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Stay tuned to Last Word on Gaming for more video game reviews, in addition to various other gaming content. Since its debut in 2019, Supermassive Games‘ The Dark Pictures Anthology has been slowly carving out its own unsettling space in the gaming world. To the uninitiated, it might seem like just another horror franchise – but like all the best horror stories, there’s something delightfully uncomfortable about even trying to define its mercurial nature. The Volume 2 Edition is a collection bundle featuring copies of both House of Ashes and The Devil in Me and a pre-order bonus with House of Ashes playing cards, the hotel's island map, and pins (eclipse and drawing compass). Compared with Little Hope, House of Ashes sold 27% fewer physical copies in the United Kingdom upon its debut. The game entered the UK boxed charts at number six, with 48% of boxed sales coming from PS5 users.
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The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes review - The Washington Post
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes review.
Posted: Tue, 26 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]
He coldly explains his role as a recorder of the player's story and talks about basic gameplay mechanics before saying goodbye, wishing the player good luck on their journey underground. Throughout the game, the player interacts several times with the Curator, who summarizes the decisions made by them and offers them hints. If you've happily had your pants scared off by any of Supermassive Games previous romps, or are intrigued by the idea of a playable, story-driven horror flick, House of Ashes serves as both a worthy new entry in the series, and a perfect entry point for first-timers. Much like its predecessors, Supermassive's latest also uses real myths and historical events to flesh out its supernatural elements. Naturally, this angered the Sumerian deity, who exacted revenge by summoning an invasion from the neighboring Gutian people.
RACHEL KING
Rachel reunites with her allies in the temple, after which they are assaulted by vampires. Salim suggests they unite to fight the monsters, to which the others reluctantly agree. While Salim doesn’t encounter the rest of the cast in the preview build, how they all interact seems set to be the pivotal source of conflict in the final game.
ways to play!
Whether it's a subtle scare, a moment of ratcheting tension or a full-on, nightmare-conjuring horror, the music's always right in step. Excellent, ambient audio work also does its part, from the distant screams of your doomed friends to the scratching nails of an approaching beast. Aside from this brilliant subversion, the story also holds up better once the scares start in earnest.
Salim's squad ambushes the Americans on arrival, but sinkholes plunge everyone into the Akkadian temple buried beneath the sand. A subreddit dedicated to The Dark Pictures, a horror anthology series developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco. As with the cult anthology TV shows that seem to inspire it, the latest Dark Pictures Anthology doesn’t change much about its framing.
After two back-to-back middling endings with Man of Medan and Little Hope, this one nailed it for me. That isn’t to say it’s groundbreaking or guaranteed to blow your socks off, but it’s more in line with what many expected to see coming out of Until Dawn. Plus, again, the implications it has for the future of the franchise are beyond intriguing. Without spoiling much, it’s safe to say that I am as hyped as I’ve been for the series since Supermassive first announced it was making more horror games.
Going deeper into the catacombs, they enter the caves and find an elevator leading deep down. Down below, the duo find themselves in a giant spaceship, in which both guys start to bond. Passing by a heap of cocoons, one of the vampires awakes and attacks the guys, but they are saved by the rest of the protagonists. An eclipse begins, and along with it comes a bloody battle, turning into a massacre upon awakening of something sinister underground. Both Akkadians and Gutians end up slaughtered, except Balathu and Kurum, who decide to put aside their differences and form an alliance in order to survive.
Get ready for a terrifying experience in The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes from today
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Review --- Third time's the charm - Gaming Trend
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Review --- Third time's the charm.
Posted: Thu, 21 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Either way, the creatures infiltrate the temple, causing the group to flee into the catacombs, possibly losing the King spouses and Clarice. Upon reaching the sacrificial chamber, the Americans face the Iraqis again, but the groups decide to unite against the monsters. At first they successfully confront the swarm, but as The Ancient One, who is an infected Balathu/Kurum, joins the fight, the squad is quickly wiped out.
On September 22[11] and October 14[12], an exclusive two-part interview with main actress Ashley Tisdale, was released. In them, Ashley talked about what it was like to play Rachel and talked about the personality of her character. As House of Ashes was released on October 22, it was accompanied by a live action launch trailer[13] in which Pip Torrens, the actor who plays The Curator, took on the role of his character and chatted with the viewer in an in-game meeting style. The teaser opens with a group of helicopters flying and landing in the Zagros Mountains. At the same time, a voice-over (Jason) tells someone (Eric) to start believing in God as they are attacked by an anomalous threat. Then the scene and the voice-over change to show Rachel, being in a huge pool of blood, finding a statue of Pazuzu.
But even the more mundane, dialogue-based encounters make you feel like you're having some sort of impact, even if it's just annoying another character. Some exchanges also appear to have no immediate bearing, but will come back later to reward or punish you. For the most part though, the story remains absorbing and appropriately tense throughout, especially when former adversaries begin cautiously aligning in an attempt to thwart their common enemy. In fact, the relationship that emerges between one of the (initially) most unlikable marines and a more amiable Iraqi soldier is among the game's best, most nuanced narrative arcs. While you might have trouble swallowing the cast's' sexist comments, mom jokes and other immature exchanges, you'll soon learn that the game makes them unlikable on purpose. The setup pays off in spades when their obnoxiousness and confidence crumbles in the face of an unfamiliar, not-of-this-world evil.
Meanwhile, Nick and Jason examine the outside of the temple when they are attacked by a reanimated Joey, who turned into one of the creatures. The trio are trying to fix the radio to call for air support (which will work if Merwin is alive) when they are attacked yet again by Dar, who kills Merwin and possibly Eric during the shootout. The U.S. military (Lieutenant Colonel Eric, CIA field officer Rachel (who is also Eric's wife), Sergeant Nick (who is also Rachel's secret lover), First Lieutenant Jason, Corporal Merwin, Lance Corporal Joey and Eric's assistant Dr. Clarice) gathers at Camp Slayer. During the briefing, Eric reports that Caelus, the satellite program he developed, has spotted some kind of an underground complex in the Zagros Mountains, which they suspect contains chemical weapons. On May 17, 2231 BC, there is a war between the Akkadians and the Gutians in the ancient empire of Akkad. The Akkadian Balathu is about to kill Gutian Kurum as another sacrifice when he is summoned to King Naram-Sin.
Thankfully, one of the improvements House of Ashes has over its predecessors is varied difficulty settings, including an option that slows the pace of these blink-and-you'll-miss-them moments. As the preview’s story slice weaved between the game’s protagonists, it gave a good insight into the relationships players will mould in the full game. In terms of terror, House of Ashes packs in masterfully timed jump scares, but more powerfully taps into some truly primal fears. The narrow confines that much of the game takes place in, often deliberately restricting movement or view, creates a clinging sense of claustrophobia. Glimpses of holes in the walls, too high and small for humans to use, only deepen this, making players feel like rats in a sadistic maze. Supermassive Games attributed the decision to set the game in Iraq to the country's abundance in myths and folklore the team could incorporate into the story.
However, if previously the player had to start a new game or complete the game in order to select the desired chapter, now they are able to reload the file without a full playthrough. If Rachel was infected in the sacrificial chamber, she will become ill as the infection spreads. Depending on the player's decisions, her fate will include dying, being cocooned (as seen by Jason or Salim upon finding a living Balathu/Kurum preserved in a fluid), or extracting the parasite with an UV lamp. Given the game's focus on storytelling and dialogue exchanges, you get lots of face time with these folks.
During the credits, at Camp Slayer, arrive members of an unidentified United States government agency, among them being Agents Miller and Brooks. Meanwhile, each protagonist either participates in a debriefing where they talk about their experiences underground or their bodies laid inside a bodybag on the table. In the end, Miller and Brooks say they need to control the flow of information and make the world think nothing happened. This is followed by a short teaser announcing the fourth installment in the anthology and Season One finale, The Devil in Me.
The player meets with the Curator for the last time, where he comments on their ending and the number of survivors. The Curator bids the player farewell, promising to choose a more homely story next time, with a place where the player is guaranteed a decent night's sleep. Jason and Salim reunite and decide to keep working together to improve their chances of survival.
The battle ends with Dar and Clarice dying (the latter meets Joey's fate and also becomes one of the creatures), the King spouses possibly dying as well, and the other protagonists fleeing. The game also makes great use of shadow and lighting tech, ensuring you feel compelled to push forward and explore every nook and cranny, even with the knowledge your next move could be your last. The game's ancient, evildoing creatures provide ample nightmare fodder when in full view, but they're actually far more frightening when they remain hidden. Seeing their twisted shadows reflected on a cave wall, or catching a fleeting glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye is always an unsettling treat, while seeing close-ups of their elongated fingers creeping around a corner is a horrifying highlight. House of Ashes complements its “playable movie” formula with a polished visual presentation and a cinematic score.
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