The Dark Pictures: Little Hope only released last month, yet developer Supermassive Games has its sights set on what’s next. The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes is the next in the anthology, and it sounds like a unique location for a horror game. House of Ashes is set in Iraq in 2003, where opposing units discover an underground evil.
Basically, a hunt for chemical weapons in the Arabian desert turns into something completely different. One thing that sounds like it could set this one apart is the fact that two opposing soldier units are involved. Once they both plummet underground, they’ll have to work together to survive. The tension created as these enemies have to work together could provide a neat angle on the Dark Pictures format.
Then there’s the setting too. Iraq and the Middle East are often settings for war games, not story-based horror titles. The underground temples do sound a bit Tomb Raider-esque though, which we think is cool canvas for a splash of horror. It’s certainly a different take to what’s already present in The Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan‘s ghost ship and the spooky town of Little Hope.
The story so far
Supermassive Games opted to stick with this type of storytelling after it saw success with Until Dawn. The Dark Pictures is a series where each game follows a different cast of characters in a new spooky setting. It’s all story and choice focused, with the player dictating each character’s outcome and ultimately, the overall story.
The first entry, Man of Medan, focused on a group of not-so-likeable teens who don’t take a diving trip very seriously. Their outing leads to a huge abandoned ship, where trouble awaits. 2020’s Little Hope moved things to a creepy town that has a history of witch trials, with a new cast. Let’s see if House of Ashes‘ Iraq setting can provide even more scares in 2021.
