Video Games
Grab the ‘Alone in the Dark’ Trilogy on GOG for Free
If you’ve been following GOG for a while, you know about their Preservation Program, which launched last year as a way to ensure future gamers can play classic games, without the headaches of compatibility. Needless to say, it’s been a success, with titles such as the original Resident Evil trilogy, Cold Fear, Dino Crisis, Devil May Cry and other titles becoming part of the program. And as a special thank-you to fans (if you’re fast), you can grab the Alone in the Dark trilogy of games (which just joined the program) for free! Be quick about it, as the trilogy will only be discounted as such until February 5th, 2PM UTC.
As an extra bonus, GOG is currently hosting its New Year sale, which has over 7500 titles discounted. From 2016’s DOOM (80% off) to last week’s I Hate This Place (20% off), there’s no shortage of finds for those looking for DRM-free gaming. You can even pre-order Tarsier Studio’s upcoming REANIMAL with a 10% discount.
As fans know, Alone in the Dark and its sequels paved the way for modern survival horror gaming. While the sequels were less focused on horror, the original’s Lovecraftian horror still holds up, even if the goofy polygonal graphics don’t quite do that.
The series unfortunately had a rough time at the turn of the millennium. While Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare succeeded in rebooting the series, the 2008 entry and 2015’s Alone in the Dark: Illumination sunk the series before THQ Nordic tried it again with 2024’s Alone in the Dark. Unfortunately, the reimagining was so-so, despite having some good aspects about it. That wasn’t enough to save the game from being a commercial disappointment, and leading to developer Pieces Interactive shutting down.
Video Games
Bloody Body Horror Revealed in ‘Stellar Blade: Blood Rain’, Currently in Development [Trailer]
Shift Up has shifted things dramatically from 2024’s action-adventure game Stellar Blade, offering up a body horror bonanza in the newly announced sequel, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. The sequel is currently early in development, but if the trailer is any indication, players will be in for plenty of body horror.
Continuing the story from the original Stellar Blade, Blood Rain will star a new protagonist named Eve. Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of humanity has fled to a Colony in outer space.
Shift Up had mentioned during a Q&A following its latest earnings presentation last month that development on Blood Rain (which was still unannounced at the time) was progressing smoothly, and was on track to meet their targeted quality standards.
Shift Up stated that with this new title it would be transitioning to a first-party service model, effectively moving away from the restrictions the game experienced with original publisher Sony, which had the game under an exclusivity agreement for the PlayStation 5. “This will allow us to lead marketing strategies that fully reflect the distinctive identity of the Stellar Blade IP, and we expect to communicate the unique appeal of its universe to players more directly and effectively.”
Whether this means that Xbox Players will finally be able to play the original game (or its sequel) is still not clear. Meanwhile, Stellar Blade is reportedly being ported to the Nintendo Switch 2, but no official confirmation has been made.