Alone in the Dark's influence on survival horror is so profound that it saved Resident Evil from being a first-person shooter – and now you can get the whole trilogy for free

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2. Survival Horror Games
3. Alone in the Dark [original]

Alone in the Dark's influence on survival horror is so profound that it saved Resident Evil from being a first-person shooter – and now you can get the whole trilogy for free News By Dustin Bailey published 2 February 2026

"A cornerstone of survival horror history" is temporarily free for keepsies as GOG celebrates 2 years of renewed preservation efforts

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Modern survival horror sits in the shadow of Resident Evil, but Capcom's zombie classic didn't spring fully formed outta nowhere. Alone in the Dark is arguably the foundation of the genre's history, and with that in mind it seems appropriate that GOG is celebrating two years of renewed focus on preservation with a giveaway of the trilogy that kicked off uncountable nightmares.

A trilogy collection featuring Alone in the Dark 1, 2, and 3 is currently available for free on GOG. Head over to the store page, claim the giveaway, and the titles will be added to your library forever. While the giveaway ends on February 5, the games will remain in your library just as if you'd purchased them.

While Alone in the Dark certainly looks quaint today, it's still worth revisiting – especially as a clue toward how survival horror gaming took its eventual shape. Most notably, it introduced the static camera angles and tank controls that Resident Evil would run with. In a 2014 interview, RE director Shinji Mikami suggested that without Alone in the Dark's influence, his game would've been a first-person shooter.

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Alone in the Dark is part of GOG's Preservation Program, an initiative that began in 2024 with an ongoing commitment from the store to keep select titles up to date and compatible with modern hardware. In a press release, the company says its giveaway of this "cornerstone of survival horror history" comes in celebration of the efforts so far.

"Game preservation doesn’t happen by accident," GOG says. "It happens because people care – and choose to support it."

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES PC Gaming Platforms Dustin BaileySocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

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