leaving behind nothing but destruction in its wake. The disaster forced an immediate evacuation, leaving the town desolate. It has been years since the accident, and the town has long been forgotten.
But the cause of the accident is still a mystery, and years later, nobody dares step foot in the town for fear of what lies there. There have been numerous reports of strange creatures and a dark, brooding fog within the town. Some locals who believe in the supernatural say that there lurks an ever-present force known as The Darkness. The Darkness can reveal itself in many ways, such as fog, apparitions, and creatures. It has cast its spell over Lorwich, enveloping everything in its path. It is up to you to help defend the town by fighting back the Forces of Darkness.
Gameplay[]
The game is an up-to-four player cooperative experience with four distinct player characters working together to solve a mystery in an action-horror setting. Some characters wield firearms where as others use magical abilities. Players have to make their way through levels with randomly generated elements such as enemy locations, locked doors, or even room layouts to make their way to a safety vault at the end of the level. Throughout it the players will have to fight off various types of enemies by means of firepower and creating light-sources to defeat them.
Plot[]
The game brings players to the abandoned town of Lorwich, Virginia. Located near Virginia's southern border, Lorwich was a flourishing industrial town with a bustling business generated by the local coal mines. Those prosperous days came to an end when a flood devastated the mining facility, leaving behind nothing but destruction in its wake. The disaster forced an immediate evacuation, leaving the town desolate. It has been years since the accident, and the town has long been forgotten.
The cause of the accident is still a mystery and, years later, nobody dares to step a foot in the town for fear of what lies there. There have been numerous reports of strange creatures and a dark, brooding fog within the town. Some locals who believe in the supernatural say that there lurks an ever-present force known as The Darkness. The Darkness is said to envelop everything in its path and can reveal itself in many ways, such as fog, apparitions, and creatures.
Protagonists[]
There are four playable characters, who can be chosen by the player in the beginning of the game:
- Theodore "Ted" Carnby (The Hunter) is a direct descendant of Edward Carnby. He carries 3 automatic weapons as his primary weapons, namely a AK-47, M4, and P90. He also has a flamethrower attached to each primary weapon that can be used to burn enemies, making them vulnerable to damage. His secondary weapon are a pair of revolvers, which fire more slowly than the other characters' secondary weapons.
- Celeste, born Sara Hartwood (The Witch), is the great granddaughter of Emily Hartwood. She is a member of a coven of witches, who has come to Lorwich searching for 3 of her missing comrades. She fights with a pistol as well as a number of magical abilities, such as throwing a bolt of lightning, enchanting light sources so that they burn nearby enemies, and firing a wave of electricity that travels along the ground. She can also release an area-of-effect electrical burst that deals moderate damage and will activate any nearby electrical light sources.
- Gabriella Saunders (The Engineer) is a young woman who has come to Lorwich searching for her missing miner father. Besides her pistol sidearm, her primary weapons are a double-barreled shotgun, a tesla coil device that can be placed on the ground to damage nearby enemies, and a throwing disc that can be triggered to explode. She can also repair electrical light sources after they shut down.
- Father Henry Giger (The Priest) is a Catholic priest who has been sent by the Vatican to investigate the town of Lorwich. He dual-wields a pair of pistols, and can also use a number of holy abilities, such as firing an energy-imbued bullet that stuns an enemy and turns it into a light source, summoning a beam of light from the sky which explodes, and creating a fiery explosion around himself. His melee attacks also set enemies on fire and leave them vulnerable to damage.
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Reception[]
Alone in the Dark: Illumination received universally negative reviews.
It received an aggregated score of 18.75% on GameRankings based on 4 reviews, 19/100 on Metacritic based on 12 reviews and 2.8/10 on IGN based on 9 reviews, all due to the mediocre multiplayer interaction, malfunctioning gameplay, weak characters and plot and numerous graphical and technical issues. Hooked Gamers rated it a 1.5 out of 10, stating "Alone in the Dark is dead, and now fans share the task of burying it away and trying to retain the good memories. Alone In The Dark: Illumination comes across as trying to be a Left 4 Dead 2 and Resident Evil 6 hybrid while doing absolutely nothing right, and favoring to do everything wrong."
Alone in the Dark: Illumination is considered the worst game in the series by the fanbase, with some considering it "the final nail in the coffin" for the series, leaving behind a very low expectation for any future title.
Levels[]
- The Mines of Lorwich
- Beneath the Graves
- Factory of Fear
- Moonlight Trailer park
Creatures[]
- Wraiths
- Exploding Shapes
- Demons
- Ghouls
- Goblins
- Hell Hounds
- Reapers (Scrapped)
Trivia[]
- It is the only game to offer four difficulty levels, it is also the only one in which it is not possible to collect new weapons, instead it enables the weapons to the player as they reach a certain level.
- Illumination is the last game set in the original 90's trilogy canon and the last in the series to be published by ATARI.
Trailer[]
Tokyo Game Show
References[]
- http://www.ign.com/games/alone-in-the-dark-illumination/pc-20023388
- http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/alone-in-the-dark-illumination/critic-reviews
- http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/835622-alone-in-the-dark-illumination/index.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_in_the_Dark:_Illumination
- http://aitd.com/
| Video Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1990's |
Alone in the Dark • Jack in the Dark • Alone in the Dark 2 • Alone in the Dark 3 | |
| 2000's |
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare • Alone in the Dark (2008) | |
| 2010's |
Alone in the Dark: Illumination | |
| 2020's |
Alone in the Dark (2024) | |