The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Reviews
Overall, House of Ashes is a fun horror romp. There's nothing subtle to be found here and the game is all the better for it, with exciting set pieces and a fast-paced story. It has its issues, both technically and with not really having anything interesting to build into its Iraq War setting, but it's still a hoot to play.
It doesn’t help that House of Ashes tends toward monotony. Much of the game is spent slowly exploring dark caves, sometimes the exact same ones, except with different characters. Too often you may find yourself trying to shake off tedium by trying to interact with something only to inadvertently activate a protagonist’s death. Or a jump scare might shake you out of it, but given how telegraphed they are, the game’s horror ends up being as ineffective as the story, which is given over to Aqua Teen Hunger Force-like levels of deranged non-sequitur plotting. While the prior games in this series never reached the heights of Until Dawn, they didn’t lack for disturbing and memorable imagery. By contrast, this game’s non-human baddies are so over-designed and uninspired that they never jangle the player’s nerves.
Although it may lack the over-the-top thrills of previous entries, House of Ashes is perhaps the best entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology to date. The cast of characters is strong across the board, and the story boasts a satisfying conclusion previous titles struggled to provide.
Now in its third act, The Dark Pictures Anthology shows the first signs of a perhaps inevitable fatigue. Wisely trying to involve and amaze the player with new stylistic gimmicks, Supermassive Games chooses to adopt a more impactful rhythm, and thus bastes another type of horror where violence takes over restlessness.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Supermassive has an incredible talent for creating gripping narratives of a horror persuasion, and despite some technical bumps in the sand, my retrospective opinion on House of Ashes still remains the same: It’s a bloody good creature feature. I often thought that House of Ashes would make a better film or television series because of its layered narrative, but then I remembered the fun I had weaving my own outcome, navigating the sheer scale of the game, and using parkour mechanics over nearby obstacles.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is an impressive addition to the series that not only looks stunning on next gen, but also plays out in multiple player controlled scenarios, than can vary from triumphant, to downright heart breaking. It's a dark journey through horror and blood, with only you (and maybe a friend in co-op) to determine who makes it out the other side.
House of Ashes has its flaws, especially on a technical level, but it is clear that things happened since Man of Medan. More intriguing, richer and better staged than its predecessors, the third installment of the Dark Pictures Anthology easily manages to rise to the top. And we can say Supermassive Games is on the right track. We are already looking forward to discovering how they will manage to surprise us on the next episode.
Review in French | Read full review
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is a fun enough way to pass a few hours, and is a lot more enjoyable when you get a few friends involved. But as a cinematic story, it's far too forgettable, with writing that's never better than 'fine' with performances to match.
A decent entry in the Dark Pictures series that tries to iterate on the formula, with mixed results.
Supermassive fans deserve better. The horror genre as a whole deserves better. No recommendation can be provided for this dark plunge.
House of Ashes doesn't offer a new unique tale that I found with Little Hope or Man of Medan. I did enjoy my time playing through another The Dark Pictures Anthology tale, but it hasn't left an impact on me as a player as Little Hope did. Choices often felt inconsequential, and few and far between. Character development for all of the characters outside of Salim was underwhelming and disappointing, even though the backdrop of the Iraq War in 2003 was ripe for compelling character development.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is far and away the best Dark Pictures game so far. It blends intriguing characters, compelling drama, and a killer twist to offer up what can only be described as the most honed experience Supermassive has put out in this series so far. It's got a few minor issues here and there – namely relating to the diversity of its cast and how much each of them plays into the overall story – but it's a horror experience that no fan should miss even if they weren't fans of Man of Medan or Little Hope.
House of Ashes, as this review will show, is the best title in The Dark Pictures Anthology thus far. However, there are a few flaws that prevent it from being perfect. Though it excels in the cinematics department, it struggles to adequately blend gameplay in a way that makes the experience truly immersive.
Overall, House of Ashes, while not perfect, (or even scary truth be told) is a good installment in the series as it provides gorgeous graphics along with its interesting premise.
There’s an immediate familiarity for House of Ashes in the Dark Pictures catalog, but this entry is as thematically complex and consequently engaging as any game in the series so far.
The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes is a perfectly timed release. Put yourself into a Horror movie in time for Halloween and enjoy the thrilling ride.
House of Ashes gives the impression of playing the same Supermassive game with a new story. The passage to next-gen systems looks irrelevant to a series that doesn't know how to evolve its formula. It has a better story than Little Hope, but presents the same issues already seen in the other two chapters.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Dark Pictures Anthology still needs to iron out a few things before it can produce a truly classic entry, but thanks to a strong and fun story with a lot of twists, welcome difficulty options and stronger choice-based gameplay, House of Ashes shows the series is still striving to make notable improvements when it comes to crafting scary and entertaining tales.
An intriguing premise backed by refined gameplay and an immersive atmosphere makes House of Ashes the best entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology yet.
It also gave me a glimpsation of the future games of The Dark Pictures Anthology. Stories that make the action horror element a little more prominent suit Supermassive.
Review in Turkish | Read full review