Very recently the full trailer for a newDark Pictures Anthologygamecame out, with the game being calledHouse ofAshes. The video does a great job at setting the atmosphere for this title, filling it with elements fromIndiana Jonesmovies, Lovecraftian horror, and what looks likeThe MummymeetsAlienmeets war in the modern world. There’s a lot going on inThe Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashesand this game also bears the onus of coming after two other titles that were not largely appreciated by the fans mainly because of how the supernatural aspects were not so occult, after all.
The game’s premise is that a military group is in search of chemical weapons, but this hunt will soon make them the prey of something horrific. The group will unearth a Sumerian temple buried under the earth and sand of the Arabian desert, infested by otherwordly creatures that seem to be based around the myth of theHouse ofAshes, where the souls of the dead go when trying to reach the underworld, called “Kur.“The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Asheswill feature several characters, each with their own internal and interpersonal conflicts to overcome to survive the horror of the unknown.
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Why The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Should Retain Lovecraftian Horror Elements
Despite decent reviews on average for the previous two chapters of the saga, calledThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of MedanandThe Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope, respectively, there is a certain degree of discontent among fans. In fact,Man of Medan’s plot made it so that the supernatural elements of the game were actually mere collective hallucinations due to gases, while inLittle Hopethe ending reveals that the events of the game were all in the protagonist’s head. This sort of narrative device is not uncommon when dealing with themes that go beyond human comprehension of things, and thusThe Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashesshould probably leave unearthly matters as such, without logical explanations.
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The Dark Pictures Anthology: House ofAshes' trailer was overall received well by players, with an overwhelming amount of likes compared to that of dislikes, but the comment section is filled with jokes about the new game being some sort of hallucination all over again. The problem with the series delving only so far into the occult may lie in the fact that the happenings depicted by each game still draw inspiration from real-life events, meaning that the developers still want to explain things with logic, science, and trauma. However, one of the most successful titles from the developers at Supermassive Games isUntilDawn, which boldly deals with supernatural creatures, curses, and the psychology of characters without faltering.
Given thesetting ofThe Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes, and also considering how players are generally dissatisfied with twists leading to logical explanations, it is in the realm of possibility that the new chapter will stay true to the horror premise, instead.House of Ashesdoes have the potential of taking those Lovecraftian horror elements and the similarity with Indiana Jones movies to set up a creepy tale of survival and lost civilizations. What players are asking for is not a twist at the very end, but rather an experience that delivers more on the sheer dread of the unknown, dealing with powers far beyond human comprehension.House of Ashesis sure to lift the veil of mystery on this aspect once it releases, but there is hope for it to be whatMan of MedanandLittle Hopecouldn’t.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashesis coming this year for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
