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

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.

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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