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[Hands-On Preview] ‘The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes’ Feels Player Intuitive, But Can It Stick the Landing?

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The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is a significant change of scenery from its predecessor, Little Hope. Departing from the haunting New England woods, you instead follow five soldiers who have, quite literally, fallen into ancient Sumerian ruins deep underground of Iraq during a skirmish of the Iraq War in 2003. Going into the preview, I thought that taking the role of five seasoned combatants brandishing firearms may lessen the fear factor. However, as I scurried around the tight, shadowy corners of the decrepit ruins, I found myself jumping out of my skin along with the characters as they realized bullets are futile against the creatures in the dark.

The monsters this time around are much more reminiscent of the Wendigo from Until Dawn—agile, incredibly powerful, and bloodthirsty to boot. They’re twice the size of our protagonists, appear to have wings, and are dark enough to blend into the spaces where your flashlights don’t reach. Their kryptonite appears to be that they have poor vision and rely on auditory cues to hunt. I found myself comparing them a lot to the creatures of A Quiet Place, in appearance, and with the low clicking that they both emit as they search for prey.

As previously mentioned, they seem impervious to most weapons, and I watched helplessly as members of the squad were unexpectedly yanked into the dark, leaving behind only a blood trail. The scares in House of Ashes feel much more visceral this time around—unlike the strange specters of Little Hope, there’s no time to think, “Why are they following the characters? What are their intentions?” Instead, you hear the clicking cacophony that they echo, and you instantly know that it’s time to go.

House of Ashes appears to have more fun with cinematography than previous entries, crafting a sense of dread with shots peering at the characters from behind pillars and rocks, as if from the point of view of the creatures getting ready to pounce. Despite taking place during the day, the environment is pitch dark, with the only sources of light being sterile white from flashlights or a menacing red glow sparking from flares. Chase sequences are all the more intense through the narrow passageways, and to make matters worse, the ruins are actively crumbling as you meander through them.

One immediate aspect of the preview build that jumped out to me is the indication that Supermassive Games has listened to fan feedback from previous Dark Pictures entries. Three different difficulty options are accessible before starting a new file that can be changed any time during the game. This seems to be in direct response to criticism received in the past in regards to near impossible quick-time events (QTEs), and when trying the “Challenging” and “Lethal” difficulty options, I noticed a significant difference in the QTEs.

Additionally, another quality of life improvement that fans will surely appreciate is a much more fluid and open camera system. In most settings, you’re free to pan the camera around 360 degrees, which made exploring the nooks and crannies of the temple much easier.

While the tone is very serious, there is some relief that comes from the characters with brief interjections of humor and even a little romance, depending on player choices. I noticed a dramatic change in dialogue between scorned lovers Rachel (Ashley Tisdale) and Eric during my two playthroughs; one, in which they playfully flirted as I tried to rekindle their romance, and the other, where they quarreled like teenagers as I had them snap at each other—both were entertaining respites between the moments where I was trying not to be eaten alive.

However, despite investing 2 hours into the preview, I didn’t feel that the characters were extremely compelling and seem a bit one-dimensional. They can essentially be summed up as two scorned lovers, the “other guy” coming between those two, a rookie, and an outlier. I’m hoping that in the full game, more interactions between other characters will bring out interesting traits and backgrounds that are easier to invest in.

The clue and premonition systems are making a return, promising immense replayability to uncover the origins of the ruins and the mysteries behind what took place within them. Compounding on this, I was caught off guard by the complexity of some of the decisions that I made during the preview and just how drastic the consequences attached to them were. Specifically, I was surprised when my successful completion of a series of QTE events was a wrong decision in itself, and led to the death of another character. Previous Dark Pictures entries have played with this notion in the past, but House of Ashes seems to be raising the stakes even higher.

I was satisfied with the preview that I experienced of House of Ashes, but I know that there’s room for improvement in certain areas. I’m excited to see how the full game delves more into the background and motivations of the main characters, and I feel like there’s certainly room for some dramatic plot twists along the ride. And, spoiler alert for Man of Medan and Little Hope, if your biggest gripes with previous entries were the “It was all a dream/hallucination” twists, you’ll be happy to know that the executive producer has confirmed everything is rooted in cold, hard reality this time.

But speaking specifically on the fear factor, if you’re looking for a game rife with atmospheric horror this Halloween season, I can confidently tell you that House of Ashes will be worth picking up on October 22nd. I know I will be!

The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes preview code for PC provided by the publisher.

The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes is out October 22 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X/S, and PC.

Brandon is a writer and survival horror enthusiast based in Philadelphia, PA. He is adamant that point-and-click survival horror should return.

Previews

‘Evil Dead: The Game’ Looks to Be Raising the Bar for Asymmetrical Horror [Hands-On Preview]

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The idea of synthesizing all of the moving pieces of the Evil Dead series into one cohesive package is one vicious, behemoth Deadite in itself. But on top of that, transcending the medium of film and television and adapting it into a gaming genre as volatile as asymmetrical multiplayer? One would naturally question how Saber Interactive could possibly appease every possible audience with EVIL DEAD: THE GAME, from veteran film fans to savvy gamers who want a unique and engaging experience. But as someone who fits into both camps who recently spent an hour with the developers kicking Deadite ass (and kicking ass as Deadites), I can happily report that Saber Interactive has pulled it off. EVIL DEAD: THE GAME is asymmetrical multiplayer at its best.

For those unfamiliar, asymmetrical multiplayer is a gameplay paradigm that heavily skews the power dynamic between two opposing teams. In the case of EVIL DEAD: THE GAME, four players select a character from the roster of Ash Williams and his cohorts from across the Evil Dead franchise (the “Survivor” team) to face one player who controls the all-powerful Kandarian Demon (the “Killer” team).

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The survivor team is packed with familiar faces, including multiple iterations of Ash Williams as he appears throughout the Evil Dead series, meaning if you want to play Avengers multiverse style as a team of four different Ashes, the choice is yours. Just expect to hear a lot of quips from Bruce Campbell, who returned to reprise his role along with almost all of the original cast members from the films and television series. If you’re feeling a bit more sadistic, you can opt to play as The Kandarian Demon, which gives you the ability to control and summon Deadites to hinder and destroy the survivor team before they have a chance to use the Necronomicon to open a portal and excise the evil.

One important question I had when going into the preview was “How is this game going to stand out from its peers in the asymmetrical multiplayer space?” The genre is already well-known for hits like Behaviour Interactive’s Dead By Daylight, and is becoming further saturated with upcoming titles like Gun Media’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre game. Walking out of the preview, I felt that Saber Interactive knocked it out of the park in multiple ways, but my biggest takeaway was the sense of agency that the gameplay provides on both the survivor and killer sides.

For starters, on the survivor side, you’re given the option to select a character that fits into one of four categories: Leader, Warrior, Hunter, or Support. Each character in their respective class holds certain abilities that fit their archetype–for example, Cheryl in Support has an ability that heals the team as they converge around her. This system immediately establishes an element of complexity to the gameplay: how do you build synergy based on these classes? Do you want to be in the fray battling it out, or would you rather scout out objectives and rally the team to success? Additionally, you have the option of upgrading your abilities via cans of Pink-F scattered throughout the map, and have access to an expansive list of weapons to choose from shotguns to Medieval swords.

On the other hand, as the Kandarian Demon, you’re given free rein to zip across the map and collect Infernal Energy, which is used for all sorts of offensive options from summoning Deadites, to conjuring up traps, and my favorite, possession. Think of it like the survivors are in one big haunted house, and you’re the one with the master switch that controls everything that happens, from jump-scare traps to possessed trees and cars. Survivors themselves can even become possessed once their fear meters max out, giving you the option to take control of their characters to lay the smackdown on their team members, waste all of their ammo or separate them from the group. It’s as chaotic as it is a genuinely unique and a fresh take on the genre that’s never been seen before.

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These factors of complexity and agency are so important because it counteracts an issue that often presents itself in asymmetrical horror: redundancy. Continuously playing matches can grow stagnant quickly if the gameplay isn’t complex and the same objectives need to be completed over and over again. The one hour I played of EVIL DEAD: THE GAME left me hungry to explore more. How does the gameplay differ between survivors? What are the other weapons like? How can I best optimize my team? And more importantly, I was excited to try out playing as the killer again. Like many other folks who play asymmetrical multiplayer, I tend to favor playing as the survivor over the killer, but playing as the Kandarian Demon was such a blast that I could see myself defecting to the dark side with EVIL DEAD.

EVIL DEAD: THE GAME truly offers something for everyone. Those who have stuck with the franchise since Sam Raimi’s first film in 1981 will love the homages and faithful adaptations, and those new to the series will love the blend of action, horror, and humor. People familiar with asymmetrical multiplayer can expect a fresh and innovative take on the genre, and if you’re new to asymmetrical multiplayer? I can confidently say EVIL DEAD: THE GAME will set the bar high for you.

EVIL DEAD: THE GAME will release on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Series X/S, and PC via the Epic Games Store on May 13th, 2022.

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