A great graphical showcase for the Game Boy Color.
The answer is mixed. The one hand you have some of the best visual trickery ever to grace the Game Boy Color but on the other hand you have suspect gameplay mechanics that hamper the experience. The combat system is completely different to its console counterparts. It's more akin to an RPG system because you stroll along paths and roads and then the screen loads onto the battle map and loses both the technical prowess of graphical detail and is not as fun. It follows the flaws of traditional RPGs in that it can infuriate you after a while because you want to progress with the story, constantly stopping and starting after each fight. But don't think you select the actions from a menu; it's all done in real time and is closer to Zelda in terms of similarity. Also, the puzzles are simplistic and some are annoying simply because of the graphics obscuring items. It's not highlighted on what is interactive or not, so you're constantly pressing A as you walk. Well, that's what I did through the game.
The graphics are the showstopper here. You can't believe the Game Boy Color is capable of producing such wonderful visuals. However, you start to see the negative side because the backgrounds have a compressed feel to them. Yet surprisingly the backgrounds have animals scurrying past and other background creatures and flickering lights. This helps the immerse nature of the game and generally the game does look amazing. The real blemish though is the character model of Edward Carnby. He just looks out of place and is really jerky and lacks any real detail. The battle screens also lose graphical prowess and look primitive when you compare them to the pre-rendered. Also the monsters aren't scary in the slightest. For the game's shocks and scariness it heavily relies on the game's atmosphere overall.
The music is minimal in this game and that's a good thing because the title and opening music are truly horrendous. The in game music appears whenever a cut scene happens or if Edward spots something. The game does use great sound effects that help develop the atmosphere and the isolation of the island. The sound effects are weak and are generic.
The game is about 15 hours long on the first run through and there's not a lot to go back to after you've completed it.
Overall, Alone In The Dark A New Nightmare for the Game Boy Color is a technical achievement as far as graphic goes, despite the blemishes and a few flaws. The gameplay does its best to cope with the graphics of the game and is generally good. The sound is above average as well and above all, this is a good game to own if you don't expect too much from it.