in front of Lonely in the dark big event on May 26, 2023, publisher THQ Nordic and developer Pieces Interactive provided a visual look at Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood’s Southern Gothic horror adventure at Deceto manor. (David Harbor and Jodie Comer are the actors who will bring life to Edward and Emily, respectively.) New season Lonely in the dark take cues from modern industry standards set by games like recent games Evil inhabitant remake, and even seems to model its own two-character structure in a similar way to the recent one Evil 2 redo.
Creative Director and Writer Mikael Hedberg says they used the original 1992 Lonely in the dark underpin this new entry in the series. THQ Nordic Publishing House added that re-imagining of the 1992 classic will include many callbacks and references to it, while also serving as a postmodern reflection on the nature of the remakes. This can be seen in the presentation in the interactions between Emily and Edward upon arrival at Deceto. Emily commented that she dreamed of her uncle Jeremy dying the same way he died in the original game, but the manor looked different. Meanwhile, Carnby feels like he’s been in Deceto before.
Pictures via THQ Nordic
The game’s main setting and conflicts seem to be the same as in the original. Jeremy Hartwood is haunted by the mysterious Dark Man, and he tries to seek help at the rural Derceto manor hospital, located near the city of New Orleans. Players will choose between playable characters Edward and Emily. Depending on the choice, the story of the game will play out differently. Emily has a more personal connection to the plot from the start, and Edward gradually finds his own role in the story. Comer and Harbor’s performance is convincing. Accidentally or not, Edward looks a bit unsightly at times, which works great. He doesn’t feel like he’s just a rough brick wall, and horror stories can benefit from such scope.
In addition to the classic haunted mansion mystery and the interpersonal drama of each of the characters participating in it, the game will include new narrative themes and expand on those that already existed. Hedberg says that Jeremy survived this re-imagining and chose to seek help allowing them to explore themes that resemble predestination. There are signs that Jeremy, Edward, and Emily are too aware of their roles in the story and even remember some of the things they shouldn’t do. Hedberg added that they scrutinized the original lore to expand on these old and new themes, and that the “universe” horror elements of the original game could literally come into play, questioning whether fate is governed by something beyond our control or understanding. .
Pictures via THQ Nordic
In terms of gameplay differences, each character will experience levels and exclusive sections of the mansion. It seems that the second play with another character will see the items on the first run affect the second, somewhat similar to Evil 2. The characters will be controlled with a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective, the standard for today’s survival horrors. Edward and Emily can carry several weapons such as revolvers and shotguns. Gunplay seems heavy and satisfying, with guns having a lot of appeal to them. Meanwhile, melee looks cumbersome and slow, and seems to be a last resort when out of ammo. Players will also be able to find environmental elements like wine bottles to damage enemies and set them on fire. Exploration and detective work will also be key to advancing in the game, with the game allowing players to customize the difficulty of finding clues and solving puzzles.
Pictures via THQ Nordic
All in all, the Lonely in the dark re-imagining is shaping up to be a game informed by its predecessor and by its horror contemporaries. And while the developers have revealed many exciting new details and established a strong link with the 1992 original Lonely in the dark, the story of this new entry still seems to be a mystery. Whether the game can compete with multiple entries in the current survival horror revival and deliver on its themes is a matter of let’s wait and see.
Lonely in the dark coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC on October 25, 2023. The grace in the dark Gamescom and TGS 2022 demos available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam.
