The DISASTEROUS Reboot of a Classic Horror Series (that isn't a reboot) [Alone in the Dark 2008]

[@0uttaS1TE]

2:46 I had a weird moment of recognition when I saw the PDA UI. Like I'd seen it before. Then I realised that every part of that UI, from the theming to the font, was reused for Test Drive Unlimited 2. It feels uncannily close, which makes sense cos they're both developed by Eden Games. It's not even a mark against either game, it's just a weird thing I noticed

[@CharlatanWonder]

Oh wow.

[@icravedeath.1200]

I guess they ran out of money after this game bombed lol

[@InductedMist]

The nostalgia wave of seeing it again was wild, I had to to come to the comments to see if anyone else noticed it.

[@Bellhite]

@@icravedeath.1200I thought the game sold pretty well.

[@icravedeath.1200]

@@Bellhite it didn't

[@CharlatanWonder]

Get some snacks and have a bathroom break: This is gonna be a LONG one.

[@joshuagraham1800]

Nah I'll watch it later because premieres and live streams always make me feel pressured.

[@abdielalejandromontanodiaz1035]

..... Really hard work there…. Proof that emulation is the best choice every time, for accessibility sakes … I mean, ROMS are illegal… But not in my country, so…

[@CharlatanWonder]

@@abdielalejandromontanodiaz1035 The best choice *every time??? Yeah it's a just a lil bit different when you're publicly playing a game and making videos about it. I'd rather invest in some tools I can use for a ton of stuff in the future than essentially admit to a crime in a very public way.

[@Bananeisafree]

@@CharlatanWonder That is exactly what a person who used emulation to play and record footage of a game for a YTvideo and created a whole story arc pretending to go trough the painstaking process of video capture on the PS3 to cover his track would say !

[@philzeo]

I'M doing both of those things, but not because you told me to

[@ChizFri]

This is why I love Charl. He unabashedly says “f* an ad read, shrimp check”

[@radu0]

Keep up the good work!

[@akicauchemar7286]

The episodic identity of the game was intentional because the game was supposed to come out during ''games as tv series'' craze that was popular at the time (only being pulled off successfully by Telltale with Sam & Max and later Walking Dead. Failures like Sin Ep1 and absolutely way too prolonged Half Life ep 1 and 2 are some examples). However, the whole episode a month concept didn't work out so they developed the whole thing and just left the episodic transitions in. This probably explains why there are so many different gameplay types and mechanics. Perhaps the idea was to give you one month a single type of mechanic, then next month a more open world approach and so on. Really weird game and honestly pretty sad it just didn't work out tbh.

[@DemonicRobots]

12:00 Just so you know, if you ever have issues with your Analog to HDMi cable and don't want to look for another, an HDMI splitter works as well to get around the PS3's HDCP.

[@banks3388]

I want an alone in the dark reboot where it's literally just a Victorian British dude wandering around a old haunted mansion from the old black powder days...

[@Vesperitis]

That’s actually a good game concept that doesn’t need the AITD branding, and it can fill the “explore a haunted house with fixed angles” void left behind by Resident Evil.

[@sambeckettcat]

I’d argue a “flawed masterpiece” is any game that isn’t perfect, but achieves something special that it simply could not be without those flaws it has. A game where if you “fixed” it, it would actually become lesser.

[@goodwithastain]

This perfectly describes Alan Wake 1 for me

[@tentaclesmod]

The obvious candidate is Deadly Premonition.

[@ChrisMeadows92]

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is a flawed masterpiece. It has some glaring plotholes, a bad piece of dialogue here and there, but everything else is executed at such a monumentally impressive level that its blemishes don't detract from how astonishingly masterful everything else is. Alone in the Dark does try to pull of some impressive things, but it never achieves its ambitions. It's not a flawed masterpiece, it's a curious failure. Not the same thing.

[@dusk-dude7772]

Could be worse. Could be Alone in the Dark: Illumination.

[@CharlatanWonder]

NO PLEASE ANYTHING BUT THAT!

[@macramelon]

😊

[@MarieAntoon]

LOL! I remember when it came out and watching a couple of extremely buggy playthroughs. And it's multiplayer only, so why is it called "ALONE in the Dark"? Talk about missing the point! That wasn't a game, it was a punishment.

[@Unprotected1232]

That cat is so ingrained in my psyche that I would never accept any hypothetical face reveal as real.

[@LORDOFDORKNESS42]

My time has come for being a launch player of this troubled~ game~! The blood bags are basically meant to distract the Ratz and Vampirez in various ways, but won't work on Humanz. (And no, not making those enemy names up. Those are OFFICIAL.) From memory: *You can throw blood bags & shoot them, to create a puddle that attracts the animal monsters. *You can puncture it with a knife/screwdriver to create a trial they'll follow to said puddle, and not need to waste the bullet. *Both of the above works with the sticky tape too. And POTENTIALLY the ammo-bomb item, but not sure on that one. Been too long. *You can throw them at small fires to put them out, though this is usually not worth it. So yeah. Quite a few uses for the blood packs. I recall using the poke a hole thing especially often, because it let you lore the Ratz right next to their own nests and thus clear out tons of enemies with only one exploding bottle. They're never outright needed those mechanics to be fair... but some of the Roots of Evil puzzles become a lot easier if you figure out how to lure the animal enemies with blood like that.

[@Franken981]

I have a soft spot for games that aim to the moon but faceplant like this one. Also, the music is awesome.

[@Bluecho4]

We thank you for your sacrifice, Charl. You ARE the Lightbringer. You ARE the fuckin' universe.

[@MoskHotel]

Linkara: "Don't you talk about ME, you sunovabich!"

[@synka5922]

3:27 I legitimately checked the timeline for a point to skip to as you said that, out of reflex. I know you dont do these ad reads but its so deeply ingrained into my brain I automatically go to skipping when a youtube video has this "cutoff"

[@CharlatanWonder]

lmao, I actually study how other youtubers lead into their ad reads to more effectively bamboozle viewers. I like the idea of non-sponsors being a pleasant surprise.

[@trulyinfamous]

I can't stand channels like Adam Raguesa despite liking the content because he does annoying sponsors EVERY SINGLE VIDEO. I'm glad Charlaton has a strong sense of morals and doesn't do sponsors despite how enticing that dirty money is. Sponsors are also why I've stopped watching almost every podcast except Safety Third. Safety Third doesn't often do sponsors and it flows so much better as a result. When a sponsor read starts, especially if it is a smooth transition, I always end up letting out an audible "fuck you" or a "go fuck yourself" aimed at the creator. I've made it a rule that any time I see a service in a sponsor, I will refuse to ever use it out of principle, with the possible exception of Onshape because most CAD software sucks ass but that one seems decent. I'll be supporting Charlaton on patreon when I have the disposable cash to finally start supporting my favorite creators.

[@Gibusnipu]

reminds me of how in the audio drama podcast Less is Morgue, the creators do fake sponsorships and they get weird. I personally love the advertisement for the "now that's what I call noise" compilation album​@@trulyinfamous

[@WINSANITYGAMING]

I recall replaying that stupid driving away from the earthquake section several times, and at the beginning the woman in the car yells something along the lines of "are you driving with your eyes closed?" And since keeping your eyes closed is a mechanic in the game I said out loud "I AM NOW" and just deciding to do my next few runs completely blind and just trying to memorize it. Didn't succeed but the attempt stuck in my memory ever since.

[@MechanizedCaffeine]

3:00 I had my finger poised to skip the ad read when you pulled the rug. Nicely done.

[@joshuagraham1800]

Hey I'm only halfway in and I'm loving this! Goodjob man!

[@Toby_Kat]

Well dang, either you or KZbin removed my comment 😹 In any case, great video! Thank you for your talent and dedication!

[@CharlatanWonder]

KZbin's comment filters are a little weird sometimes. I try to check the filter regularly for false positives.

[@ch3burashka]

Never finished the 2008 one, but thinking back to the music and the mechanics, I super want to.

[@Clay_Mason]

this video was great, especially using your own Art as a reference. your creativity is insane

[@jurtheorc8117]

For those interested: The channel Sligh Functioning Medium has a very in-depth look at all the pieces of Alone in the Dark media. Definitely worth a watch, or at least a listen. And Eden Games itself has a kinda interesting story to it. Eden wasn't a nothing studio, to my understanding. Most of their experience was with the V-Rally series, and at some point they wanted to branch out to a 3D platformer or action adventure type direction. This they wanted to do by slowly building towards it with a more cartoony aerial racing game for PS2 called Riders, set in a flying world with competitors from different in-world cultures, but at one point they decided to make the jump in full and went outright to the 3D platformer/action adventure direction. First game ideas were for a fairy tale world with influences from Red Riding Hood and a main character who was a witch by name of Karaboss, later B-Witch, but that idea got pushed aside too. There's a channel out there of an ex-Eden Games employee who looks back on his time there and tells some stories when looking through physical souvenirs of his time there. Final product of this 3D platformer project was Kya: Dark Lineage, a game with art direction like Rayman, but it *also* had a lot of different gameplay parts to it. -Rather in-depth and solid combat influenced by Tekken, - board sliding segments, quite a bit of platforming centered around wind (free falling, wind tunnel gliding, climbing a tower where the wind is equally a tool and a hazard because from one side it can blow you against the wall to cross a gap, two other sides blow you off the platforms, and the other side is safe), -*very* light puzzling and stealth, - and a ridable animal that comes in two variants which can run or jump fast, of which you can stand on the back while it is running, jump onto a parallel-moving platform, and the animal will keep running along with you so you can jump back on it later. Kya's generally a pretty solid game, some jank notwithstanding, and i think it deserves more attention. You can see that in that game there's also a lot of different mechanics to the gameplay, but from what i understand they work much better there than in the eventual Alone in the Dark 2008. And i've never really looked into the studio's history beyond Kya, so my knowledge stops here. In any case, this is some info for those who may be interested in parts of the dev history and an obscure 2003 PS2 exclusive game.

[@brett66]

Throwin' some engagement your wayyyy. Excellent video, sir.

[@wulf2757]

the Evil Within 2 seems like a finished version of this game

[@jeffb-c]

The prey 2 ad in the skyrim box is just perfect

[@MrIcenice44]

Thanks for always keeping the channel smelling great

[@MidnyaDaCow]

Thanks for covering it, i don't think i ever would have gotten around to it because of its reputation. Hope you'll recover well from this mess.

[@AnonYmous-xw1jn]

This game had some really cood ideas and mechanics . I had a lot of fun exploring the more open map areas. Hope some company eventually reimagines some elements of this game in a survival game

[@TheAsylumCat]

I was particularly fond of the fact that your inventory system was just your coat. I've started to get annoyed at the phone game menus that we have today.

[@philzeo]

Imo, Evil Within 2 feels like a good version of what this wanted to be, even without driving!

[@briancoulombe4517]

What’s funny is that this and illumination, the game that came afterwards, suck in completely different ways. Inferno looks like it’s trying way too hard. And illumination doesn’t look like it’s trying at all.

[@MikhaelEternal]

thanks for that minute of enrichment. That was a good way to spend time. I needed it.

[@quint3ssent1a]

About Lightbringer being Lucifer: yes, it's supposed that Lucifer had his part in creation of the world, so Lightbringer is his title before he was cast off.

[@indieemil]

Well done, Charrrlls!! Your capture card journey hit me hard. Glad I'm not alone... Also - so happy you remind people of that their work and art isn't "content"!

[@Unprotected1232]

Deadly Premonition unironically pulled the "open world" horror thing off better

[@CommanderZx2]

I played the original version of this game on PC at release. I still think to date that it is the worst PC game ever released. Not only did it play like absolute garbage, but the control prompts only ever display Xbox buttons even when you don't have a controller. Also all of the movement in the game is bound to emulating controller thumbsticks, which as you can imagine is the worst for aiming or doing anything. So you'd be running around, trying to do puzzles and stuff and the game is show you controller button prompts to do things like wire puzzles and you have no idea what keys you are actually meant to be pressing.

[@mr.sinjin-smyth]

I second that statement. The driving controls were atrocious, you barely have any control on the car which feels either slippery, sluggish or unresponsive. The melee combat is very awkward and it's quite hard to describe even when shown in video, because when picking up a weapon (I used letter E), Carnby's attack stance and movement (the arms) is controlled by the mouse, like ala motion controller. It was hard to control because the 3rd person camera is tied to the direction keys (WASD), while you're trying to direct, ala motion controller again, the arm swing animation and attack (press left click) by moving the mouse around. It made for exploring and traversing (especially in platform sections) very difficult. The only time the game controlled well was during 1st person aiming with gun, where camera control is tied to mouse, while using WASD to move. It's another of those awful PC ports where button prompts are console instead of PC prompts. Alone in the Dark 2008 has easily one of the worst PC ports I've ever seen alongside Silent Hill Homecoming and Splinter Cell Double Agent.

[@NIL0S]

Oh gods, self made pesto genovese is SO much better than the store bought stuff. I never managed to make my plants live through winter, though. At some point I just do the last harvest, then let it flower. It has nice white flowers (not edible). Also, try to add a few cloves of garlic *chefs kiss*

[@CharlatanWonder]

Yeah so far while we're not quite into winter just yet a couple of my mason jar plants are doing okay. I can go grab a timer light or something to make up for less sunlight during the day, but the real challenge is going to be finding a plant feed that works because most stores stop carrying it in the winter. Ironically, I've had the best results with that Miracle Gro liquid feed which is supposed to be the cheap stuff. The fancy stuff just settles at the bottom since I can't exactly add water circulation to a one quart jar.

[@whatisfzeroanymore2nd]

regarding the PS3 not being recognized by the capture card, it's by design. you may have noticed on X360, PS4, XONE, that you need to turn off HDCP for it to capture the contents. in the PS3, HDCP cannot be disabled, as it's embedded onto the motherboard, so uh...you just kinda have to find a crappy bootleg capture card that takes HDCP or bypasses it. or use a splitter(?)

[@CharlatanWonder]

Ironically I accidentally did that by forcing analogue. Still a splitter is worth getting for better captures.

[@hayterfan]

PS3 is just an overall pain in the ass to capture from, and most of it boils down to getting lucky with HDMI splitters and hoping they strip the HDCP without adding noise, fuzz, or God knows what else

[@WulvenWanderer]

Great analysis, and you saved us the pain. Much appreciation!

[@mrcheesemunch]

I like the idea of analog controlled melee combat but it just never seems to work too well, I think Neverdead done it the best out of what I've played but overall that wasn't too great a game. I wish games would just copy Blade Mode from MGR, it's nice feeling like you made those precision cuts instead of just mashing square.

[@PaladinGunn]

that game was such a trainwreck at launch. It had a bug that basically crahsed AMD GPUs so hard that it could kill them, and some of the car sections were getting more and more unsynced the longer they want, and you ended under the game world. Fun times all around

[@thecampion2420]

Every time I hear the word Lightbringer, I hear it the Linkara voice.

[@adamvancleave9200]

Making Siren more of an immersive sim than this dumpster fire. And that was on accident (solutions they didn't count on work).

[@wooly_thyme]

When you said 'lets get alone in the dark' I immediately thought of a bank with the lights off.

[@Norgorber]

32:51 According to the Prima guide, the blood bags can be thrown to lure enemies away. If they actually do that in-game or if that's ever useful, I cannot say.

[@jamalshelton5746]

I took a nap while watching this video and the game seemed so much cooler in my dreams. When I woke up and rewatched the video I was severely disappointed. At least the video was still good.

[@minuby943]

i love the cooking segments. I've been living in barracks with no kitchen for about a year now and the food here in the mess isn't the best, but seeing these always reminds me that I'll be able to get a place of my own after my posting. Awesome content! I'm going to come back to these videos for some cooking references haha

[@kabob0077]

31:32 What is this Alan Wake/Gears of War "Stay in the Light" stuff about?

[@orcguy51]

Thanks!

[@Trauson]

Oh my god.... I saw the title and I was like PLEASE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE MOVIE I BEG YOU

[@Player-10]

Took awhile to get to watching this mammoth, but chore day is a good day to listen to Charl rant. Hope you benefit greatly from the views for this one man. Sounds like you put in a whole lot of extra frustration and work just to wrangle it all together

[@hydrogen18]

Your content is cool

[@DirtyMike124x]

Another great video:) you and your art are very appreciated. One of a kind guy.

[@CaptJABRONIE]

Awe man! I still have my launch Skyrim collectors edition and it STILL makes me sad to see Prey 2 when I open it up

[@BannerMirror501]

Amen and awoman.

[@ShinoSarna]

To me, immersive sim means that p much all the systems in the game interact with each other. The point isn't that there are unintended solutions - the point is that there are so many solutions that arise from the depth it's impossible to tell which ones are intended.

[@mr.nobody2191]

some insight from someone who played this game a lot as a kid. the reason some cars had dark interiors is because they have dome lights you have to turn on. blood bags are used to distract the bug enemies

[@lordfriedrick7911]

Wait a minute, i played this game... I honestly tought it was a weird dream i had until now...

[@MaverickRiou]

The Boi under the pile of socks looked so comfy I’m jelly

[@savyers]

This was so long that I thought it was livestream VOD, so glad I clicked on this.

[@a_monkie]

You can use a cheap HDMI splitter to strip the HDCP from the PS3 signal and capture from it straight from HDMI that way

[@EggedAegis]

Ahhh, perfect for my 8 hour graveyard shift. Charlatan Wonder is my crack.

[@Firebringer121]

Thanks man, I'm really been going through it, and your not ad read really helped

[@GigasGMX]

God, I forgot what a barely-functional mess the PS3 was. Cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market when it came out, though.

[@The24thWight]

Shoot. soon I will finish this up but RN I just can't. Man good luck recooping it all.

[@Axoltolion]

I would love to see a review on Dead Island

[@Dracen_Not_Edgy]

Oh god I remember as a kid having this game on 360 and not even getting to the mid point of the game and skipping to the ending with the skip feature. It was hilarious and confusing at the same time watching the end cutscene, even back then I knew the game wasn't good lmfaoooo

[@am-180]

happy halloween!

[@secondminion8058]

Love the wholesome adivce at the start, middle with the basil and great signoff.

[@nightvisiongang4414]

Great video, I completely understand your take on TOTK; however I do recommend you give it another shot. The game is VASTLY different in many ways; and the first six to 10 hours don't really showcase the full potential. Obv, you don't gotta, but the game is all about vibes and taking things at your own pace. It really is something special, I hope you find the same joy from it that I did.

[@philzeo]

FR. I was worried about it too, when I first started, but it's a completely different thing lol

[@C01dEyes]

The hell you went through to try and record the second worst alone in the dark game in the series is one of the reasons why I still have an older elgato HD external capture card that I bought back in 2012.

[@goodwithastain]

This is a criminally underseen video

[@hunn20004]

I liked the game. It had really cool ideas and was really scary....For the first 30 minutes. When you finally drive through the fantastic setpiece that is the ride to the park, and finish the first haunted house, discover that you can see while blinking, and you realise...oh....you have to kill 30 more of those trees....and the tension just drops off a sheer cliff. That progress bar killed the story. AND the DRM killed the game! So nobody will ever have to see it again. It really needs a redirected cut, where the evil trees limit your adventures through the park, forward AND backward, so that you aren't rethreading old ground....AND you delete those effin bats. Annoying, not terrifing.

[@mom0367]

I thought the minute was gonna be a sponsor at first and instinctively spammed the right arrow key.

[@MarioLuigi0404]

The first 15 mins of this video are the best advertisement for PS3 emulation I’ve ever seen

[@Maddin1313]

15:42 PREY 2!!!! AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH *foaming at the mouth intensifies

[@GuildCarver]

Charl if there was one thing I had to tell you about The New Nightmare to try and sell you on it. It's that it has a dual barrel/cylinder revolver and a triple barrel shotgun.

[@chrisscott8166]

Love the video!

[@ursteamfriend]

Oof...he really spent 400 dollars to record that shitty game. If i wasnt poor i would sub to the patreon or gifted some dosh. Thats an insane price to pay for that piece of trash.

[@goodwithastain]

It's wild, right? That's what made me join the patreon Like, how can i not support this level of dedication and passion?

[@megamanlyharkinian1373]

just wanna say, i feel like theoretically the mixed health system *could* work minus the scripted bleedouts and plus a bunch of polish. minor wounds regenerate, major wounds leave penalties. snake eater had a sorta similar idea

[@thevane998]

Shout out to charlatan's round rim sunglasses, I got the same pair but in bronze and they got style

[@andreworders7305]

Turning a health kit into a flamethrower is a neat idea

[@helmaschine1885]

0:10 look at that belly!! His primordial pouch maked him look even more chonky. ...i really wanna pet it.

[@kabob0077]

31:12 This inventory makes me miss RE5 and 6's... Or even 4's, 4's was GOAT.

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Nice video!!

[@andreworders7305]

The crafting sounds kind of cool on paper

[@fadedtyrant1604]

As a palette cleanser, you should consider a proper hardcore im-sim: My Summer Car. (A 90s rural Finland simulator, with all the danger and adventure that implies).

[@tipsyConfection]

I still love this game, to this day. It's one of a kind and unique in many aspects. Janky as all shell and very raw, but man, so original, one and only. I really wanted a sequel.

[@johnathanshade2578]

you know you dont gotta pay for a full price game to enjoy CBT, right? Just slip $20 to the lady on the corner, and she'll drive her heels in hard

[@CharlatanWonder]

There was a sequel though... It is 1000% pain.

[@tipsyConfection]

@@johnathanshade2578It was never painful to me though, I genuinely enjoyed it all the times I've played. Then again, I'm extremely tolerable to jank and really everything.

[@johnathanshade2578]

@@tipsyConfection pretty sure most CBT enthusiasts would describe their experience the same way, yet the T still stands for torture

[@tipsyConfection]

@@johnathanshade2578You are just weak if this is torture to you.

[@Roler42]

Amazing how not much has changed from 2008 to today with publishers assigning games from certain genres to studios that made radically different games...

[@2ndeaster]

Sometimes I see a game with a gameplay mechanic so confusing, I wonder how the hell did they code it.

[@kabob0077]

19:18 Aiming control on a thumbstick is less precise than a mouse but a thumbstick allows for more delicate movement of characters, like you can slow walk by barely tilting a thumbstick but you can't really do that on a keyboard. I'd argue controllers have more precise character movement compared to KB&M but mouse has more precise aiming.

[@seeinred]

Heya Wonder. Can you tell me what OST was used at the "Puzzles" segment? It's familiar, but i just can't put my finger on it.

[@Silverman160Zero]

Game's janky. I understand that. But the music is still fantastic. I still keep listening to "Who am I?" to this day. Even went far enough to roughly translate each line just to understand it.

[@PvtCheesecake]

Got this as a birthday gift from my aunt that knew the older games. Keep in mind I was like 8, but I still played the shit outta this jank. Cheers for this vid man!

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

22:20 Monsters? They looked like monsters to you? Seriously it looks like Carnby's beating a bank teller.

[@LORDOFDORKNESS42]

IMHO, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the inFamous series. One of the PS3 flagships. I wouldn't call 'em immmersive sims, but they had some dang impressive tech for their time. Like the climbing and how the cities react to you being a hero or villain. Plus the story of 1+2 is still dang good and don't get nearly enough love.

[@trulyinfamous]

I got my channel name from those games. Misspelled it as "Imfamous" for way too long lol.

[@Costromo]

I record PS3 gameplay for videos and if you buy a cheap HDMI splitter they strip the HDCP and you can record the PS3 through HDMI on a regular capture card

[@CharlatanWonder]

I might look into that despite already figuring out the 'you can't copy protect analogue' trick.

[@Lucas4Pelucas]

I finished the PS2 version not too long ago and seeing this makes me glad that I played that version, it's basically Silent Hill Shaterred Memories but with a gun and that's as cool as it sounds.

[@quint3ssent1a]

29:09 > I dont know much about guns, but i don't think that's how it works i know a thing or two about guns and yes, this is not how incendiary ammo works. Even worse, most of the commonly available potable alcohol is not going to burn all that well, you need something at least medical grade or Everclear-strong, and even then, alcohol burns not that impressive. It's not gasoline.

[@natorious314]

I had the PS2 version of this game as a kid. I quickly stopped being scared and was just frustrated as hell because it's mechanically so damn bad.

[@thewizard2390]

sometimes I imagine youre actually the cat and your controlling a human meat puppet.

[@jarreddean2094]

I know racing games aren’t really in your wheelhouse but the test drive unlimited games might be worth a look

[@asgads]

I played it when it was released. One of the most confusing and infuriating games I ever played

[@saschaberger3212]

Woa that Prey2 ad hurts

[@getoutofherestalker9652]

): I miss it