Alone in the Dark is here as of March 20, and knowing exactly what you’re signing yourself up for is an important part of determining if THQ Nordic’s reimagining of the classic title is worth your time.
There are a few different factors and variables that affect how long it will take you to finish Alone in the Dark, so the exact number of hours is definitely going to fluctuate based on what kind of gamer you are. With that said, there is a common range that you can expect.
Here is how long it will likely take you to finish the campaign in Alone in the Dark as well as some factors that can greatly increase or decrease that time.
Alone in the Dark: Main story length
In Alone in the Dark, you will choose whether you want to play as Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood at the very beginning of the story. The two characters have some slight differences later on in the campaign but ultimately follow the same story with the same length.
For a “regular” first playthrough where you aren’t closely examining every inch of every room for hidden collectibles, you can expect to take around nine hours to finish the game. This definitely makes it a shorter game, but the game isn’t designed to be played just one time.
While Edward and Emily each ultimately go through the same story, there are some key differences in cutscenes and the way NPCs interact with each other. These differences become pretty important for piecing together the entire narrative of the game, so if you want to fully grasp the plot, you need to play the game twice: Once as Edward and once as Emily.
On your second playthrough, most of the content will be familiar, meaning you’ll know how to solve all the most difficult puzzles and won’t need as much time searching for clues. A second playthrough will likely only take around five hours, meaning the time needed to really “finish” the campaign is around 14 hours.
Even after playing through both characters’ stories, there are still secrets to be uncovered. If the game pulled you in properly, you’ll want a few more playthroughs.
How long it takes to 100 percent Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark has hidden collectibles called Lagniappes scattered throughout. There are 45 in total, segmented into 15 sets of three. Most of the time, completing a set gets you a piece of “Forbidden Knowledge,” which is a paragraph or two that gives world-building lore or hidden backstory on certain characters or elements.
Three of these sets actually unlock alternate endings for the game when completed: One that is specific to Edward, one specific to Emily, and one that can be reached on either character. This means that to see all four endings to Alone in the Dark, you need to play the game at least four times.
Strictly speaking, that doesn’t add a ton of time. Once you’ve completed the game twice, future playthroughs can fly by in two or three hours. However, finding all of the Lagniappes needed to unlock these alternate endings can be extremely time-consuming.
If you use guides to find the Lagniappes for alternate endings, you’re probably looking at about 20 hours to fully complete the game. If you’re going to find all these hidden items by yourself, you probably are going to need around 30 to 40 hours.
