Alone in the Dark demo on Xbox Live

By Robert Purchese Published 4 August, 2008

Have a go at some scary physics puzzles.

Atari has popped a demo for Alone in the Dark onto Xbox Live.

The sampler offers a couple of levels from the first two episodes, which should give you a taste of the physics-based puzzling at the heart of the survival-horror game.

Alone in the Dark, released on Xbox 360 in June, had enough bright ideas to outshine often frustrating mechanics.

Head over to our Alone in the Dark review for a much more detailed analysis.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • onezeonx #1 4 years ago

    cool ill try this out but after the reviews ill doubt ill get it

  • Whizzo #2 4 years ago

    The scariest thing in the game is the shitty controls.

  • JonFE #3 4 years ago

    I have to admit I didn't think they would do one ; will check it out to see whether I'll be interested once AitD hit the bargain bins...

  • Greychapter #4 4 years ago

    I bought the game and found the opposite of the EG review - for me the controls were just painful, and they overshadowed some moments of amazing gameplay. Would have liked the demo pre-launch so I would have known not to waste £40 on a game I traded in for something else a week later.

  • Colin8703 #5 4 years ago

    It's also £25 already in my local game.

    I'm guessing it didn't do very well.

  • Darren #6 4 years ago

    I definitely have no interest whatsoever in buying this game now, even cheap, after all the negativity surrounding it (I cancelled my original pre-order about a week before the game's release) but I'll certainly give the demo a try as it doesn't cost anything, does it?

  • miiiguel #7 4 years ago

    I loved the experience, mainly because it reminds me of a Carpenter's movie so much, but it is a very unconfortable one, for the wrong reasons. Mapping actions to the right analog stick must stop.
    Edited by 1 at 04/08/08 @ 13:05

  • ZuluHero #8 4 years ago

    i wish this was out a few weeks ago...

  • systems #9 4 years ago

    It was due out the month leading up to the release date, but they mysteriously didn't release it. Hmm.

    I'll give it a go. Crappy controls have never put me off before (yes, I'm a fan of the Gothic series on PC).

  • Darren #10 4 years ago

    systems - "It was due out the month leading up to the release date, but they mysteriously didn't release it. Hmm."

    Exactly... Phil Harrison promised as much. Call me cynical but I suspect Atari realised the game wasn't quite up to scratch so decided to hold back the demo so it wouldn't have an adverse affect on sales.

  • bad09 #11 4 years ago

    well at least people can try it now. TBH while the controls are fiddly I don't think it's really as bad as some make out. I'm quite enjoying it!
    Edited by 1 at 04/08/08 @ 12:28

  • Artemus #12 4 years ago

    Needed a lot more polish. The whole thing just feels unfinished. The PS3 version delay should actually be beneficial. There's no excuse if they release it in the same state.

  • Tomo #13 4 years ago

    Give it a go!

    It's not SHIT, just polished with a wire bog brush. Some sweet, sweet, sweetcorns lodged in the steaming turd though.

  • kangarootoo #14 4 years ago

    "sweet, sweet, sweetcorns lodged in the steaming turd"

    Wow, errr, well that has sold it to me. What a picture. Where is my cheque book?

  • Inquisitor #15 4 years ago

    My download keeps getting stuck at 40%, very frustrating.

  • Darren #16 4 years ago

    Yeah, there's a SC IV demo coming soon, likely this week (although I'll be damned if I remember WHERE I read that) but, if not, I'm sure it'll appear before the end of this month. I'm keen to try the PS3 version (I own the 360 one) especially if it includes Darth Vader.

  • DAN.E.B #17 4 years ago

    My download keeps getting stuck at 40%, very frustrating.


    your xbox knows the game is shit?


    Some sweet, sweet, sweetcorns lodged in the steaming turd though.

    LOL classic!

  • MrWonderstuff #18 4 years ago

    Stuck at 48%. M$ don't want us to play this.

  • Anthony_UK #19 4 years ago

    Well I didn't buy the game based on the various reviews, and personally I thought the demo was great. The controls everyone has been up in arms about, arn't nearly as bad as I thought they were going to be!

    Obviously the demo is taylored to show the best bits, but for those who bought this on release, is the demo representive of the full game?

  • anephric #20 4 years ago

    No-one knows, because the fucker won't dl past 52%.

  • Darren #21 4 years ago

    I left the demo downloading while I watched the amazing Dark City Director's Cut on BD so I finally got a chance to play it in the early hours of this morning. :)

    Well, it's certainly not awful but there is something a bit 'off' about the game. The controls are a little fiddly not to mention initially confusing when switching between first and third person. Also picking up objects on the ground is more awkward than it should be (in terms of precise positioning) and the use of the right analogue stick for attacks feels clumsy and unnatural. Graphically the game is really good but totally ruined IMO by needlessly large amounts of screen tearing, especially when there's fire on screen. Shame really because if it wasn't for that I might have picked the game up once it hit £20 but as it is the game has too many quirks to buy at the current £35 and the ghastly tearing totally puts me off it. Oh and no subtitles at all is another nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned as this is a story-driven game and I had trouble hearing most of the dialogue. This could have been great if Atari had let the developers have an extra six months to polish the game up properly.

    I'm glad I was able try the demo but at the same time I'm glad I cancelled by pre-order for the game.

  • bad09 #22 4 years ago

    @ Darren

    Dark City - awesome movie (and my first ever DVD), whats the director's cut like?

  • Darren #23 4 years ago

    @bad09 - Well I was lucky enough to not have seen Dark City previously nor did I know what it was about although I had heard it was supposed to be very good hence my reason for buying it on BD. All I can say is that I'm glad I watched the Director's Cut first because it removes the spoiler opening narration and a key scene in the pre-credit sequence such that the movie is more mysterious (I watched the start of the Theatrical version straight after you see). This cut is some 13 minutes longer at 113 minutes and is absolutely superb... it totally blew me away with its awesomeness... I was even surprised at the "twist" although I'd guessed something strange was going on. Highly recommended. The picture and sound quality are superb and there's 82 minutes worth of documentaries and at least three audio commentaries... great value compared with the bare-bonned releases of Terminator 2 Director's Cut and Stargate Specail Edition on BD (neither of them even have subtitles!!!).

  • bad09 #24 4 years ago

    @ Darren

    Sweet I'm looking forward to getting hold of that glad it's good value! You're right about these bare bones releases, pissing me off as I refuse to buy many until they get decent editions but that's the movie industry I suppose, double dipping worked for VHS and DVD so why stop now :(

  • smelly #25 4 years ago

    Im gonna dload the demo to check out the sweet fire effects everyone is ranting and raving about.