The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Reviews
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes might not be very frightening, but it absolutely nails a tense atmosphere where every choice really does matter. With gorgeous visuals and a satisfying, well paced story, Supermassive has finally found their footing.
The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes is the best entry in the series yet, packed with gripping storytelling, compelling characters, and solid performances. Your choices feel impactful, and seeing your relationships grow or fall apart based on your decisions carries a lot of weight. With tons of collectibles, an improved camera, and solid pacing, House of Ashes will keep you glued to the screen until the credits roll.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is easily the best of the series so far. There are clear improvements in gameplay, such as difficulty options and complete control over the camera, which help push this forward. The writing also takes strides forward, with an excellent cast of characters, more realistic writing, and a satisfying narrative throughout. Add the already exceptional abilities of Supermassive Games at building atmosphere, and you have a recipe for a great game - something that I firmly believe House of Ashes is.
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.
Strap in for the best ride in The Dark Pictures Anthology, as House of Ashes delivers the most complete and finest horror story yet.
The best part of the game is the abandonment of “war roles”; with Salim, the reluctant Iraqi soldier, and Jason Kolchek (Paul Zinno) – an almost stereotypical, Iraqi hating U.S. soldier armed with a gun, a southern drawl and a “hooah” to complete the look – able to forge quite the admirable bromance, should you make the right choices and keep them alive. Together, they come to understand that there is more that unites them than divides them. Yes, one is a white American Christian and yes, the other is a devout Islamic Iraqi, but in the face of adversity – in the form of vampiric space aliens – they live the same and they die the same. This is a message for life: we are all human. In spite of being the third in an anthology of horror games, the underlying message is one of positive, unifying forces, despite all of the dangers present in this world we inhabit. This message, combined with the design, structure, acting and story of the game, makes it the best in the series so far. If you are looking for a fun way to spend a few hours with friends – complete with teamwork, panic and a tremendous amount of scares, then you should give House of Ashes a go. Though it will be a lesser experience, you can still enjoy this game on its own.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes lands as the best in the series so far by going in a different direction with its take on horror and improving upon many past gameplay elements.
Thanks to a likeable cast of fleshed-out characters, an immersive atmosphere drenched in evil and a gripping story with a sinister setting, it exceeds expectations and trumps the highs of Man of Medan, Little Hope and in some cases, even Until Dawn.
A tense, action-packed tale that feels completely different from what you've come to expect from The Dark Pictures Anthology 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 is a gripping dark monster-filled adventure that you'll want to play over and over again.
The Dark Pictures franchise continues to produce high-quality narrative horror pieces. For fans of the genre, they are well worth exploring. The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes shows that the developer is learning from player feedback and that there is still room for improvement with each new game. It is expected that Bandai and Supermassive will continue to invest in polishing the experience and strengthening the series with each new game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
House of Ashes is one of the most fun games I’ve played this year and a dreadful delight for horror enthusiasts.
It’s clear that Supermassive’s Dark Pictures Anthology is improving with every new release. House of Ashes is the best of the bunch so far. Everything clicks, everything works. It’s a damn fine game and worth every penny even at full price. I’m now excited for the future of this series and will be pouncing on the next game. Of course, I’m not done with this one yet. Still got to try to kill them all off because what’s video games without an occasional slice of sadism.
I really enjoyed my time with House of Ashes, as I have done with the Dark Pictures titles thus far. Much like horror movies, they won’t be for everyone and there are certainly characters here too that fall into many of the known tropes we come to expect from the genre, but it’s setting, character choice, technical improvements and replayabilty makes it all a fun horror experience. I’m still aboard the Dark Pictures train and I can’t wait for the next entry that will hopefully hit us around the same time next year.
House of Ashes marks a change of pace compared to the previous episodes of the Dark Pictures Anthology, proposing a horror story that also focuses strongly on the action. The plot, which incorporates elements of films such as Aliens, Predator and The Descent – Descent into Darkness, does not shine for originality, but it is still enjoyable and sufficiently articulated.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is Supermassive's best horror game since Until Dawn made it famous.
Great monsters, stunning locations and a quality mystery makes this one of Supermassive's best.
House of Ashes offers cinematic horror and surprising character moments amidst the conflict of the Iraq War.
House of Ashes adds little to the Dark Pictures formula, and doesn't seem to progress anthology's overarching plot. That said, it's still a great adventure with some jaw dropping visuals and action-packed set pieces. A solid addition to the franchise.