Alone in the Dark

アローン・イン・ザ・ダークMS-DOS, PC-98, Other, Mac +21992

  1. JP1993
  2. NA1993
  3. EU1992
  4. RU—

Alone in the Dark kept its name everywhere, appearing in Japan as アローン・イン・ザ・ダーク; on Steam it is sold as Alone in the Dark 1. The simplest legal way to play the 1992 original today is the GOG trilogy or the Steam release.

Alone in the Dark is a 1992 MS-DOS game designed, directed and programmed by Frédérick Raynal at the French publisher Infogrames. Guinness World Records recognizes it as the first 3D survival horror game, and Shinji Mikami has said it influenced Capcom's Resident Evil (1996). Working titles included In the Dark, Screams in the Dark and The Old Dark House.

The story draws on the Cthulhu Mythos and is set in the 1920s at the Derceto mansion in Louisiana. Its characters are built from about 250 polygons each and placed over hand-drawn backgrounds, viewed from fixed camera angles.

In 1993 the game reached North America through I•Motion and Interplay, and Japan on the PC-9801 and FM Towns; 1994 brought a 3DO version in Japan and a Mac version, and a RISC OS port followed in 1995. A remake with the same name, developed by Pieces Interactive, came out on 20 March 2024.12

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Alone in the DarkWith Interplay; a 1993 CD-ROM re-release added voiced introductions MS-DOS 1993 I•Motion 1
NA Alone in the Dark Mac 1994 MacPlay 1
EU Alone in the Dark MS-DOS 1992 Infogrames 1
JP アローン・イン・ザ・ダークFM Towns Other 1993 Arrow Micro-Techs 1
JP アローン・イン・ザ・ダーク PC-98 1993 Arrow Micro-Techs 1
JP アローン・イン・ザ・ダーク3DO; port by Krisalis Other Oct 7, 1994 Pony Canyon 2
EU Alone in the DarkRISC OS (Acorn Archimedes / Risc PC), port by Krisalis Other 1995 — 1
WW Alone in the DarkCo-developed with Kung Fu Factory iOS 2014 Atari 1
WW Alone in the Dark 1Steam Windows Dec 13, 2016 THQ Nordic 3

Also known as: アローン・イン・ザ・ダーク JP2Alone in the Dark 1 WW3

Box art by region

  • Alone in the Dark box art, Europe release
    EU Alone in the Dark

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.

Version differences

  • AudioCD-ROM (1993)

    The 1993 CD-ROM re-release added voice-over to the introductions, which the original floppy version did not have.1

  • GameplayPC-98 / FM Towns (JP)

    The Japanese PC versions use manual-based copy protection: at startup you enter a page number from a booklet of item illustrations.2

Translations

  • Spanish Official

    InfogramesMS-DOSReleased

    GOG's Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy lists English, German, Spanish, French and Italian.4

Where to play legally today

  • GOG Purchase

    Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy 1+2+3

    Alone in the Dark 1–3 plus Jack in the Dark, DOSBox

    Checked: 2026-10-134gog.com

  • Steam Purchase

    Alone in the Dark 1

    DOS version

    Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com

How to run it today

Buy the GOG trilogy (Alone in the Dark 1–3 plus Jack in the Dark) or the Steam release. The GOG edition runs in DOSBox on Windows 10 and macOS and has no DRM.4

Reception

Critics praised its atmosphere, sound and fixed camera angles. It sold 600,000 copies by February 1997 and 2.5 million by January 2000, and won awards at ECTS and CES in 1993.1

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2ja.wikipedia.org
  3. 3store.steampowered.com
  4. 4gog.com
  5. 5ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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