French indie studio Gloomywood has released another trailer for their game 2Dark. Headlining with the talent of Frédérick Raynal, creator of the Alone in the Dark franchise, this survival horror title has a man named Mr. Smith sneaking into the dens of serial killers in order to save the kids captured inside. With a top down, quasi-2d style to help stomach the disturbing material, you’ll stealth and fight your way around these slaughterhouses with the help (or hindrance) of a system based around light and sound.trailer:

This quick look shows what’s improved from the video pitch last year that helped them raise over $37K on crowdfunding last year. Now officially PEGI-rated and ever closer to completion, preorders have opened up and those that buy in can get access to the beta on their website.

Frédérick Raynal, Founder at Gloomywood Studio said:

“Hi, everyone! 2Dark is emerging from the shadows today, and I have good news. On behalf of the entire development team at Gloomywood Studio, I am delighted to finally be able to confirm that 2Dark will be released on Xbox One in 2016!

A little background: I’ve been a technical game artisan and video game designer for nearly 30 years now. Some of you may be familiar with my best-known work: Alone in the Dark and the Little Big Adventure series. As a designer, I’ve never stopped wanting to create and innovate, and I’ve dabbled in pretty much everything: electronic games, mobile games, and more. With 2Dark, I wanted to go back to the roots of horror and adventure games; that’s why I teamed up with three of my very talented friends and fellow game design veterans to create Gloomywood Studio. And today, it gives me great pleasure to present the fruit of our labor. 2Dark is a very personal and – I hope – very unique and original project.

This is, to be perfectly honest, the most twisted game I’ve ever made… and the most twisted game I’ve ever played. In 2Dark, you take the role of Mr. Smith, an ex-cop who’s found himself adrift ever since having his children kidnapped, and losing his wife under some pretty horrible circumstances. While searching for your children, you learn by chance of a similar case that unfolded in a run-down suburb of the sleazy town of Gloomywood. You decide to go there, to dig up clues – and you aren’t disappointed with what you discover…”

Your goal in 2Dark is to rescue as many children as possible from the claws of psychopathic serial-kidnappers, and the task – as you might imagine – is quite daunting. You have to hunt a slew of serial killers to their lairs, avoid their henchmen, and slip by their traps. You only have your trusty pistol with you on your adventure, so you must rely on your skills and wits if you are to succeed. And that’s not all: You then have to escape, accompanied by terrified and disobedient children. Over the course of the game, you will discover what has really been terrorizing the town of Gloomywood.

As you may have guessed, 2Dark is a challenging game that blends different styles to create a truly explosive experience. You’ve got infiltration, adventure, action, and rescuing children; all this in a 3D-pixel horror setting explored from a top-down perspective, like the twin-joystick shooters of the good old days.

Its retro art style also serves the same purpose. The top-down effect harkens back to my days navigating mazes in Zombies Ate My Neighbors, desperately trying to avoid men with chainsaws and werewolves. It’s a little more complicated in 2Dark though, as you can’t just unload on every enemy you see like in ZAMN. The darkness was certainly my friend, and more often than not my approach to navigating the demo was keeping the flashlight off and slowly creeping along in the dark.

2Dark is pitched as a game where “not everything is as it seems.” And that’s true. For a straight run through, the demo should have taken two hours. But I went back to the circus level and spent about another hour there only to find I had missed some details.

What’s cool about 2Dark is that there’s really no right or wrong way to approach your rescue mission, you’re given freedom. I realized I could have certainly taken some alternate roots in my first run to make things easier, but the trial and error aspect make it unique. We’re often told in games you have that freedom, but in reality there’s an obvious route you should take and every other approach makes little or no sense. That’s just not the case in every instance here.