Classic survival horror fans are rejoicing because Sony has sneakily announced that Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare is hitting PS4 and PS5 as part of this month’s PS Plus update.
Yesterday, Sony shared which games will be coming to its PlayStation Plus subscription service this month, including Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Dave the Diver, Construction Simulator, and The Crew 2. However, eagle-eyed fans spotted more games in the fine print, namely a PS1 survival horror classic: Alone in the Dark: the New Nightmare. I’m really excited about the prospect of playing the game on modern hardware and collecting new trophies for it.
Don’t miss Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare in this month’s PS Plus Premium catalog update
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare was initially released in 2001 for PS1 and (somehow) the Game Boy Color, then later to PC, Dreamcast, and a European-exclusive PS2 port. It’s the fourth game in the series and the first reboot. In it, you take on the role of Edward Carnby, who is also a protagonist in the 2024 reboot, and follow his journey as he attempts to unravel the mystery that got his best friend and partner killed.
The critical reception to the game on release was fairly middling. However, many of the criticisms of the game relate to its various ports. While the game itself is said to fall short of what the series offered prior to its release, it still looks better than most of the games that came after it. But there’s just something intangibly special about this era of PS1 horror that’s so captivating.
There are two reasons you and all survival horror fans should be excited about this game: fixed camera angles and trophies. While not confirmed at the time of writing, Sony is slowly porting more and more PS1 games to PS4 and PS5 with full trophy support, and this is a platinum I’m dying to add to my collection.
Fixed camera angles in a survival horror became a rarity for many years, but they’re gradually making a resurgence. While not the mainstream anymore by a klong way, they to pop up now and then in games such as upcoming retro horror game Crow Country and even in this year’s Alone in the Dark, though the short period of time you have them in the latter is sorely underused.
As for why this game is hidden away in the fine print of this month’s PS Plus update article, I’m clueless. The subscription is getting what looks like a great game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, on day one, as well as Deliver us Mars. Not only that, but another PS1 classic, MediEvil is also hitting PS4 and PS5 this month. Yes we have the remake, but I love the knockout blast of nostalgia that comes with reliving the first games I remember loading up on a CRT in my living room.
