So continues the unusual resurrection of the artist formerly known as Infogrames, Atari. The once-great publisher has supplemented its diet of gambling games lately with an unexpected Rollercoaster Tycoon reboot, and now this: the return of its two most venerable horror licenses.
Alone in the Dark: Illumination and Haunted House: Cryptic Graves will be “suspenseful, action-packed” survival horror games. They’ll also be something survival horror games historically haven’t been: on PC.
Both games will be out in the Autumn, and boast appropriately twisty storylines.
“Atari was at the forefront of the survival horror game genre, with both Haunted House and Alone in the Dark shaping the category throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s,” said Atari CEO Fred Chesnais. “The modern and updated versions of these games will resonate with enthusiasts of the classics worldwide, and engage new fans through suspenseful, action-packed PC gameplay.”
Haunted House: Cryptic Graves is a first-person adventure game that traps players in a single estate with spirits and monsters. In that way it’s similar to developer Dreampainters’ last game, Anna, which left us in an abandoned sawmill in the Italian mountains with nothing but infuriatingly obscure puzzles for company.
Cryptic Graves keeps the puzzles, but adds the psychic means to purge monsters and avoid traps.
Alone in the Dark: Illumination sounds a little more hands-on: “bloodthirsty beasts”, co-op multiplayer and the vanquishing power of light all crop up in its feature set.
It’s developed by new studio Pure FPS, who’ve put together “challenging” missions and a dynamic environment system. Players will pick from four uniquely-armed hero classes: the Hunter, Witch, Engineer and Priest.
Looks like Amnesia’s gone and turned the survival horror genre first-person. How do you feel about that?