The Dark Pictures Anthology: House Of Ashes Review

Introduction

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House Of Ashes is about an American Military Unit in search of chemical weapons, however, they get more than they were searching for when they unearth something far more dangerous buried deep beneath the Arabian desert.

Review

Firstly, this instalment from The Dark Pictures and Supermassive Games has been by far my favourite of the three previous instalments.

When it comes to horror games, I’m not really an enthusiast, however there was something about this game that intrigued me, whether it was the characters, the danger, or the sudden urge to face my fear, I can’t say. However, whatever it was, I’m glad it encouraged me to play this as it was one of the the best games I’ve played this year.

Right from the one liner descriptions when choosing the game difficulty, onwards; it was so much fun to experience. And for me, not being much of a horror fan, it has just the right amount of jump scares and creepies that made this experience so enjoyable.

The creepy, atmospheric music was perfect and definitely made the more cautious moments even creepier. Once the music lowered and became more suspenseful, I found myself automatically moving slower and stealthier, waiting for the danger around the next corner.

The level of detail, colours, textures on every artefact, organism and surrounding scenery was immensely intricate and captivating. I actually stood for what I reckon was at least 5 minutes at one point just admiring the detail around me.

Due to the game taking place mostly underground, the lighting of course was very poor, so the only light source were the torches the characters had on them, or the perfectly placed beams of light seeping through a tiny crack in the rock above. It added so much more to the feel of the game and the creepy, gruesome dangers that were lying in wait.

There are a lot of collectibles that range from premonitions to secrets to notes from the past. And I wanted to collect them all, which wasn’t due to the trophy hunter part of me, but the knowledge seeking part of me that had to know more about past events and historic moments that make up this incredible story.

The story itself was captivating from the start; from when you’re introduced to the team, to when there’s conflict with a local Military Unit, to when you’re having to run for your life from more dangerous enemies and having to make impossible decisions. It had me hooked and I found myself searching for more artefacts, notes and snippets of the past to know just what had happened down in that cavern.

There are so many layers and so much depth and storytelling you just thirst for more until the end. The character development and relationships, notes and pieces of information from past knowledge seekers; it’s so interesting and thought provoking that I’m still thinking about what happened that started all the chaos.

The gameplay was smooth and seamless throughout and the graphics were crisp and full of amazing detail that you would hope there’d be to fully experience this incredible game.

There were a few moments where the camera angles were a little awkward, however, nothing interfered with my experience and I might even go as far to say I kind of want to play it again. So, as a non horror game fan, that surely says a lot about how good this game is.

Rating

Pros:

• Amazing storytelling
• Intriguing characters and enemies
• Intricate detail

Cons:

• Camera angles at times
• Sometimes a little too dark
• QTE & game difficulty level jump  (I played on easy)

Summary

One of the most enjoyable games I’ve played this year, and even more enjoyable than Until Dawn, in my opinion.

Creepers and creepy noises galore and just an overall great experience with deep and layered storytelling with interesting characters and enemies. Some slight camera issues, however nothing took anything away from my enjoyment.

If you think you’re interested in this game, or have a slight urge or feeling – play it!

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Game & Developer Information

Developer Website: Supermassive Games
Developer Socials: Twitter
Publisher Website: The Dark Pictures
Publisher Socials: Twitter
PSN Store Links: £24.99/€29.59 Europe / $29.99 North America
Trophy Information: 31. 1 / 5 / 9 / 16

Images – thedarkpictures.com/house-of-ashes 

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House Of Ashes – Launch Trailer