The most frustrating thing about this new Alone in the Dark is that it’s only a few shades away from being a darn good game - maybe even a truly great one. There are plenty of fantastic ideas flowing through its veins, but too many mistakes have been made during the development (hell) to prevent it from falling in a shambolic heap. As you push through this carcass of a game, you pass many a cool gameplay concept that lies tattered and you wonder what could have been. Could another six months of development have fixed things?

The story begins promisingly enough, with your character, Edward Carnby, awaking blurry-eyed and bruised. You have no idea what’s going on and the way the story is drip fed to you is engaging. Immediately you’re immersed in the game world and shown one of the game’s neat tricks - being able to push the right stick to blink your eyes. At first it’s simply to clear your groggy vision, but later in the game it becomes necessary to, say, get gooey green poison out of your eyes.

The immersion is also enhanced by the game’s realistic physics and physical properties. If you can’t get a door open, it’s up to you to figure out that you can pick up a heavy object like a fire extinguisher and smash the door into splinters. Likewise, wooden planks blocking an opening can be set alight and burnt - as long as you can find a source of fire and something flammable to carry.

Alone in the Dark is bursting with a number of great puzzles which utilise the array of junk you can carry in your coat pockets. You’ll find sticky tape, explosive bottles, cloth, a flashlight, batteries, a zippo lighter, medicine spray (just like the magical stuff from Resident Evil that somehow heals gaping wounds) and a few more items that MacGuyver could do wonders with.

(Puzzle spoiler alert) In one hallway was a door we couldn’t unlock, nor could we bash it open.