The third entry in the beloved Little Nightmares series is gradually on its way to give ?us a scare once more. This time, you'll experience the thrill of brand-new characters as they try to escape the petrifying Nowhere.

Here's everything you need to know about Little Nightmares 3, including a release window, plat??fo??rm, trailers, and story details.

When does Little Nightmares 3 come out?

Originally slated for a 2024 release, Little Nightmares 3 is now expected to hit the shelves in 2025. This delay was announced by the developer, Supermassive Games, who cited?? the need for additional time to enhance the game's quality.

News about Little Nightmares 3's release date may come soon, considering the game will be featured at Gamescom 2024. If we're lucky, it could mean an early 2025 launch, but depending on the development process,?? it could end up being much later.

What systems will Little Nightmares 3 be on?

Little Nightmares 3 will be available to play on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. Wishlists are currently available for Steam and PlayStation, while the rest w??ill likely follow suit once more updat?es drop.

Little Nightmares 3 trailers

The hype surrounding Little Nightmares 3 began with its Announcement trailer, which provided a brief gameplay teaser in Nowhere's desolate universe. You'll remem?ber this place from previous installments, diving into the dark depths of frightful dreams?.

While there haven't been any trailers since this debut, we did get a substantial 18 minutes of gameplay in the barren desert of Necropolis. If you've played the games before, the walkthrough offers the same eerie feeling you've likely experienced in the original and its sequel. The soundtrack is utterly haunting, but that's just one of the many things we love about Little Nightmares.

The gameplay of Little Nightmares 3 is reminiscent of its predece?ssor as you strategize your escape. Pu??zzles and challenges await you across Nowhere, including a Monster Baby that is the stuff of nightmares.

Who do you play as in Little Nightmares 3?

Low and Alone are the two playable characters in Little Nightmares 3. Low has been lost in the Spiral, a location that's a "cluster of dystopian lands." As a tinkerer, Alone wants to know all the i??ns and outs of this mysterious universe to satisfy her curious nature. Together, these two best fri??ends must survive to get them back home.

It's worth noting that the previou??s protagonists, Mono and Six, don't seem to be associated with the newest entry. However, the game's producer, Coralie Feniello, confirms that there will be nods to the past titles, ensuring that the essence of the series is not lost in this new installment. If you haven't played the other games, don't worry; the third installment is a stand-alone sto??ry.

Does Little Nightmares 3 have co-op?

The Little Nightmares series has primarily been a single-player game, but now the third entry will introduce an online co-op mode. That means you can conquer LN3's ma??ny challenges with a friend or family member or play solo using an AI companion. It should be noted that couch co-op play will not be available, as it will remain strictly online for multiplayer.

The post Little Nightmares 3 release window, platforms, tra??ilers, and more appeared first on Destructoid.

In yet another round of bad news for the gaming industry, Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures developer Supermassive Games is abo??ut to?? be hit by a wave of layoffs. 

As reported by Bloomberg, the studio has notified 150 employees that thei??r jobs are potentially being cut in the near future. Supermassive Games is expected to lay off 90 employees, just under a third of its approximately 300 person team. 

The company tweeted out a statement addressing the upcoming changes and the process it's undergoing to decide which positions are being removed. As part of the move, the company said, “We are entering into a period of consultation, which we anticipate will result in the loss of some of our colleagues.�?The company said it plans to “focus our efforts on our core strengths and upcoming titles.”�?/p>

Supermassive Games is the company behind some spectacular horror games like Until Dawn. The studio released another horror hit, The Quarry, in 2022, the same year that the company was acquired by Nordisk Games, and is currently working on Little Nightmares 3 and a new horror game set in the Dead by Daylight universe.

Working in the video game industry is never easy, but it feels particularly rough out there right now. In 2023 we saw roughly 9,000 layoffs in the gaming industry. The effects ripple out beyond just game developers, with companies like Twitch also being affected. Unfortunately, 2024 doesn’t seem to be bucking that trend anytime soon. In January alone we saw layoffs and canceled games from developers like Black Forest Games and Eidos Montreal. Supermassive Games is the latest ??studio to get hit with layoffs, but it seems unlikely to be the last.

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It may be approaching nine years old at this point, but fans of Until Dawn may wish to know that Superma??ssive's interactive horror game could be coming to PS5 and PC. That's accord??ing to at least one report so far.

In a recent story from Billbil-kin over on Dealabs (as translated by IGN), an announcement could be arriving soon regarding a modern port of Until Dawn. It's also po??ssible that the rumored enhanced versio??n of the game has been in development for "at least a year."

At the time of writing, there's been no official confirmation from developer Supermassive, Sony, or any other company officially associated with the game. What's interesting is this comes just a week after it was revealed Until Dawn was being adapted into a movie.

Isn't it basically a "movie" already?

If you've never played the g??ame before, it's essentially an interactive slasher film in which you're tasked with navigating characters to safety from a serial killer. It was quite a horror hit when it launched in 2015. Sadly, it was only available on PS4 at the time, so a PlayStation 5 and PC version would be welcomed.

We actually think of it as one of the best horror games from the PlayStation 4 era, up there with the likes of Alien: Isolation and SOMA. Okay, some might n??ot be a fan of its minimal interaction �?largely reduced to quick time events �?but it was offering something a little different in the genre.

As I said, we don't know whet??her there will be an enhanced version of the game yet. This is ju??st a rumor, so hopefully we'll get some feedback on whether this is true or not.

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A PlayStation horror classic is being reborn as a film. The choose-your-own-nightmare from Supermassive Games, Until Dawn, is one of the latest video games announced to make the jump from your living room TV to the big screen, thoug?h this one seems far more straightforward.

According to Hollywood Reporter, PlayStation Productions and Screen Gems are adapting 2015’s Until Dawn with di?rector David F. Sandburg and writer G??ary Dauberman. The original tale revolved around eight teens surviving a fear-filled hell in the middle of a wintry retreat, entrusting their fate with the player.

The film doesn't have a release date or casting yet. Hollywood Reporter notes Screen Gems describes the apparent R-rated adaptation as a love letter to the horror genre and centers its ensemble cast. No details on Until Dawn's story have been revealed yet, either. It's safe to say there's a clear-cut formula there for a film to follow, but perhaps Hollywood has a few tricks in store for a proper homage to Until Dawn's interactivity.

Cabin in the (Wintry) Woods

For those who don’t know, Until Dawn, released in 2015 by Supermassive Games, is an interactive horror where your actions have dire consequences. The title, which came out during an onslaught of choice-heavy games like Telltale’s The Walking Dead and Dragon Age: Inquisition, was a hit for players. The vast ways events can play out, terrifying jumpscares, a?nd great cast (including now Oscar-winni?ng actor Rami Malek) made it a staple of the PlayStation 4. 

Fast forward to now, almost nine years since its release, it re-emerges thanks to PlayStation and Screen Gems. As previously mentioned, the film already has a director and writer attached. In the director’s chair is David F. Sandburg, who is most known for his Shazam films for DC.

David started in horror, directing Annabelle: Creation and Lights Out alongside writer Gary Dauberman. Gary is pretty big with horror, writing many of The Conjuring spin-off films like Annabelle and The Nun, as well as both It and It: Chapter Two. The script comes from a pass by Blair Butler (The Invitation).

Personally, the many lets-plays of Until Dawn (looking at you, Markiplier) co??nvinced me to rent the game. It only took me some 30 minutes in to bail, thanks to the choice overload, so maybe watching someone else lead the way is more my speed. Therefore, I am curious to see what David, Gary, and the crew behind this new adaptation have in store. With the many game adaptations in the works? right now, it's good to have some idea of where it'll go.

My biggest wish is for a killer cast, pun intended. Put some fresh and familiar horror actors in there and you'll have yourself a real strong horror film. And turn up the camp??iness. If it's going to be a love letter, you have to embrace the nostalgia and run with it. However, do be wary of branches. That's a QTE.

The post Until Dawn getting film a?daptation by Shazam director appeared first on Destructoid.

We'll get to explore Dead by Daylight's world once more through The Casting of Frank Stone, a new title b?y Behaviour? Interactive in partnership with Supermassive Games.

From the brie??f glimpse of the game the debut trailer offers, we discover we have a mystery on our hands, and like several titles from Supermassive, your choices will shape the story and outcome. You'll be thrust into Cedar Hills where a group of friends uncover the bloody legacy of Stone.

The game seems to be perfectly positioned to take advantage of Supermassive's greatest skills. Its narrative-based, choice-centered structure is something the studio has had plenty of experience with. With franchises like The Dark Pictures Anthology under its belt, the studio's also no stranger t?o the horror genre.

This tim??e around, the terror centers around the depths of a steel mill in Oregon where the sadistic actions of a serial killer spawn horrors beyond comprehension. If you're looking for ??something to raise the hairs on your neck, this seems like a title worth checking out.

The Casting of Frank Stone launches in 2??024 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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During Gamescom, developer Supermassive Games revealed the next entry in the Little Nightmares franchise: Little Nightmares 3. We got a first look at the gameplay in the third dark at??mosphe??ric adventure title that will be released in 2024.

Players will follow the journey of Low and Alone, two friends looking to escape the nightmarish world of The Nowhere. In typical Little Nightmares fashion, players will encounter signature elements including dubious puzzles and memorable monstrosities including t?he Monster Baby we see in the trailer.

Also, from a gameplay perspective, the sequel adds a new element. Both of the characters have their own unique items to progress ??through the journey. As such, teamwork will be a big part of the adventure with two-player online co-op. However, for those looking to play solo, you will still be able to do so. But instead of another player, AI will control the other character.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFHOsobwFrA

Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares 2 are staple dark atmospheric adventure titles in my opinion. It looks like that will only continue with Little Nightmares 3. If you were a fan of the first two, chances are you already know you'r??e getting this one.

Little Nightmares 3 will release in 2024 on PC, PlayStat??ion 4, PlayStation 5, Xbo?x One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.

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The world of Dead by Daylight expands to new projects

Behaviour Interactive has announced two new spin-off games for asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight. Supermassive Games and Midwinter Entertainment are both working on spin-off projects within the Dead by Daylight universe.

Announced today during the Dead by Daylight 7th Anniversary stream, we've got a few details about what each team is working on. Here's the relevant section of today's stream, via Gematsu:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rykkkLzSl8M

Supermassive Games, well-known for titles like Until Dawn and The Quarry, is making what you'd expect: an "intense, narrative" game with life-or-death choices, set in the omniverse of Dead by Daylight. It will have a new cast of characters, too. It seems like a pretty natural fit, as Supermassive's games have consistently tackled the horror genre from various angles, and Dead by Daylight is all about its horror lineage too.

Meanwhile, Midwinter Entertainment is taking a bit of a different approach. You might know Midwinter from multiplayer survival shooter Scavengers, which shut down last December. Behaviour picked the team up in May prior to that. Midwinter is working on a new multiplayer PvE game, where teams o??f up to four players take on a new danger, centered around greed and the lust for power.

Neither game got a title or release date.

A new daylight dawns

It's an interesting but intriguing development for Dead by Daylight. I'll admit, I tend to associate Dead by Daylight more with cross-overs than spin-offs. But the horror game has become pretty popular, even popular enough to spin off one game already in its dating sim Hooked on You.

For continued expansion of the universe, you could do worse than getting a studio like Supermassive to work on a single-player horror experience. And I'm curious about Midwinter's pro?ject too, and whether that veers more into a survival-horror realm. We'll see as the teams share more in the future.

The post Dead by Daylight is g??etting spin-off games from Supermassive and Midwinter appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't throw your Switch in terror

Supermassive Games' Dark Pictures Anthology has grown into a pretty sizeable library of horror adventures. Now, the first entry Man of Medan is coming to Nintendo Switch.

Bandai Namco and Supermassive Games have launched The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan on Nintendo Switch today, as the first Supermassive title to hit the Switch. It will still have the core modes of play, in eit?her solo, two-player online, or offline couch co-op for up to five players.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyinRyupTtk

It's not clear if there are plans to bring the full Dark Pictures Anthology, up to this point, over to the Switch. For now, you'll just have to make do with Man of Medan. Or?? head to PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, where the whole series has been running for a while now.

Man of Medan is another entry in what's become a house style for Supermassive, ever since its breakout hit Until Dawn on the PlayStation 4. You control variou??s characters caught up in terrifying and potentially supernatural situations, trying to solve what's going on and make it out alive in the process.

It's a choice-driven, interactive horror series, essentially. The Dark Pictures Anthology specifically links all of its entries together. While a bit shorter than others like Until Dawn or The Quarry, they do still tend to have some reasons to replay or interesting multiplayer options. Seriously, if you haven't had a "movie night" of playing a ??Supermassive game on the couch ??with the friends, it's a good time.

Like ships in the night

The Dark Pictures has been an up-and-down series for me. While I've generally dug the longer games Supermassive has made, it was really House of Ashes that won me over on these anthology en??tries. But all of them are still a pretty fun time, and great party game fodder.

I'm curious to see how the Switch version performs, as according to the eShop page, Man of Medan will play at 24 frames per second on the Switch. It's not an ideal caveat, but if you want to still test it out, Man of Medan is out on Switch right now for $19.99.

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The PSVR 2 Has a Vast Library

Before the PSVR 2's launch, there was some apprehension surrounding whether the headset would have enough content to keep gamers busy, especially because it lacks backward compatibility with the original PSVR. Sony's new headset proved that all the worrying was worthless, however, as the launch line-up has been nothing short of explosive. Titles like Horizon Call of the Mountain and Kayak VR: Mirage demonstrate the graphical power of the new headset, while games like No Man's Sky and Gran Turismo 7 bring the AAA gaming ex??perience to the world ??of Virtual Reality.

Thanks to the increased immersion that the platform brings??, horror thrives in virtual reality. Already, there is an assortment of titles available that provide plenty of heart-stopping moments and stomach-churning scares. Some take advantage of the PSVR 2's unique features, including eye tracking, to pro??vide immersive gameplay that cranks up the horror to almost unbearable levels. With the following four games, gamers can quickly turn the VR realm into a harrowing nightmare.

Resident Evil Village

The Resident Evil franchise won't be unfamiliar to many, and it certainly isn't new to the VR scene. With Resident Evil Village, Capcom provides what is perhaps the most blood-chilling experience in the franch??ise's history. Though the main game's story remains identical, the gameplay changes and shift in perspective are so transformative that it makes Ethan's story worth playing again. The changes are felt in the gunplay which is much more immersive when players have to physically reload and cock their weapons. The changes are also felt in some of the environmental puzzles which have a more physical element in VR.

[caption id="attachment_370719" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

It should be noted that Resident Evil Village's VR mode is played in a separate save file from the pancake mode, and there are some occasional wonky moments where Ethan's hand will pass through a solid object or just fail to appear, though none of this is enough to detract from the fun. As far as horror games on the PSVR 2 go, there is a good argument to be made that Village is currently one ?of the scariest. Exploring Lady Dimitrescu's mansion has never been this terrifying.

The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR

Supermassive Games is a studio that has impressive highs, as seen with Until Dawn, and some very disappointing lows, as seen with The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes. The latest release from the studio is Switchback VR which serves as a spin-off of The Dark Pictures Anthology and a spiritual sequel to Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. Switchback VR takes players on a terror-filled rollercoast??er ri?de through various e?nvironments where monsters lurk. The rush of the rollercoaster combined with the shooting makes the game an adrenaline-raising one that is sure to earn a few screams.

//twitter.com/SuperMGames/status/1636804595308429336?cxt=HHwWsICw4e7GjLct?A?AAA

Unfortunately, it's impossible to discuss Switchback VR without mentioning some of its flaws. Graphically, it's not the best-looking VR game out there?, and this does limit just how scary it?? manages to be. Furthermore, there are occasional glitches that many gamers have noted online. Supermassive Games has responded to the complaints, though, for players with a low tolerance for imperfections, it may not be the best title to spend time on in its current state.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2

The Walking Dead made a splash in the virtual reality realm with the release of Saint & Sinners in 2020 on many headsets, including on the PSVR. The sequel launched in late 2022, and it has finally been released on the PSVR 2. For gamers looking for an action-packed, immersive experience that forces players to make use of every aspect of their surroundings to survive, Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2 is not to be missed.

[caption id="attachment_370735" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Much like its predecessor, Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2 features violent gameplay that pits players against the undead. Defeating them involves the gory process of "braining" which can be done using various objects, including a chainsaw. When players aren't keen on getting up close with the marauding monsters, they can also switch to firearms, though ammo is often scarce in the apocalypse. Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2 certainly h?as its fair share of terrifying moments, but it ex??cels with its fast-paced action that seldom gives players a chance to take a breather.

Resident Evil Village provides a suspenseful atmosphere that makes it a unique VR title, though Saints & Sinners Chapter 2 is one of the few titles that manages to give it a run for its money in terms of action-packed gameplay. Weapons such as screwdrivers and cleavers are available, making it gorier than Village, an?d the environments are far more interactable??, resulting in a more satisfyingly immersive experience.

Jurassic World Afterworld Collection

The Jurassic World Aftermath Collection is a title that is very easy to miss. Licensed video games don't have the best reputation, and the game's cel-shaded visuals aren't too impressive. Nevertheless, those who are brave enough to take the plunge will quickly find that the Jurassic World Aftermath Collection is one of the best VR titles available on Sony's headset, and it? provides a more than satisfactory survival horror experience with tons of exploration and, of course, plenty of awesome dinosaurs.

[caption id="attachment_370736" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

The gameplay mainly consists of exploration and stealth, and players sneak around to avoid raptors and other toothed terrors. It isn't particularly complicated, and while there are tense moments, it's never too overwhelming, making it the easiest game on the list to digest. In some ways, it seems to contain the best parts of all the other games, as it has Resident Evil Village's stealth elements, Saints & Sinners- Chapter 2's interactable environments, and Switchback VR's heart-stopping jump scares.

Although the PSVR 2 is still in its early days, the headset is already demonstrating just how capable it is when it comes to immersing players in new worlds. Several more horror games are lined up, such as Resident Evil 4 Remake which has already been breaking Steam records. Capcom has confirmed that the stunning reimagining of the classic horror game will be receiving a VR mode. For players who can't handle the scares, there are plenty of laidback titles including Tetris Effect which impresses with its psychedelic visual effects, and Before Your Eyes which tells an emotional story through its unique use of the headset's eye tracki??ng.

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No one can hear you scream

Tomorrow sees Supermassive Games launch The Devil in Me, the final "season one" episode of its celebrated Dark Pictures Anthology �?And, in keeping with series tradition, the new title features a spooky teaser trailer for the series' next release, which has now been confirmed as sci-fi shocker Directive 8020.

The preview features a mission report from a lonely vessel in the vast reaches of the stars. Seemingly on a mission to find a new home for humanity, the team has apparently run afoul of some otherworldly intruder �?with hints offered that it has the ability to replicate human beings. So, while it's very cliche for me to say so, this would suggest a sort of "Alien meets The Thing" vibe. Sounds wicked.

You can check out the new teaser trailer below, as captured by GameTrailers.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBusvbtDKa0

As a cool bit of trivia "Directive 8020" is an actual NA?SA directive. It is a directive issued for "Biological contamination contro??l for outbound and inbound planetary spacecraft". This is all well and good on paper, but it will be interesting to see how it works out within the reality of some terrifying, shapeshifting monstrosity. Let's just wait here for a while... See what happens.

The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me launches tomorrow, November 18, on ????PlayStation, PC, and Xbox.

The post The Dark Pic?tures teases Season 2 premiere Directive? 8020 appeared first on Destructoid.

And what will be left of them?

Supermassive Games is gearing up for the launch of The Devil in Me, the fourth and final episode in the first season of its scary, (and highly enjoyable) anthology series, The Dark Pictures. Publisher Bandai Namco released a new trailer, focusing on ??the hapless folk treading, foolhardily, into The Curator's world??.

The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me will tell a tale of a party of documentary makers who find themselves invited to a modern replica of the "The Murder Castle" �?the opulent estate of America's first publicized serial killer H. H. Holmes. Seeing this as?? the opportunity to make the ultimate true crime document, our young protagonists jump at the opportunity, unaware of the horrifying, twisted plans that lay in store...

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUcFLkAZmyo

The trailer introduces heroes Charlie, Kate, Mark, Jamie, and Erin, with quick glimpses offered of a mysterious, cloaked killer and, of course, The Curator himself. Of all The Dark Pictures titles to date, The Devil in Me looks set to be the most "slasher" based, perhaps eschewing the supernatural and/or monster-based terror of its predecessors. Horror fans will also spot numerous familiar themes and references, from a Shining-esque bar and a Tourist Trap range of animatronics, to Saw-style "dea??th traps" and the Giallo?? overtones of the villain themselves.

The Devil in Me will represent the culmination of The Dark Pictures' first season, which has bombarded us with a frenzied party of pain and jump-scares over the past four years. Still, with a whole host of previously trademarked titles, and sales still riding relatively high, we can be sure that there are many more thrills and spills c?urrently in the works within the gleefully grotesque minds of Supermassive Games.

The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me launches November 18 on PlayStation, PC, a??nd Xbox ??platforms.

The post Who will surv??ive ??in The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me? appeared first on Destructoid.

 Virtual Insanity

Following on from its eye-widening PlayStation VR 2 (PSVR2) price reveal, Sony Interactive Entertainment has released a list of games that will be arriving in 2023 on the virtual reality hardware. The list of 11 titles leans heavily on the spooky-ooky, spearheaded by The Dark Pictures: Switchback.

A spin-off entry in Supermassive Games' enjoyable horror anthology, The Dark Pictures: Switchback is a literal rollercoaster ride through an array of creepy environments, jump-scares, and other frightening imagery. It seems very similar in concept to Supermassive's own Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, which ??was also a VR rollercoaster ride released for t?he original PSVR hardware in 2016.

//youtu.be/HniskV3aJ7o

The Dark Pictures: Switchback is one of only two titles on the new list that appears to be a PSVR2 exclusive, joining Smilegate shooter Crossfire: Sierra Squad. The previously revealed launch title Horizon: Call of the Mountain �?al??so available in a bundle with the new hardware �?is ?also expected to be PSVR2 only. The full list of 11 titles is as follows, with release dates still to be announced.

• Crossfire: Sierra Squad - (Smilegate)
• The Dark Pictures: Switchback - (Supermassive Games)
• The Light Brigade - (Funktronic Labs)
• Cities VR: Enhanced Edition �?(Fast Travel Games)
• Cosmonious High - (Owlchemy Labs)
• Hello Neighbor: Search & Rescue - (tinyBuild Games)
• Jurassic World Aftermath Collection - (Coatsink)
• Pistol Whip - (Cloudhead Games)
• Zenith: The Last City - (Ramen VR)
• After the Fall - (Vertigo Games)
• Tentacular - (Firepunchd Games)

PlayStation VR2 launches worldwide February 22, 2023, priced at $550 USD. For more details on all of the PSVR2 games featured in the new list, check out the official PlayStation Blog.

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A replica Murder Castle that's a little too real

Supermassive Games lifted the lid on The Devil in Me, the season one finale of The Dark Pictures Anthology. It's another standalone cinematic horror adventure game with tough choices to make, and with an intriguing trap-laying serial killer setup, it's the most promising one yet. In a previ??ew presentation, game director Tom? Heaton broke it all down.

The game was largely inspired by H.H. Holmes and the World's Fair Hotel, better known as the Murder Castle. It's also drawing from cinema, including the Saw movies, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, Psycho, Halloween, and Friday the 13th �?look out for "hat tips."

"We've tried to capture that sense of claustrophobia and quiet oppression, that sense of a malevolent building, of an unknown threat around every ?corner," according to Heaton.

[caption id="attachment_340305" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Kate, the show's host, is played by Jessie Buckley.}[/caption]

The story involves a TV production?? company, Lonnit Entertainment, and its series "Architects of Murder." The finale is ??going to be about H.H. Holmes, and with a lot riding on the episode, the team follows a tip about a mysterious collector's recently inherited estate, which is said to feature accurate reproductions of the Murder Castle's rooms.

Of course, this is a horror story �?the film? crew is asked to hand over their phones be??fore entering the "hotel," and it's located (where else?) on a remote island. Here we go again.

The major players

The game's core cast is headlined by Jessie Buckley (I'm Thinking of Ending Things). There's present?er Kate Wilder, cameraman and ex-boyfriend Mark Nestor, chief grip Jamie Teirgan, documentary director Charlie Lonnit, and unfortunate new intern Erin Keenan. Stranded, they're up against a "murderous genius who considers killi??ng to be a work of art."

One of the do-or-die choices presented in the preview video was straight-up "Kill Kate" or "Kill Erin," so Supermassive won't be letting us off easy. Heaton mentioned that the kills in The Devil in Me are among the "most gruesome, extravagant, and over-the-top that we've ever done." As they said, they were inspired by Saw and classic slasher flicks.

From the look of it, the game's intro sequence will star Holmes himself, following the "playable prologue" formula set by prior Dark Pictures games. That should be fun.

[caption id="attachment_340303" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Exploring a spa that's seen better days.}[/caption]

More gameplay improvements

On the gameplay front, Supermassive designed the hotel and characters so that there's a more involved sense of exploration, whether it's climbing, jumping, or pushing boxes around. Nothing we haven't seen before in other games, sure, but a notable refinement for the slow-burn cinematic Dark Pictures series, certainly. Best of all, characters can run.

Different folks also have different items, with a purposefully "simple" inventory to consider. Erin has a directional mic �?perfect for hearing through walls �?while Mark can snap photos to document crimes, Charlie can jimmy drawers with a business card, Jamie's got a multimeter, and Kate has a pencil, which can shade in paper to suss out clues like that one scene from The Big Lebowski. They can trade, break, or lose their tools.

With that in mind, the puzzles look to be more involved than prior Dark Pictures games, and I am already sweating a maze section. The Devil in Me is going to be a bigger game, too �?it's clocked at seven hours. Man of Medan and Little Hope were one-sitting games for me at about four-ish hours, while House of Ashes took me two sessions to complete.

[caption id="attachment_340307" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Expect to see lots of mannequins in the Murder Castle.}[/caption]

I've enjoyed all of these flawed-but-fun games in their own ways, some much more than others, but The Devil in Me has the most intriguing Dark Pictures setup so f??ar by a longshot. I am so down to? be toyed with by a grisly mastermind in their paranoid, trap-filled hotel.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me releases on November 18, 2022, across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Let's keep this train rolling.

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If you like to live dangerously, look for a new Min Timer option listed under QTE Speed

Quick-time events are a staple of Supermassive Games' cinematic horror adventures, but are the QTEs too easy in The Quarry? It's a more mainstream game, for sure. And while it can be annoying to botch a micro-event and have that snowball into sweeping story changes, the threat of failure ratchets up the stakes. With a new update today, Supermassive will let The Quarry players increase the speed of QTEs to rais?e the tension.

The setting in question, Min Timer, is under QTE Speed, which is located in the Accessibility settings from The Quarry's main menu. It's only usable in single-player.

[caption id="attachment_338869" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Where to enable faster QTEs in The Quarry using Min Timer.}[/caption]

As the developers put it, "there ??are a multitude of outcomes you can only experience by failing QTEs, so you're likely to see scenes you might never have otherwise �?don't be afraid to fail." With Min Timer enabled, "even the slightest hesitation results in gruesome death when things get hectic." Something to consider for a replay, potentially.

For players who rely on or otherwise like to use subtitles, there's a helpful new option �?you can have "English voiceovers with region-specific language subtitles." Under Settings, look for Enable English Dialogue in the Audio options. This should be a standard!

Today's update also includes "general bug fixes and polish" for The Quarry.

I've heard complaints about? certain achievements/trophies being finicky as hell, and I sympathize with anyone who's trying to go through that multi-playthrough gauntlet. If I spread that goal across several years, maybe I'd be down. As?? is? No thanks!

If you're wondering about that campfire cartoon, surprisingly, it's in the game itself. The Quarry has some funny morbid animations to explain certain game concepts �?in this case, QTEs �?and they remind me of Fallout's twisted sense of humor.

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Horror studio celebrates 'positive experience'

In a new piece of industry acquisition news, Nordisk Games has announced that it has acquired Supermassive Games, the award-winning studio behind cinematic horror titles such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and the popular anthology series The Dark Pictures.

Nordisk Games was already a major stakeholder in the British studi??o, holding a stake of 30.7%. With the acquisition, Supermassive Games now joins Nordisk Games' family of shareholder studios, which include Avalanche Studios, Raw Fury, MercurySteam, Nitro Games, Flashbulb, and Star Stable Entertainment

"It’s been a little over a year since Nordisk Games made an initial investment in Supermassive Games and our vision for the future," said Supermassive CEO Pete Samuels in a press rele??ase. "During that time, we have found that we share a lot of important values with Mikkel and his team, and we believe these values to be equally important to our existing commercial pa?rtners who we will continue to support."

"Having had such a positive experience over the past year it wasn’t a difficult decision when Nordisk Games? wanted to explore increasing their investment. We have an exciting and ambitious growth strategy for Supermassive Games and Nordisk Games ownership only enhances that. I’m hugely excited about where the security offered by this partnership, and continued access to the expertise within Nordisk Games, will take us next."

Supermassive's most recent release, The Quarry, is av??ailable ?on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.

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Leaning into H.H. Holmes

Supermassive Games lifted the lid on The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, the fourth entry in its cinematic horror-adventure series, due for release this fall. The main star this time around is Jessie Buckley, who leads a film crew into a trap-filled hotel.

??Not just any hotel, of course �?a "faithful recre??ation of the H.H. Holmes murder castle."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjIyxtSzy_o

After Man of Medan, Little Hope, and House of Ashes, this game will cap of??f "Season One" of the anthology �?though it's worth reminding that ?these titles stand on their own.

The reception to this series is mixed, but players like me keep showing up for comfort gaming. The recent consensus seems to be that House of Ashes was the best of the bunch �?it came around in the end, whereas Little Hope dropped the ball for many players �?but it'll be a slight shock to the system going from The Quarry, a higher-budget (and more mainstream) take on cinematic horror gaming, back to The Dark Pictures Anthology.

There's a character inventory this time

Even if the storytelling and settings aren't always up to task, Supermassive has been good about refinements along the ??way. In this one, players can "explore every nook of the World’s Fair Hotel using the all-new season finale features including character inventory, tool-based puzzles, and expanded movement act??ions such as run, jump, and climb."

There's been "supernatural vs??. grounded" tension with Superma??ssive Games, but from the premise and this early look, it seems like we're dealing with a good old twisted killer.

"Escape the torturous creations of an evil monster who is hellbent on becoming America’s deadliest se?rial killer and survive elaborate ‘killing rooms�?where your own death is by the killer’s design," notes the summary. "Will you risk your own life ?for someone you care for?"

And yeah, multiplayer is back: there?'s online co-op with a friend, and couch co-op with up to five players passing the controller around to play as their chosen cha??racter(s).

Not only am I down for The Devil in Me, but I am also on the hook for all of those wild-sounding Dark Pictures trademarks, from Directive 8020 to The Craven Man.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me will release in fall 2023 across PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It'll cost $40 �?a $??10 increase over? the norm.

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They've still got it

While we wait for the next entry in the Dark Pictures Anthology, Supermassive Games is dishing out even more choice-based horror in its familiar cinematic style. And this time, it's the big one �?the moment fans have been waiting for since Until Dawn. From the outset, The Quarry tries to recapture that lightning in a bottle in terms of scope, story, and execution, and this supernatu?ral end-of-summer-camp a??dventure hits the mark.

Evil is afoot, and your decisions will once again dictate who makes it ?to sunrise.

The Quarry (PC [reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: June 10, 2022
MSRP: $59.99 / $69.99

The Quarry is a standalone new IP �?it doesn't belong to Bandai Namco's Dark Pictures series �?but there? are so many shared traits. And the refinements are stacking up.

If you've been on any of Supermassive's wild rides before, you know what to expect by now �?familiar faces from film and TV, lots of chatting, quieter clue-finding moments, plenty of frantic quick-time events, a guiding force in between chapters, and some gut-feeling life-or-death calls. The Quarry covers all of tho??se bases, a??nd it covers them well.

These games are at their best when they leverage classic horror while also infusing some modern touches, meta moments, and well-timed laughs, which can be a tough act to sustain. The best ones know when to fluctuate between tension, drama, and levity, while also seeding enough mystery to keep you speculating about where the story's headed next. The Quarry hit those marks for me. It has some of the best-written Supermassive characters yet �?a bunch of disobedient, but capable (!), teenage camp counselors trapped overnight �?and a few major story threads that collide in?? an interesting way.

I already said the magic word (supernatural), and I'll just add that The Quarry has its own fresh spin on a horror trope that I'm not spoiling. You'll figure out what it is before it's fully shown, but the way it happens is exciting, and there are more layers to wrap your head around ?before the night is over. The game does a good job of splitting up the protagonists into sub-groups and bouncing all around, chapter after chapter, to keep the energy up until the end. And I was surprised by how some of the NPCs fit into the bigger picture. Ev?erything ended up being connected in an at times unpredictable, yet satisfying, way.

You'll surely recognize at least some of The Quarry's extended cast, which includes Ariel Winter, Justice Smith, Skyler Gisondo, and Ted Raimi, as well as smaller appearances from David Arquette, Lance Henriksen, and Lin Shaye. As a Twin Peaks fan, I particu??larly enjoyed Grace Zabriskie's (collectible) tarot card readings �?she's my favorite fourth-wall-breaker yet �?and also Siobhan Williams, who really comes into her own later in the story.

While many of The Quarry's elements can be traced back to Supermassive's prior games, I think this streamlined presentation is a step up, whether it'?s hazy "here's how you might die!" premonitions, extra touches like morbidly funny animated tutorial sequences, and new prompts. You can tone down the QTEs so you never really have to worry about failing them, and there are slightly more thought-provoking moments when you can optionally interrupt someone (but maybe shouldn't...) or hold your breath in hiding (until the exact right moment when the coast is clear). The dialogue flows well, and I chuckled a bunch.

As for the branching s??tory, when I hit the credits, I immediately wondered how things could've gone off the rails in a totally different way based on any singular decision. Throughout the game, you'll see "Path Chosen" pop-ups after significant (and seemingly insignificant) events, which ??you can track in a nice visual way in the pause menu, though it's often tricky to suss out what's next. When making choices, figuring out whether or not to trust your gut is a big part of the fun. Sometimes, the safe choice is super dangerous.

My most anxious moment involved dropping an important item in a lake at night with razor wire swaying under the su??rface. I'm shuddering just thinking about it.

Not everyone will want to pay t??he full premium price at launch for a cinematic horror game like this, and I feel like that's worth acknowledging �?it's fair to bring up. The value will vary from one person to the next, especially if you're not playing in a group, which is often the ideal way to go. One of the main questions is undoubtedly going to be "how long is it?"

Playing alone, The Quarry took me around nine hours, though I missed quite a few world-building collectibles, and spent some extra time replaying sequences with the Death Rewind feature, which can kick you pretty far back depending on the circumstances. Your runtime will depend on your choices, your thoroughness during exploration, and the game mode. There's solo, couch co-op, a streamlined sit-back-an?d-watch Movie Mode, and online multiplayer (which is coming out after launch due to a last-minute delay).

To give a better sense of the game's scope, there's a decently long prologue and ten chapters. You'll want to get cozy, because The Quarry is likely a three-sitting game. I originally planned to squeeze it into two nights, but I'm so glad I spread it out. Several scenes wo??uld've been too much of a slow burn for me without a breather, though your patience �?or group setting �?might make a marathon sessio?n more feasible.

I don't want to say many specifics about the setting, but Hackett's Quarry? has a nice spread, with plenty of variety, so don't think it's "just a campsite." Even though this is a linear game that funnels you from scene to scene, it has an appropriately big presence.

Despite the Dark Pictures Anthology's unevenness and some frustrating tonal choices (sorry to open that can of worms again), I've been down for every Supermassive horror game so far. Even when they don't blow me away, they're still enjoyable. I'm happy to say that The Quarry is easily at or above Until Dawn, and while it doesn't have quite the same impact �?the formula isn't as fresh at this point �?it's a much more refined game. It taps into comfy '80s horror nostalgia while feeling mode??rn and standing on its own two feet.

There are more ways than ever to adjust the challenge to your liking with granular accessibility settings, and the story has fun tricks up its sleeve for horror fans to untangle as they try to snap together the different story pieces in play. I'm also shocked by just how good these production values have gotten �?depending on the framing and lighting conditions, certain shots approach photo-realism for me. I wasn't ?sure I'd mesh well with all nine of the teenage protagonists, and they did need to grow on me (and one never did), but they all ended up being memorable in their own way. Though there's a lot of upfront banter, some of which lands well, and some of which is groan-worthy, the counselors are layered, and it's interesting to think through the choices that dictate their future.

While I can't say I'm dying to do another full playthrough immediately �?this is not a short game! �?I will say I was into The Quarry just about every step of the way. I'm stoked to see some alter??nate pathways and gnarly deaths when they pop up on YouTube, and I'll do a second run sooner than later. I'll be in the mood?? again by Halloween for sure.

The Quarry is just as good as I was?? hoping it would b??e, and that's a pleasant surprise.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the author.]}

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Or just Supermassive mistakes?

2K Games has released an overview trailer giving us a look at its incoming cinematic horror title, The Quarry. The creepy-looking teen adventure is edging ever closer to its June 10 release date, when it will bring a suspiciously familiar tale of camp cou?nselors in peril to PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVj5yMfOgo

Developed by the horror maestros at Supermassive Games (Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology), The Quarry will once again task players with guiding a party of hapless heroes as they attempt to survive a night of fright in a deserted patch of woodland known as "Hackett's Quarry." Stalked and hunted by a sinister, bloodthirsty force, it will be up to you to make the kids' ch??oices for them, in a branching narrative path that will decide each character's ultimate fate.

2K Games is shining a light on the "Hollywood" quality of The Quarry, which uses cutting-edge facial capture and "filmic lighting technology" to present a quality movie-like experience. In addition, The Quarry boasts a recognizable cast of stars including David Arquette (Scream), Ariel Winter (Modern Family), Justice Smith (Jurassic World), Brenda Song (Dollface), Lance Henriksen (Aliens), Lin Shaye (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and more.

The Quarry launches on PlayStation, PC, and? Xbox platforms June 10.

The post Will you make t?he right ch?oices in teen horror The Quarry? appeared first on Destructoid.

A cinematic horror adventure from Supermassive Games with teens and supernatural scares

My favorite part of any Supermassive horror-adventure story is seeing which actors are on board. My second favorite part is trying to keep them �?well, most of them �?alive. After yesterday's tease, the studio behind Until Dawn (and The Dark Pictures Anthology) lifted the lid on The Quarry �???a "teen-horror narrative game" with plenty of familiar faces.

//youtu.be/Zh2K7SxRHmo

The story revolves around an extended cast of camp counselors, and Until Dawn director Will Byles is spearheading The Quarry, which will be reassuring news for fans of the PS4's mountain-lodge teen nightmare. I always liked the way that game playfully leaned into and then subverted cer??tain tropes, but that can be a tricky balance to pull off.

The summary from Supermassive and 2K?? also sounds super familiar in a good way.

"Hunted by bloo??d-drenched locals and something far mo?re sinister, the teens' party plans unravel into an unpredictable night of horror. Friendly banter and flirtations give way to life-or-death decisions, as relationships build or break under the strain of unimaginable choices."

"Play as each of the nine camp counselors in a thrilling cinematic tale, where every choice shapes your unique story from a tangled we??b of possibilities. Any character can be the ?star of the show �?or die before daylight comes."

If you look closely at the screenshot up top, you might notice a missing ha?nd.

In terms of the core cast, you can see little profiles for everyone on the game's official site. We've got David Arquette as the camp owner, Ted Raimi as the smal??l-town sheriff, and nine counselors ranging from Justic?e Smith to Brenda Song to Miles Robbins. I'm also stoked to see fan faves like Lance Henriksen, Lin Shaye, and Grace Zabriskie on the list.

Couch co-op is back, so you'll be able to divvy up control of the characters, and there's online multiplayer, in which up to seven "invited players" can "watch along and vote on key decisions." The Quarry also has a Movie Mode that turns it into ??a "cinematic thriller."

[caption id="attachment_312785" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{David Arquette as Chris.}[/caption]

The Quarry will launch on June 10, 20??22, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and X?box Series X/S.

The price point �?$60 on PS4 and Xbox One, $70 on PS5 and Series X/S �?is going to be a tough sell for a wide audience, but if all goes well, this game will be able to build up an audience over time like Until Dawn. High expectations, for sure. I'm?? hoping for the best.

These silly yet spooky "movie night" adventures are a blast with the right group, and I'm glad Supermassive can keep making them. That goes for The Dark Pictures Anthology, too.

The post The Quarry is worth a look for Until Dawn fans appeared first on Destructoid.

"If you thought summer camp was horrifying already, you ain't seen noth??ing yet"

[Update: Supermassive and 2K have officially announced The Quarry for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It's going to be in Until Dawn fans' wheelhouse.]

There's been a lot of movement at Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology studio Supermassive Games lately. Apart from five new trademarks that give a bit of insight into the future of the latter series, there was also a recent listing for something called The Quarry. Tomorrow, during 2K's reveal event, we'll see what's up. For now, though, there's a teaser! And a tweet from actor David Arquette about his involvement in the game.

//twitt?er.com/SuperMGames/status/1504125??344231604224

The teaser for this new "horror experience" is pretty ominous, a??s shaken-up camp counselors tell a police officer about "something" jumping out in front of their car, and are then told that they're not going to "make it" to the quarry �?"not tonight."

Publisher 2K will show off The Quarry at 9:00 a.m. Pacific on March 17, with a countdown currently doing its thing. I'm already intrigued by the summer camp setup.

While we broadly know what to expect from the Dark Picture Anthology going forward, The Quarry is an ??interesting prospect ??�?how will Supermassive differentiate it from the horror adventures created under Bandai Namco? Or will it be more of that cinematic formula? Hey, I'm not complaining. I like even the weakest of these games; the cheese is fun.

Apart from Arquette, there are also "Hey, I'm in this!" tweets from Lance Henriksen, Ted Raimi, Ethan Suplee, and Zach Tinker. Who else?

Between The Quarry and The Dark Pictures Anthology �?which has trademarks out for The Craven Man, O Death, Directive 8020, Intercession, and Winterfold, to say nothing of the fully announced The Devil in Me �?Supermassive sure has its future mapped out.

Even if the quality isn't as consistent as I'd like, no one else is really going for it like th?is in the genre, and th??ey've clearly got the pipeline, so I'm down for more.

I don't trust that moon, though.

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The Dark Pictures... or something else entirely?

Supermassive Games has recently filed a new trademark for something called "The Quarry." Ownership of the brand was granted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on February 17, with the listing �?comp??lete with logo �?appea?ring on its official website days later.

While Supermassive Games remains very busy with its great horror anthology series The Dark Pictures, the word on the street is that The Quarry represents something else entirely. In fact, back in January, Supermassive trademarked several new titles in its Dark Pictures series, all of which featured "The Dark Pictures" affix, suggesting that The Quarry will be a brand new game, independent of Supermassive's other titles. According to VGC's sources, the title will launch in 2022, and???? be distributed by 2K Games.

Of course, aside from the name its?elf, we know nothing about this project. Is it a quarry as in "something (or somebody) you hunt"? Or is it a quarry as in "Arnold Schwarzenegger driving around in an open-top Cadillac, shooting gangsters and listening to the Rolling Stones"? For now, it seems, we'll have to wait and see to find out the truth of the matter. I sure know which one I'm hoping for...

In the meantime, the latest release in The Dark Pictures anthology, House of Ashes, is available now on PlayStati?on, PC, and Xbox platforms.

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Carnival of Terror

Supermassive Games has already won over a crypt full of horror game fans with its super-creepy anthology series The Dark Pictures �?And it seems that the fun is only just beginning, as the studio has filed trademarks for f?urther potential entries in its grim library of frightening features.

Yesterday, on the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), five new listings appeared for as-yet-unannounced titles in The Dark Pictures anthology. While it should be made clear that this does not necessarily guarantee that all five games will be developed and published, it is a clear sign that Supermassive?? is far from finished with its spooky-ooky franchise.

The five trademarked titles are as follows:

• The Dark Pictures: The Craven Man
• The Dark Pictures Presents: O Death
• The Dark Pictures: Directive 8020
• The Dark Pictures: Intercession
• The Dark Pictures: Winterfold

The new games, if any, will join previous Supermassive releases The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan (2019), The Dark Pictures: Little Hope (2020), and The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes (2021). While?? the titles are perhaps not the most non-linear of video games, they have won over horror fans with their intriguing stories, varie??d settings, and tense, branching gameplay.

The Dark Pictures is essentially a digital ghost train, one that many will continue to purchase tickets for. It would behoove Supermassive Games to continue the series while it remains profitable. If you want to get up to speed, then The Dark Pictures trilogy is av??ailable now o??n PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.

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Looks like we've got a serial killer to survive

[Update: Bandai Namco has announced The Devil in Me as the final standalone game for the first "season" of The Dark Pictures Anthology. There's a trailer, too.

We've also got an official synopsis: "a group of documentary filmmakers receive a mysterious invite to a replica of the 'Murder Castle' of H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer. They soon discover that they'?re being watched, and there is muc??h more at stake."

According to a press release, "Players will watch in horror as their unfortunate crew falls prey to a twisted game master who is observing th??eir every move."

I'm extremely into this pre?mise, and I hope Supermassive can end on a? high note.]

The fourth game in Supermassive's horror-adventure series is going to be The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, and it sounds like it'll be the final entry of "season one." While the third game, House of Ashes, doesn't launch until October 22, it's already been played and reviewed �?and ??a teaser trailer for its follow-up has been discovered.

Here's the trailer for The Devil in Me, as captured by YouTube user BIGDADDYJENDE:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj8t_Xpf6TM

During my House of Ashes playthrough, I found a "next game" premonition (as is typical for The Dark Pictures Anthology), and while I wasn't 100 percent sure just going off of a pretty vague out-of-context death scene for one of the new characters, I was hoping the next game's story would be about a serial killer. Based on this full teaser trailer, The Devil in Me seems to be doing just that �?and I'm stoked. We're in the ?sights of a so-called "artist."

Some of this imagery calls Saw to mind, though that may be more wishful thinking on my? part than? anything. I would love to see some gnarly traps. One thing is clear, though: a decayed corpse brought back to "life" with invasive machinery is a creepy touch.

Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco haven't officially announced The Devil in Me yet, but we got a slight heads-up back in June when a trademark for the game was spotted.

If fans' speculation is spot-on, then the high-profile character this time around will be played by Jessie Buckley (I'm Thinking of Ending Things). Previously, it was Shawn Ashmore (Man of Medan), Will Poulter (Little Hope), and Ashley Tisdale (House of Ashes).

As for the "season one finale" text at the end of the trailer, that sounds about right. Supermassive has kept up a fast pace with these annual releases, and it's probably about time for a breather �?for the developer's sake and ours. I really dig The Dark Pictures Anthology for what it is (a chance to revel in silly horror tropes with friends), and I'm gl?ad it's lasted this long. It'd be nice to come back refreshed fo??r a second "season."

The post The ??Dark Pictures Antholog??y: The Devil in Me is set in a replica Murder Castle appeared first on Destructoid.

We're on an express elevator to hell

At this point, I feel like we know what to expect from The Dark Pictures Anthology, a sometimes spooky, sometimes campy, always better-with-friends series of standalone cinematic horror-adventure games. You're either in, or you're out �?or you're waiting for a complete collection, which, three games in with House of Ashes, still feels pretty far off.

Certain story framing decisions in The Dark Pictures Anthology have proven increasingly divisive among fans, and if you couldn't tell by my high-scoring Little Hope review, I wasn't too bothered by them �?but a lot of fans hated how that game ended. That said, I would've been annoyed if Supermassive Games tried to pull the same trick three times in a row, and I'm glad to say upfront that House of Ashes goes in a (much-preferred) different direction. Whether that was a course correction or the plan all along, ?who knows.

House of Ashes is a riff on The Descent and Aliens. Monsters are lurking underground, and it's not so much the fear of the unknown as it is a well-armed fight for survival. It's my favorite spin on mythology from this studio since the still-unbeatable Until Dawn.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Released: October 22, 2021
MSRP: $29.99

Of all possible settings, House of Ashes is set during the "close of the Iraq War."

The impetus for getting stranded in a hidden underg??round Sumerian temple with ancient ravenous beasts running amok is, brace for it, a hunt for weapons of mass destruction near the Zagros Mounta?ins due to a maybe-legit-maybe-not satellite-based hunch.

If that scenario felt iffy to you after watching the trailers, or you weren't vibing with the characters, including Ashley Tisdale's CIA officer Rachel King, I'm right there with you. As much as I tried to go in with an open mind, controller in hand, I struggled to connect with this crew or their ca??use at first. I straight up wasn't rooting for three of the five stars.

It's not that it's handled particularly clumsily, or that you can't have a horror adventure game with heavily-armed protagonists in a modern real-world conflict, it's more that it?? felt like a missed opportunity. I hesitate to use the word "forced" �?more like "distracting."

I get what they were going for (see: Aliens and Predator), and I get that The Dark Pictures Anthology tries to be grounded and contemporary. I just think there could've been a better, more engaging setup. The ?theme of this game �?both in a short prologue with Naram-Sin of Akkad, and in modern times �?is "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

I'll be honest: they lay it o?n pretty thick, and it can feel heavy-handed, but when the game is less concerned about beating that drum and it gives the characters some room to breathe in a more personal, emotional, human way, it starts to click. I warmed up to most of them. The story also steps way up in the last act with some interesting multi-layered mythos, to the point where it made me retroactively appreciate the whole game more.

There are five characters to keep alive in House of Ashes, four of whom are Americans, and only one of whom, Salim Othman, is a lieutenant of the Iraqi Ground Forces. Salim is the most likable, pragmatic, and relatable of the bunch by far. He'll try to convince his stubborn superior, and his so-called enemies, that they should probably be more concerned about getting out of this monstrous tomb than trying to backstab ??one another.

As always, the highlight of the experience is making the right call with dialogue choices and intense action-packed moments �?or purposefully making the wrong choice, maybe even again and again, because you want to see how the branching story will shake out. For my part, House of Ashes kept wanting me to turn on someo??ne sketchy, and I refused to do it in a fit o?f big-brain chess. That came back to bite me. But it's all part of the fun.

Without spoiling anything, expect a more action-oriented tone than horror or dread, the latter of which I sorely missed. I wanted way, way more The Descent. There's a drenched-in-crimson sequence straight out of that movie, and it's fantastic, but it's als??o short-lived.

While you will regularly slink through dark tunnels with a flashlight or a lighter, House of Ashes doesn't do a consistently great job of instilling paranoia or fear. I felt like Little Hope could've done a bit more in that regard as w?ell, and it's a shame to feel its absence again.

I do like the third-person camera here (as opposed to fixed angles), and I also appreciated that some of the collectibles �?scattered bits of lore from 1940s archeologists�?come with fully voiced story sequences. I will say, picking up these nicely preserved pages felt very "video game-y," even more so than usual. I felt too saf??e whil?e searching for them.

Tonally, House of Ashes feels distinct from Man of Medan and Little Hope, for better or worse. Think more along the lines of the Until Dawn �?specifically how you felt once you knew what the real threat was and just how dangerous it could be if you slipped up during a quick-time even??t. Of course, those were teens, and these are battle-hardened squadmates. But these winged creatures are relentless. And there's a horde of 'em.

If you've seen the monsters up close before playing due to a YouTube thumbnail or the collector's edition statue, don't let tha?t deter you �?there are more surprises. The game doesn't sink or swim based solely on what they look like, or how they're dealt with.

On a technical front, I didn't have any big issues with the PS5 version. The every-so-often load times are near-instantaneous, the lighting effects stand out (especially with flare-lit tunnels), and a stable and smooth frame rate went a long way. House of Ashes felt like a noticeable technical upgrade coming off of playing Little Hope o??n my PS4 Pro. While these aspects don't necessarily make or break the game, they're appreciated, for sure.

One thing I did notice, more than before, was that certain scenes had these split-second quirks where I noticed the seams. For instance, a character's facial reaction would stick slightly longer than it should, or someone would hold a bit too still in a scripted moment. It felt like under the hood, the game couldn't quite keep up as it was pieci??ng together all of my past choices �?making sure the next sequence logically checked out given who did what, and when. It's by no means a dealbreaker, but my immersion took a slight hit.

While Little Hope's ending soured the whole experience for some players, I feel like House of Ashes' surprising final act, as well as its intriguing mid-credits wrap-up scene with hints about the wider Dark Pictures Anthology world, elevated the game for me. I'm s?o curious how everything f?its together and what the shadowy Curator's deal is. That said, even if I like the way this game wrapped up, I still struggled to feel very invested in the story, the characters, or their well-being for a big chunk of the experience, doubly so on a second (Curator's Cut) playthrough. The early conversations are such a slow burn.

My biggest hangup with House of Ashes is the less-than-ideal Iraq War backdrop and, related, a few of the characters, who are just plain unlikeable or dull rat??her than people you "love to hate" in that fun horror-movie way. Worth stressing: both elements are at their worse in the beginning. Things do improve. You aren't above ground for too terribly long, characters become more nuanced (or hey, you just get them killed off), and the story goes to some cool visual and thematic places that are unexpected for this series.

As much as I feel like this series is stuck in the shadow of Until Dawn for a large part of the audience, collectively, The Dark Pictures Anthology is becoming something memorable in its own right. I'll keep enjoying these games as long as I can, House of Ashes included.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Just before E3, a hands-off preview of The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

Supermassive Games is finishing up House of Ashes, the third horror-adventure game in The Dark Pictures Anthology this year, and while I was a little late to Man of Medan, I'm hooked now. I want to play all of these games right when they come out, even if they can't quite live up to the fan-favorite legacy of Until Dawn.

From a ghost ship labyrinth in Man of Medan to a foggy witch town fever dream in Little Hope, there's always something out there slinking around in this spooky character-choice-driven series. In the next standalone chapter, House of Ashes, we'??ll be stalked by an "inhuman enemy thre??at" in a buried temple.

Surprisingly, the game is set in Iraq in 2003 �?the United States is looking for chemical weapons, and this can only end badly. But while the conflict rages above ground, som?ething a??ncient stirs below.

I got to see a hands-off preview of House of Ashes this week, just before the chaos of E3.

Like the other Dark Pictures games, this one has "some ?basis in a real-world fact or legend," but game director Will Doyle says that they're "always trying to find new ways to frighten [players]."

Without going through House of Ashes' entire setup beat-by-beat, let's just say an earthquake has stranded our crew of survivors in a temple built for the gods that dates back to 2250 BC during the reign of the Akkadian empire. Should I also mention that the name Pazuzu came up? Well... it did.

This time, our cast of characters includes the CIA's Rachel King, who is played by Ashley Tisdale �?the one and only �?as wel??l as two marines, a colonel, and an Iraqi officer. So there are once again five main playable protagonists to try and keep alive as they're forced through the grinder for our enter??tainment.

One of the recurring themes driving their decisions will be whether to act like lone wolves or team up, despite clear trust issues. And there's also the whole "trying not to lose your mind underground" angle. If you've seen movies like The Descent or As Above, So Below, you know the drill by now. Claustrophobic people don't always ac??t rationally �?especially when blood-starved beasts are trailing them.

In an early story sequence, one Marine caught a glimpse of a monster and the other didn't believe him even a little bit. Classic. I also saw a tense scene in which the duo scrambled to give a wounded soldier medical aid and shut him up before his screams alerted the horde. I didn't quite catch the fast-moving creature, but it looked vaguely humanoid �?again, The Descent was a major inspiration for this game, as are the classic movies Aliens and Predator, and the Lovecraft novella At The Mountains of Madness.

Supermassive assured us that "everyone can live" and "everyone can die." In Until Dawn, quick-time events could immediately spell disaster for your poor teens, but these button-mashing prompts have gradually become more forgiving in The Dark Pictures Anthology. In House of Ashes, you'll be able to determine the speed of QTEs.?? There are also three difficulty settings, according to the game's director.

One of the biggest changes I noticed was the camera, which has moved even further away from the old fixed angles. You'll have 360-degree control of the camera when you're exploring the tunnels. My hope is that House of Ashes ratchets?? up the tension and dread of being hunted �?and actually sticks with it.

It's impossible to know for sure until we've seen the story through to the end, but for what it's worth, Supermassive maintains that "the threat is very real" and there's?? "a whole nest of them."

While I think Little Hope had the better story setup (so far), House of Ashes has the ingredients to surpass it with a more primal, paranoia-ind?ucing evil. Either way, I've always had a great time handing off the controller in the Movie Night c?ouch co-op mode, which feels like a tradition at this point. I'm in!

I just wonder how many more Dark Pictures await us. Hopefully at least a couple more.

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Something with night vision is slinking around in the dark

After Man of Medan and especially Little Hope, which had a div-i-sive ending, I'm curious to see how Supermassive Games frames House of Ashes — and how the supernatural elements wil?l manifest.

The next standalone game in the Dark Pictures Anthology has revealed more of its buried Sumerian temple setting, the "awakened" evil, and the fol?ks we'll try to keep alive (for a few hours, anyway).

Today's video is just a teaser trailer, and Bandai Namco says it will share the gameplay reveal on May 27. The last teaser, from November 2020, called to mind The Descent. We ??don't know quite what this underground threat is, but the creature (?) can see in total darkness. Spooky adventures await.

Where are you at with The Dark Pictures Anthology? I hope the series keeps going for at least a few more entries, if not the? ambitious eight-game run th??at was suggested originally. We don't get many shared-experience "movie night" adventure games with this scope, so I'm cherishing these cornballs.

If nothing else, I want the Curator to step out of the shadows and his story?? to really go for it.

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'Something evil is awakened' in the next Dark Pictures Anthology game

The Dark Pictures Anthology has at least one more story left. After teasing the third game inside Little Hope with an out-of-context premonition sequence and a post-credits teaser trailer, it's official: Supermassive is bringing House of Ashes to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xb?ox Series ??X/S in 2021.

From a gho??st ship to a ?witch town to a buried Sumerian temple – I love the variety.

As if the trailer didn't already scream "The Descent" at the top of its lungs, in today's announcement, Supermassive referred to House of Ashes' ??threat as "a nest of ancient and unearthly creatures."

The game is set in 2003, in Iraq, and the lead is Rachel King, a CIA field operative. During a military skirmish, friendly forces a??nd foes alike plunge into the darkness as an earthquake opens up sinkholes.

Just based on that premise alone, I think House of Ashes has the strongest anxiety-inducing potential so far. Supermassive has tried to ride the line between the real and the supernatural in The Dark Pictures Anthology, and now that players have caught onto the trend, I'm hoping for some cle?ver subve?rsion.

If not, I'm still? along for the ride, and I'm curious to see where the Curator's story is heading.

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The plot thickens in a foggy ghost town

Supermassive Games is serving up another? communal horror adventure just in t??ime for Halloween.

Whether you dug Until Dawn and only Until Dawn, or you also played Man of Medan and thought it was decent cheesy fun, or you're removed from this whole Dark Pictures Anthology saga but are kinda in the mood for a suspenseful, not-too-spooky Halloween game, I have to give Little Hope the thumbs-up.

It's stri?king at the right place and the right time with the ri??ght setup: a town haunted by witch trials.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (PC [reviewed], PS4, Xbox One)
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Released: October 30, 2020
MSRP: $29.99

While Little Hope is a standalone game, it follows the same one-sitting structure of Man of Medan, albeit with some lessons learned and a much more gripping and mysterious story to piec?e together.

Mechanically – and I absolutely love this as someone who isn't guaranteed to play these games more than once – there are quick alerts before every individual QTE so you don't have to keep your controller in a death-grip? during cutscenes out of fear that you'll miss an out-??of-nowhere button prompt.

There's also more breathing room during exploration – not just with wide-open streets to roam (and a free-moving third-person camera at ti??mes), but also with cues to stop you from accide??ntally "moving forward" to the next area before you've finished combing the area for hidden tidbit-filled collectibles.

That's not to say Little Hope is a 100% step up across the board or that it's some sprawling game. Not at all. Man of Medan feels claustrophobic and threatening in ways that Little Hope doesn't quite match (for better and for worse), and it's still a very guided exp??erience with little room fo?r emergent deviation.

That said, Supermassive has some fun contextual reasons to justify the game's linearity (there's an otherworldly fog pushing your? crew deeper into the obviously effed-up ghost town). Heck, even t??he occasionally ridiculous banter checks out, on some level, with certain revelations (which I won't spoil).

It all starts with an adrenaline-pumping doomsday scenario of a prologue that immediately got me invested in all five characters, the lead of w??hich, Will Poulter, mostly acts as a vessel for the player.

The less I say, the better, but I want you to know that 1) there's more goin??g on here than an abandoned town that once horrifically tortured suspected witches and 2) this is a layered story that demands to be experienced?? again with hindsight. It took me five hours to beat, so that shouldn't be a huge ask.

Little Hope isn't as riveting the second ??time through, but it was satisfying to see key moments resonate in clever ways. There's also the optional Curator's Cut to spice things up with alternate scenes – to an extent. This time, I wasn't able to test the share-the-controller Movie Night mode (for two to five players) or the online co-op Shared Story mode (for two players), but they're the ideal ways to play.

To my surprise, I wasn't outright scared or unnerved by anything so much as I was intrigued. That's not necessarily a complaint, though ??it is worth mentioning so you can ?try to set your expectations.

I think Little Hope could've been terrifying and stressful if Supermassive wanted to borrow more paranoia-inducing tricks from Silent Hill's brand of hazy mischief, but The Dark Pictures Anthology is all about choice-driven cinematic horror that's entertaining in a social setting. I get it. This chilling foggy backdrop could've been taken further, but at the same time, Little Hope tells a different story. (And the studio's production schedul??e, budget, and scope seem pretty locked-in for these games at this point.)

Right up until the very end, I was dying to figure out how to escape Those Creepy Things ??for good, whether I had made the right calls, and what the deal was with a certain easy-to-hate character.

Little Hope proves that the Dark Pictures format isn't a fluke and I'm excited for Supermassive to continue honing its craft. On that note, I love how these games tease forthcoming installments with collectible in-game premonitions. Next up, the seemingly Descent-inspired House of Ashes.

_{[This review is based on a retail bu?ild of the game provided?? by the publisher.]}

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Supermassive Games' horror anthology returns

Supermassive Games has dropped a new trailer for the next entry in its creepy horror anthology The Dark Pictures. Little Hope will la?unch on PS4, PC, and Xbox One on October 30, promising players a particularly creepy Halloween weekend.

Following on from the haunted tale of the Man of Medan, Little Hope is a story of witchcraft and vengeance set within an abandoned New England county. Players will guide a group of college students and their professor, stranded in the fog-stained town after a bus crash. While Little Hope is seemingly bereft of all life, violent and grim memories are embedded withi?n its walls. Little Hope owes a serious debt for its unjust history, and tonight our unlucky visitors may have just become its debtors.

Once again, players will be tasked with keeping Little Hope's cast alive and well, making both informed and gut-based decisions that will have far-reaching, (and perhaps fatal), consequences for the band of hapless heroes. Parties of up to five players can share the adventure in local co-op, working together to sa??ve the protagonists, or carrying the burden of blame as each c??haracter meets a uniquely sticky end.

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This should pique some curiosity

One of the many ??knocks against Stadia thus far is that it doesn't have any exclusives worth g??etting worked up over. That might be changing as Google has signed on two developers who have cult followings.

Both Supermassive Games and Harmonix are creating new properties for Stadia. Supermassive is best-known for Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology; Harmonix is a household name because of Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Central.

That's not to say we got any sort of hint as to what these new projects entail. Both companies gave Google interviews (Harmonix, Supermassive) where they revealed nothin?g about the games but emphasized how excited they are to be developing for Stadia.

There are some smaller exclusives to come out of this morning's Stadia Connect too. Gears Tactics developer Splash Damage is making a cartoony multiplayer shooter called Outcasters (here's the trailer) which is not to be confused with People Can Fly's Outriders. Also, Uppercut Games (Submerged, Epoch) is doing something for Stadia.

Supermassive and Harmonix have the kind of pedigree Google needs for third-party exclusives that'll draw people to Stadia. Will they help move the n??eedle and raise Stadia's adoption rate? It's too early to tell because we don't have an inkling of what they're working on.

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