The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes – A complete game | Review

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is an interactive horror game developed by Supermassive Games, released in 2021. It is part of a series of games that offer multiple paths and endings based on player choices.

The story of House of Ashes takes place in 2003, during the Iraq War, where a group of American soldiers and Iraqi forces are trapped in an ancient and mysterious underground complex. The place turns out to be inhabited by deadly creatures that resemble mythological monsters. Players take control of different characters throughout the game, and their decisions directly affect the protagonists' fate. Choices have an impact on the plot, influencing who lives and who dies, in addition to determining the relationships between the characters.

Image: Disclosure/Bandai Namco Entertainment

The game mixes elements of suspense, action and horror, challenging players to explore the claustrophobic environment and make difficult decisions to survive the supernatural threats they face. Throughout the narrative, secrets are revealed, and the plot takes surprising turns, leading to different outcomes depending on the choices made during the game.

House of Ashes marks a significant step forward from previous games in the series, offering an engaging and much more immersive interactive horror experience. Supermassive Games has improved several aspects, providing an immersive journey for players. The characters' facial expressions are remarkably well-crafted, bringing an impressive emotional depth. This contributes to a stronger connection with the narrative, increasing the realism of interactions between the protagonists.

Read too: The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope – Lots of suspense and a big twist | Review

Compared to previous titles, sequential fights and character movement have been improved, abandoning the previous rigidity to offer a more fluid and realistic experience. This improvement helps increase immersion and the sense of urgency during confrontations. The game's setting is another high point, featuring detailed and immersive scenarios. The quality of lighting contributes to creating a tense and realistic atmosphere, increasing suspense and the feeling of imminent danger.

The sound effects and soundtrack were well crafted, perfectly complementing the moments of tension and fright. The camera positioned behind the character's head in tight environments adds an extra layer of tension, increasing the feeling of claustrophobia and anxiety regarding the unknown location.

Image: Disclosure/Bandai Namco Entertainment

Throughout the narrative, the game dynamics keep the player constantly distressed, causing a feeling of constant tension and uncertainty regarding future events and the diversification of scenarios is very well elaborated, offering varied and well-crafted environments, which contributes to maintaining the player's interest throughout the story.

However, the game still has a notable weakness: the representation of fire effects is not of excellent quality. This problem is recurrent in Supermassive Games titles, including House of Ashes.

I highly recommend House of Ashes for lovers of suspense games and who like games that offer multiple paths. In House of Ashes you will have an immersive horror experience, with notable improvements in gameplay, an immersive setting and a narrative that keeps the player constantly tense and involved.

“Brothers in war or will it be a case of every man for himself?” – Curator

*Review made on PC*

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