The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $39.99 USD – Available Here $59.95 AUD – Available Here
Overview
Living near Chicago, you always hear about the countless things that have happened in the Windy City through the years and perhaps one of the most interesting yet horrific aspects is that it once was the home to a man believed to be America’s first serial killer. H. H. Holmes and his infamous “Murder Castle” hotel have lived in infamy with an ever growing tale about what the man was capable of in the late 1800s and now Supermassive Games has taken Holmes’ story as inspiration for their final entry in the first season of The Dark Pictures Anthology. Setting itself in a far more grounded setting compared to previous entries and seeing the addition of a number of gameplay elements have made The Devil in Me a unique entry in the series but is it a worthwhile horror game?
Story
The Devil in Me takes the rumors that surrounded H. H. Holmes’ Murder Hotel to heart as the man not only managed to succeed in opening his hotel for the World’s Fair in 1893 but had already begun slaying any guests that had dared to step inside. Holmes’ methods involved hidden rooms, deadly traps, sliding walls and more as his victims found themselves trapped inside with a man more than willing to get his own hands dirty. As such he is the perfect subject for a struggling “True Crime” documentary film crew to focus on for their next breakout episode. Lonnit Entertainment is struggling to hang in there but when Charlie, the director of the group, receives a call from an eccentric and mysterious benefactor by the name Du’Met who has created a perfect replica of the World’s Fair Hotel on his estate on a private island out on Lake Michigan it seems like the perfect opportunity has fallen right into the crews’ laps.
Despite the crew having some misgivings regarding the sudden nature of the job, the extremely private nature of Du’met, and struggling with some personal issues, the five of them agree to travel to the private island. It doesn’t take long for the crew to realize that the eerie nature of the hotel is all too real as this recreation of the Murder Castle is just as deadly as the original and that they have fallen into the web of a mastermind that has deadly plans for each and every one of them. With the crew’s only hope for survival being an attempt to find out how to outsmart this meticulously planned plot, will they manage to survive the deadly maze that they have found themselves in?
The maze-like hallways and dilapidated areas that players will travel through while exploring the mansion and witnessing the twisted creations within are filled with tension as the development team has done an excellent job at making sure players never feel safe. Traveling a bit too far one direction may see the walls shift, closing the previous area off or examining an object or window may trigger a scare. Even the numerous risks of death that players come across feature a number of cliffhangers making players wonder if they’ve actually managed to avoid danger or have suffered a gruesome fate. Add to this the fact that certain characters possess specific items and in a few cases will need to explore using sound as their guide, this sound being the whimpers and screams of the killer’s previous victims. This level of tension and dread carries over quite well into adding plenty of mystery to the game as players will still find themselves scouring areas looking for clues into the mystery of learning just who is really behind the murderer’s mask. In fact, this mystery easily becomes one of the best parts of the game’s storyline.
Part of the reason is that the actual characters this time around are a bit too bland and don’t really have the same characterization that fans have grown used to over the course of the series. They all have various issues, such as a budding romance, a pair going through a fresh break-up, and a leader with a serious addiction to cigarettes but outside of these little tropes players won’t see much actual character growth or development and this is partly due to how poorly paced the actual game is. This is thanks to a number of “puzzle” segments that make use of new gameplay elements that have been added to the game that draw scenes out far longer than necessary and take away from the actual character interactions that could otherwise be happening. In fact, The Devil in Me has probably the fewest actual dialogue choices in the entire series and it certainly feels like it also has the least amount of talking between the cast even if players make it through with everyone alive, leading to a cast that is by far the least interesting in the franchise so far. As such, while the characters may not be the most interesting in this murderer’s twisted game, the mystery behind who is behind it as well as what twisted machination is around the next corner is as thrilling as ever.
Gameplay
For the most part The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me features the same type of gameplay elements that fans have come to expect from the series. This includes making various dialogue choices throughout the game, some of which can have important consequences depending on the choice made, completing QTE sequences, and even taking part in “keep calm” sections. However this release adds a number of new mechanics to help add some variety to the game but come off as more of a double-edged sword. In fact, the only new mechanic that feels fleshed out at all is the hiding system that simply has players run to a location and hide there until the threat goes away.
As mentioned before, every character will have a unique inventory and while this may seem like it will add extra options, it doesn’t really come into play too often. Each character will have their own way to light up a room, be it a lighter, flashlight, make-up kit, or more and some can reach distant objects using an extendable camera arm or track down noises with a special microphone but these items only come into play in a way that makes them seem like they could easily have been worked into cutscenes and instead opted to have players have a bit of extra interaction. Even certain objects used in puzzles are implemented in a way that they are either used automatically or make no actual difference in how a puzzle is solved beyond requiring a character to hold it up while they flip switches.
This level of interaction comes into play with a number of other aspects as well. This includes numerous sequences that randomly see players needing to grab a cart/desk/bookshelf on wheels and move it into a location that will allow them to jump a gap, being able to climb up and down ledges, shimmying along walls, and even balancing across gaps. These puzzle sequences are fairly redundant and often drag the game’s pace to a standstill as players navigate through a basic environmental puzzle that feels like it simply is there to pad the game out more than anything else. It is also worth noting that since the environments that players travel through in The Devil in Me are often quite cramped, players will occasionally find themselves struggling to move around other characters traveling alongside them or having to wait as they progress through a gap or shimmy on a ledge. In one case an entire scene needed to be restarted simply because a character refused to move, locking me in place for minutes until quitting to the menu.
Another new element that comes off a bit hit and miss comes in the form of a new type of collectible. While players are always on the hunt for a “dark picture” that may contain a useful premonition or an item that will reveal a clue about what is happening, there is now a new collectable to be found in the world and they come in the form of obol coins. These coins can be used to purchase extra visual content on the main menu and can but considering these obols in the environment shine the same exact way as clues, players will quickly start to feel disappointed when they go out of their way only to find a single coin in a corner or open up a drawer with a business card and obtain a coin worth five points.
Visuals & Audio
With The Devil in Me players will find that they can either select to play the game using performance mode or selecting the quality mode. The quality mode does offer an improved looking game with some fancier lighting and, from the looks of things, more expressive character models, but it does require a bit of loading here and there including a few awkward pauses in the middle of a scene. That being said, the game is quite impressive looking and as mentioned before the team has done a wonderful job making the claustrophobic halls of the hotel feel dreadful in nature and there are plenty of gruesome looking scenes to witness, both in the forms of previous victims and potential deaths for the player if they aren’t careful.
The voice work for the characters is handled quite well with the voice cast sounding believable, though the accent on Kate’s voice actress Jessie Buckley does slip through in places. It is nice to note that Charlie’s voice actor Paul Kaye comes in strong as the leading celebrity role this time around. The soundtrack features a great collection of atmospheric music that really pulls the tension of a scene together and of course features the same classic opening music that fans have come to know from the series, including a more classic take on the piece for the credits.
Overall
While The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me struggles with its pacing by adding in superfluous feeling gameplay mechanics that can bug out, it still tells a satisfyingly tense and thrilling mystery with high stakes around nearly every corner. Supernatural elements are all well and good but by basing the horror this time around a more grounded threat of a killer who adores H.H. Holmes creates a creepy environment that helps The Devil in Me pull past its less than interesting characters. As such, while it may not be the strongest entry in the series so far, fans of the series won’t be disappointed as they try and survive this fear and tension filled murder house.
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