The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of horror adventure games created by developer Supermassive Games, with each game being a standalone title set in a different location. It began with Man of Medan and then moved on to another story in Little Hope. Each title in the series has its own storyline, but all of them are presented to you by The Curator (played once again by Pip Torrens) in his awes...

The more I play Supermassive Games' The Dark Pictures Anthology series, the more familiar and comfortable I get with the format. During one of the longer cutscenes in House of Ashes, I was laid back watching it and happened to miss a quick thing. I pressed the left arrow key at that point and then wondered why it wasn't listening to me. Then I realised I was playing a game, not watching a film on ...

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 wea...

House of Ashes is by far the best entry into The Dark Pictures Anthology yet. Supermassive Games has outdone itself in terms of visual design, storytelling and pacing, and the result is a game that’s absolutely dripping with foreboding atmosphere. The story, playing out over six thrilling hours, keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish – and with so many possible outcomes, chances a...

House of Ashes offers cinematic horror and surprising character moments amidst the conflict of the Iraq War.

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.

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.

While House of Ashes takes a minor departure from pure survival horror, it manages to maintain its roots and tells a somewhat compelling narrative with a solid cast of characters. It's ultimately held back by a few technical issues and story loopholes that don't quite make sense.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is the franchise's best entry yet, acting as a playable horror film. But it still shows room for improvement.

A horror game for everyone, but at what cost?

As much as I feel like this series is stuck in the shadow of Until Dawn for a large part of the audience, collectively, The Dark Pictures Anthology is becoming something memorable in its own right. I’ll keep enjoying these games as long as I can, House of Ashes included.

If only House of Ashes were possessed with something malevolent enough to actually scare us; sadly, it commits a litany of sins, none of them original.