External Links


alone1.gam
Requires a TADS interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.

Have you played this game?

You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in.

Playlists and Wishlists

RSS Feeds

New member reviews
Updates to external links
All updates to this page

All Alone

by Ian Finley

Horror
2000

(based on 69 ratings)
11 reviews

Game Details

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


Stalker horror--the author calls it "play-in-the-dark-ware." Very short, but effectively creepy--most of the thrill is not knowing what exactly is going on. That effect continues when the game's over, in fact, since it's far from clear what happens at the end, and the game ends pretty abruptly. If you like stalker horror, though, this is a good example of how IF can do that genre well.

-- Duncan Stevens

SPAG
[...] All Alone is a short but well put together effort that adapts the horror genre to IF nicely, with some unusual elements. Give it a try if you have a spare 10 minutes late at night. (Duncan Stevens)
See the full review

Tags

- View the most common tags (What's a tag?)

(Log in to add your own tags)
Tags you added are shown below with checkmarks. To remove one of your tags, simply un-check it.

Enter new tags here (use commas to separate tags):

Member Reviews

5 star:
(4)
4 star:
(20)
3 star:
(37)
2 star:
(7)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 11
Write a review


Most Helpful Member Reviews


15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Atmospheric game with a few flaws, January 24, 2009
by Karl Ove Hufthammer (Bergen, Norway)

This really is a 'mood piece', and should be played as one. Don't expect very much interactivity, or that the choices you do will have much effect on the final outcome (this is, after all, a horror story). The writing is generally good, and manages to convey an increasingly creepy atmosphere, though the parser is only adequate, with a bit too many unknown words. Many people find the ending a bit confusing, but it's not bad, really. All in all, this is a good, if somewhat flawed, mood piece. With a better parser and a better ending, it would have gained an extra star from me.

Note that the author suggests (or rather requires!) that the game be played at night, in a quiet room, and with the lights off. I agree, and also recommend you use an interpreter that supports sound (and no, there won't be any loud screams to scare you, just a few well-placed minor sound effects). The result should be an increasingly uncomfortable experience as the game progresses, which for this type of game is good thing!

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Great atmosphere, lousy plot, September 22, 2010
by Victor Gijsbers (The Netherlands)

All Alone actually scared me. Oh, it used a cheap trick to do it, but it was effective and very diegetic: my reaction of "Whaah! Oh, wait, how stupid to be scared by that" is exactly the same reaction the protagonist has in this situation.

What is good about All Alone is that it sets a mood and sets it well. It turns the player-character identification that some have seen as a drawback of IF into a great strength. This is how atmospheric horror ought to be done: claustrophobia, being alone, unexpected events. The uncapitalised out-of-viewpoint-character phrases were especially effective.

On the other hand, most of the story is very much clichéd, and the ending, which isn't, is its weakest part. I think this might have worked better as a game with a stronger puzzle content: you get to try and hide, and depending on how well you do it, you may live for a longer time -- perhaps even survive? Or perhaps not. There are possibilities for more suspense and anxiousness here.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Short and Creepy Horror Piece, September 13, 2009
by Felix Larsson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Related reviews: literary, ***

Short and creepy ”literary” horror. You are a young female artist waiting for the break-through and recently moved into your boyfriend’s small, shabby apartment—just big enough that you can’t see all of it from any one place. It’s a dark and stormy night; a serial killer stalks the streets; you’re all alone. The phone rings.

Certainly worth reading … and re-reading! once or twice. The details of the story and even the length of the piece varies a bit depending on what you decide to do (there may be more to do than you think) and in what order. Writing is good, and, playing this all alone on a dark and stormy night, you’d better hope your phone doesn’t ring.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

See All 11 Member Reviews

All Alone on IFDB

Recommended Lists

All Alone appears in the following Recommended Lists:

"My apartment" games by MathBrush
It's a trope in interactive fiction that first time author's tend to model their own home or apartment in detail as an experiment in programming. To see if this trope is true, I've created a list of 'my apartment' games. Because in most...

Favorite "atmosphere" games by MathBrush
These are games that are fun because of the atmosphere and plot more than the puzzles. These games are not too hard and not too easy. They generally have a big over-arching theme. I have included most horror and comedy games in other...

Favorite Fours From Industrious Implementors, 2G by Walter Sandsquish
Some I.F. writers write more than others. Here are my favorite four games from authors who've released at least half-a-dozen games to date. This list covers 2nd-generation text-adventure implementors, who published the bulk of their work...

See all lists mentioning this game

Polls

The following polls include votes for All Alone:

School of Chaos Creepypasta's by StrawberryPie1
I'm looking for realistic gaming stories that include creepypasta

Best Short Games (5-60 minutes) by Sasha Davidovna
I'm pretty new to IF and am having a lot of fun, but in between a toddler and a job and other real life stuff, I'm having trouble finding time to finish many of the longer games I want to play. Can you please recommend me some fun and/or...

Scariest Games! (Horror or Otherwise) by thecanvasrose
I'm a sucker for horror, psychological suspense, adventure, the paranormal and supernatural, monsters and mystery. Please suggest scary games to me - even those which lie outside of the genre of horror, like sci-fi, crime or fantasy, if...

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 3 of this page, edited by Zape on 24 May 2020 at 5:08pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page