The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

Title: The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

Format: PS4, PC, Xbox One

Price: USD 29.99

Well, Supermassive Games have already done better than Universal Studios, as their Dark Pictures anthology has managed to survive long enough to actually put out its second title. I say second title, as, despite many obvious parallels and mechanics to Until Dawn, the Dark Pictures series differs from Until Dawn in one very important way: it’s available on platforms other than the PS4.

Other than that, this is quite familiar territory, with complex branching yet interlocked storylines, superb acting (and note I’m not even appending “for a videogame” on the end of that), QTEs with permanent impact including instadeaths, and some twists you’re not likely to see coming unless you’re the kind of person that watched the opening of the Sixth Sense and realised the only logical conclusion was that Bruce Willis is dead. Meaning, possible, but not likely. I did reach that conclusion in the opening of the Sixth Sense but didn’t see the big twist in this title. Which may possibly be because it’s… hmm, hard to address without spoilerizing, I think I’ll put this off till later in the review.

The game looks stunning. Both of the Dark Pictures titles, this and predecessor Man of Medan, are noticeably shorter than Until Dawn. I don’t know if that’s because they lack a Sony Publishing budget, or if it’s an active choice to have shorter titles in an anthology so as to not outstay their welcome. Whichever, there is no decrease in the visual quality from the Sony title (even if the actors are less famous. That one I suspect is definitely budget related). The tremendous graphics also means that the death scenes are particularly brutal. I winced at a couple.

The creatures that inhabit the game are similarly graphically excellent. The game takes place in a town called Little Hope (no surprise there) which the university professor character is able to helpfully tell us was contemporaneously as zealous as Salem when it came to that good old 17^th century pastime, ‘accusing your neighbours of witchcraft.’ Salem may have become more famous, but Little Hope takes the prize for creativity in the field of ending human life. The ghosts of Little Hope in the early 21^st century are reflective of their manner of passing, and are gloriously creepy and very distinctive as a result.

Gameplay is a combination of exploration and QTEs, both of which can have permanent effects on the game. It’s quite possible to miss items, such as weapons, which impact potential futures. The QTEs have more immediate impact, and the game is designed so that if you are minded to reload after failing one, you’re likely to find yourself a long way back. The game is constantly saving so quitting and selecting continue will just put you right where you were (after a failed QTE) and so to really have another go requires chapter select. There is a prompt that a QTE is coming, unlike the first release of Man of Medan where the QTEs were not always obviously impending causing some player frustration, and ultimately a patch.

Certain events will present the player with the opportunity to select a response, either saying nothing (which is what will happen when the time runs out), or two more emotional options. This will impact the relationships between the characters, which can also impact available endings.

There are also pictures to find, as indeed there were in Man of Medan. In that game, they were often actual framed pictures on the wall. Here, they are postcards scattered throughout, divided into white edged pictures and black edged, which supposedly give premonitions as to possible future events. The Curator is the mysterious library-dwelling narrator who serves as setter of the stage and linker of the chapters. He assures you these premonitions may assist. However, like Man of Medan, these were too obscure for them to be of any use, and usually only after I inadvertently triggered a death was I able to retrofit the premonition. So, really, they’re just collectibles for a trophy.

As noted above, the acting is excellent and the story world is compelling and well realised. It is impressive how Supermassive are able to have multiple storylines which impact on each other and still be able to have multiple routes even as characters do or don’t survive. The game opens with a bus driver leaving a diner and on a country road being intercepted by the police, who tell him that the road ahead is blocked due to an accident and he will need to detour through Silent Hope. Sorry, Little Hope.

Cue scary ghost girl on road, an accident, and our cast of characters – John, the aforementioned university professor; three college students, Andrew, Taylor, Daniel; and a mature student, Angela – attempting to get help in the mysteriously empty and fog-enshrouded town. All these characters are quite complex, without being unlikeable (which unfortunately was the case in Man of Medan and to a certain extent in Until Dawn). The player will quickly notice all five resemble exactly a family we saw die in a 1970s house fire in the town in the prologue, adding to the mystery.

Considering this, I was disappointed by the ending I got the first playthrough, as it rendered all of this complexity and the character relationships irrelevant. They may as well have paid a few extra dollars and cut to Nicholas Cage waking up to say “and it was all a dream.” Other endings do make more narrative sense although for me there is still a bit of a feeling of having been cheated.

Other than that, niggles are minor. The button to investigate potentially important items is the same button to irrevocably leave a location, and sometimes in the dark that’s not immediately visually obvious. There is also some weirdness going on about race. In the 1970s-set opening, the white family daughter seems to be dating a black man. The two boys discuss this, with one saying he’s ok with it, but the other not liking the situation – except the reason he gives is he suspects the potential boyfriend is from a cult. This hint at ingrained racist attitudes is never mentioned again. Then, in scenes set in 1690’s Massachusetts, one of the key characters, Judge Wyman, is clearly ethnically Asian. This is obviously an anachronism, and I don’t understand what it’s meant to achieve.

I played single player, although there are other options, one to cooperate with another player online, the other, ‘Movie Night,’ for couch co-op involving passing the controller to friends who will control the other characters. Changes between characters in Little Hope feel more natural and in line with the story, unlike Man of Medan when changes in character perspective felt more driven by the need to give another player some time at bat.

While I dislike parts of the narrative in the various endings, there is no denying this is a highly polished, interesting game, with an engaging history to explore interspersed with situations of extreme tension. Considering the price point and the replay options, this is title with some excellent value. 7