Game Review: The Dark Pictures Anthology - House of Ashes

The Dark Picture Anthology has had a bit of a rocky run ever since it launched back in 2019. Pitched as a smaller-scale episodic serial to Supermassive Games’ usual formula of gameplay; the Dark Picture Anthology has spanned three titles up to this point. Each title has had a varying level of quality behind them, each ranging from poor to average at most. I found Man of Medan to be entertaining for the most part but too predictable from the offset. Little Hope was a had an interesting premise but was consistently hammered by dreadful pacing and a lack of proper interaction for the majority of it’s runtime. Despite a few trip ups though, I’m happy to acknowledge that it’s third entry; House of Ashes, is a notable improvement on the formula the team is aiming to deliver. 

The narrative of House of Ashes follows a set of US army officers in the midst of a deployment in the Arabian desert during the 2003 Iraq War. Sent on a secret mission to destroy what the US army believes to be Sadam Hussains chemical weapons plant; Lt. Col. Eric King and his deployment end up with more than they bargained for when a sinkhole sends them and Iraqi Republican Guard soldier Lt. Salim Othmaall plummeting into an ancient Akkadian temple.  Split up from one another, these characters all come face to face with the supernatural thread which lied buried in the temple for millennia. The main focus of the narrative at that point pivots around the survivors of both sides forming together in order to overcome the new enemy and escape the temple before the darkness swallows them whole.

Compared to the prior game’s stories, I really enjoyed how House of Ashes presented its narrative. It was nice to have a set up that felt fleshed out and didn’t rely on a twist ending for the most part. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t mind how Man of Medan or Little Hope presented their stories, but they both had a very similar concept on how the threat was presented and House of Ashes did a smart choice in avoiding a similar delivery. The war in Iraq was definitely an interesting backdrop for this game’s story and I liked how each of these characters you play as felt a lot more fleshed out in comparison to the prior games. Each character has a notable subplot which can influence the survivability of certain moments within the game depending on the choices you make while playing as them.  The threat itself was also rather interesting, choosing to tackle an age-old horror trope but mixing it up with a more modern storytelling format was a refreshing take I wasn’t expecting. I think House of Ashes definitely has the strongest narrative out of the three games we’ve had so far. 

When it comes to gameplay however I’m of two minds. I think Dark Pictures is a very good series to play only when you have another friend to play it online with. The smart way the game’s choices and narrative intertwine works even better when you have another friend influencing the state of things from an unseen perspective. The game feels like it’s specifically designed for this style of play and there’s a lot of fun and replayability to be found when doing it in this way. The more action-orientated setting makes for a more interactive game too. There’s a lot more required from you than just to wander around a derelict environment for the first third of the game before things start happening, and this helps avoid the slow pace that was so prevalent in the prior games. Where the gameplay does falter for me though is in two aspects. One is the illusion of danger you are in for the majority of the game. You are put in dangerous situations from the near start but I found the game doesn’t want you to die even if you do your damndest trying until you reach a certain point. I get it may be because of the scale, having so many variations on which characters can die so early on may be difficult, but I can’t help but feeling it’s a notable disappointment to know failure isn’t a constant threat from the offset. The second issue the gameplay presents is how it feels lacking in the face of a solo experience. There are moments where the game pauses for several seconds where another non-player character will make a decision or choice that affects the course of the game. The reality is these characters are meant to be played by your friend, but because you’re playing through on your own the game chooses for you which I think is a big let-down. I think if you’re playing by yourself the game should give you these choices to make in their absence. 

House of Ashes despite its gameplay flaws does feel like the most fleshed out and fully realised iteration in the anthology series so far. I think a lot of its best elements fall in with the great use of setting and a more robust cast of characters. The action and gameplay for the most part ties in really nicely to give you a great comprehensive package which you will be sure to enjoy when playing with a friend.