Game Title:	The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
Developer:	Supermassive Games
Publisher:	Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release Date:	22nd October 2021
Platforms:	PC / PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5 / Xbox One / Xbox Series

House of Ashes is the third entry of The Dark Pictures series. And this is their first entry on the next-gen consoles as well. Note that when this review was being written, Devil In Me had already been released, but I haven’t gotten the chance to play it yet since House of Ashes was in my backlog.

When House of Ashes was first released back in 2021, I barely hear anyone talk about the game. I was under the impression that the game might not be good or maybe mediocre due to my experience with Man of Medan & Little Hope.

Finally 1 year after the release, I got around to my pile of backlog and start playing this game.
Let me share some of my thought regarding this game.

Story

The game starts with you playing as Balathu / Kurum in Akkadian Empire (First Mesopotamia). There you will learn that the King is cruel and crazy with the way he treated his soldier. And during the war between the Akkadian & Gutian, an eclipse happened.

Balathu, who is an Akkadian, has to work with Kurum, a Gutian, his enemy, in order to escape the horror that has come upon them.

After the prologue is over, the story moves forward to the year 2003, during the Iraq War when the US Army was trying to capture Saddam Hussein.

You will control mainly the US Force Recon team that’s working under Rachel King’s command.

We have 5 Unique main characters in the game, as you can see down below.

Everyone has their own personality, and basically a back story for you to start making your own story in this game.

Eric is Rachel’s husband, they have been apart for a year due to an incident that happened in a place that’s not unfamiliar to the Dark Pictures series players. He developed a software called “Caelus” which allowed Satellites to be able to scan underground for military equipment. He came to the base and took over the position of Commanding Officer from Rachel, in order to attack Saddam’s hidden silo that was detected by Caelus.

Fun Fact, you can actually access “Caelus” through this website and check the files in it on the link down below.
https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/caelus-files

While Rachel, after being apart from Eric for a year, is having an affair with a soldier named Nick, who’s working under her command.

Jason Kolchek, a very skilled & dutiful US Navy. If I have to say, Jason is the star of this game. He’s one of the best characters in the game and depending on your choices, can have very good character development throughout the game as well.

Nick, who is having an affair with Rachel, is currently in a weird mental state due to an “Incident” that happened before the game begins.

Last but not least, Salim. Salim is a part of the Republican Guard. Basically, he is the enemy. He doesn’t really want to go to war due to his peaceful nature but has to go because he doesn’t have a choice.

We start this game after the introduction of each character. Eric, Rachel, and the team were getting ready to sweep the area shown by Caelus as a “Hidden Silo”. But when they were searching the area, Eric& the team got attacked by the Republican Guard. In the middle of the fight between the two groups, came an earthquake that sucked both forces into a hidden temple underneath, and that’s when the real game begin. Because in this temple, it doesn’t matter whether you are a US Army or Republican Guard, everything is just prey in front of the creatures.

Just like its predecessors, House of Ashes gives you the freedom to create a story based on your own choices. You can shape the personality of each character, and also the relation between each character depending on your choices in the game.

After 3.5 play-throughs of the game. I believe I have seen enough different outcomes based on the choices I made in my playthrough.

You can make Eric into some obnoxious, commanding soldier or make him into a romantic person and someone who cares about the team and also his wife, Rachel.

But to be honest, this game has a very good butterfly effect. Most of the choices you make will change the outcomes of future events. Like whether you chose to get Air Support early in the game or when Jason found a stake he decided to keep it himself or give it to Nick. Also, the relationship between characters will change the direction of the story as well. Whether you decided to tell Eric the truth about the affair as Rachel, or when you decided to befriend an enemy when playing as Jason.

This is actually something that I have been looking forward to in this game. Man of Medan and Little Hope weren’t doing good in this area, while House of Ashes is more like Until Down or maybe. During my play-through of the game, I have seen various outcomes from different choices I make during the game.

What makes this game stand out from the other The Dark Pictures series is that there are real enemies in the game. People who play the previous games might have an idea about what I’m talking about. When the team was trapped in the underground temple, not only the Republican Army was there with them but also some unknown “creatures” ready to wipe the team away.

Also in this game, you are controlling characters who are professional in combat, not some amateurs like in Man of Medan or Little Hope, you were given the option to “Fight Back” the enemy in this game. This gives you a much fresher perspective in the game as you are not only “just running away” from the enemy, but your characters will have weapons to give the fight back. Unfortunately, some people might think that this is a turn-off as this game turns out to be more of an Action Game rather than a Horror Survival game. But it still is a Horror Survival though.

You can get more context about what they are, their nature, and also what happened in the underground temple before the event of the game by collecting the collectibles to give more context about the game’s back story.

I think that the game has a good pacing, good amounts of screen time between every character, and also a good story as well. While the story is good, I won’t say that it’s something that’s extraordinary. It basically has a story of “B Movie” Horror Action but was delivered in a very good way.

The Story is pretty simple, straight forward, and you probably can figure out the twist halfway into the game. But again, it’s enjoyable.

Just like any other Dark Pictures Anthology, this game has Theatrical Cut and also Curator’s Cut as well. (You can get the Curator’s Cut early from Pre-ordering or later on from the updates). I mean the game already has very good replayability with all the choices, but the Curator’s Cut adds another depth to the game as you can play the same chapter with different characters, seeing the scene, events, and choices that you weren’t able to see at Theatrical Cut.

One thing that I really like about the game is that they subtly put a scene that you can only get by doing specific choices, a scene where it shows that the Dark Pictures series are actually connected and are in the same universe.

Gameplay

Not much to say regarding the gameplay as the game doesn’t change too much in that area. Although when the game was first introduced, Supermassive games did mention the change of style in the game which leans toward more of an action side.

I mean the game is still focusing on choices for the story building, and occasional QTE to help you get through the event of the game. The targeting QTE now appears a lot more than in the previous games as the characters will be using guns for almost the rest of the story. Also don’t forget the annoying heartbeat QTE as well!

One of the thing that you can notice almost immediately is that the camera work is focusing more on the over-the-shoulder angle to give the “Resident Evil” feels to the game. I can understand why they are using more of this camera angle in this game as it focuses more on gun shooting.

Also as I mentioned in the Story review as well, the butterfly effect in this game is real. You will never know what your choices or actions will lead to. It’s much more complex and intertwined.

Bearings can be accessed as well in this game, and you can check what actions lead to what outcomes in this menu. This is a plus point for people who are looking for games with good replayability.

Also, Premonitions are still here!
You can check what might happen by finding these Stone Tablets.

To be honest it doesn’t really help much as the Premonitions are always quite abstract and the event shown there will only be triggered by specific choices, which might not happen to you during your play-through. But still, it is good to know about what might happen so when you do see the event, you will be prepared.

Also for all the Platinum Hunters out there, Supermassive Games has made it easier for you to get your Platinum Trophy. There are no longer “All Heart play-through” trophy, which will greatly cut your gameplay time.

Graphics & Performance

In terms of Graphics, this is the first time Supermassive Games includes graphic options in their game.
You will be given the option to choose Quality or Performance mode.

Twisted Voxel has made a very good video about the difference between Quality vs Performance Mode.

As for myself, I played the game with only Performance Mode on my PS5. And the game plays smoothly on 60fps. While it lowers the resolution, I think my eyes are not sensitive enough to be bothered by it. All and all it still looks great on Performance Mode. But I’d really recommend you to play with the Quality Mode if you are looking for more of a Cinematic Experience. (30fps & Higher Resolution make this game a substitute for watching movies).

As you can see from the screenshots above, the game still looks great in Performance Mode. And I must say the face model of the characters in the game looks really great. They look just like their Actor / Actress counterpart.

Although sometimes the characters seem like they are zoning into the spaces and not sure what are they staring at, and it seems kind of awkward as well.

In terms of performance, this is my first time playing The Dark Pictures Series in which I don’t find myself frustrated by the technical problem. I had problems with Man of Medan or Little Hope before. From game crashing/force close, corrupted save data and problems with online multiplayer. But in House of Ashes, it’s a very smooth experience. I have none of those problems in the game, not even once.

I think that’s one of the reasons why I was putting this game on hold for a long time. I don’t want to find myself to be stressed by the technical problem in this game like I had in the previous games. Although there might be some problems before, by the time I play this everything is just as good. (I think It has several patches already).

House of Ashes is the first game by Supermassive Games that has a Native PS5 version, and I think that’s what they need for the series. I believe Man of Medan or Little Hope was being held by the capability of the last-gen consoles and weren’t able to deliver the best performance of their games to us.

Sounds

One thing that I have to say for sure is that the Voice Acting of the game is magnificent.

The cast did a great job with their characters.

Not to mention all of the sound effects in the game. The echo that comes from your footstep, Gunshot, also the Jump Scare moment as well. I was playing this one with my Home Theatre speakers and, boy, it was satisfying.

The Verdict: Recommended

Clarice: Semper Fi? What’s that, some kinda boys’ scout thing?

Joey: It’s a marine thing. It means “always loyal”.

This for sure is a game that I would recommend to all my friends who love good simple Horror Action games. This game by far is the best game in the Dark Pictures Anthology series. It just doesn’t get enough spotlight because it was overshadowed by Man of Medan / Little Hope failures.

The game definitely has its flaws. But the game delivers what the developer wanted to deliver. A good interactive cinematic experience with a great cast of characters.
I mean the story is not great, but the pacing and how it was delivered are great.

But if you are someone who loves Until Dawn or maybe Detroit: Become Human, I believe you might enjoy this one. The complexity of the Bearings is something to look forward to. I have a really good time playing this game and making the story with the choices I see fit. I hope you do too.