THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY: LITTLE HOPE REVIEW

Prepare your own underwear while Supermassive Games has launched its latest game for Halloween: The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope. With solid foundation and a lineage in the genre, will the last entry of the franchise be a cheap and hollow trick or a dark and sinister treat?

The interactive dramatic genre has aroused some controversy over the years. Some players refuse to recognize him as a game because of his lack of gameplay, while others think it’s the future of narrative experiences in the medium. After the exit of Heavy Rain, the genus has reached new heights and developers attempted to reproduce what Quantic Dream had achieved. Now, once the dust has fallen, only the true masters of the genre remain standing and without a doubt, one of which is supermassive games.

The first entry into anthology was Man of Medan who delivered an exciting tale focused on the psychological state of isolation. Although it is an incredible start, there was room for improvement because the narrative failed to deliver in its last third, and the destiny of the characters depended on the completion of fast events that made the insignificant choices.

Improving compared to its predecessor, the story of Little Hope is deep and complex. Nonlinearly, the story follows two simultaneous scenarios that feed information throughout the 4 to 5 hours of play. The game follows a group of students and their teacher whose bus crashes on the way to an excursion school. By trying to get in touch with someone, they begin to notice strange elements. The crawling shadows, a mystical fog appears and my slip is dirty. Parallel to this is a story that takes place in the middle of the trials of Salem witches. Although at the beginning, these segments can disconcert the public, intelligently, the intrigues begin to make sense because they intertwine and influence each other.

Supermassive games really reveal as pioneers of narrative in the medium while Little Hope offers intense and haunting experience. With a cinematography that echoes the great cinema and discreet lighting that accentuates the key areas of the setting, the game is a master class in the artistic direction. In addition, the strange partition and stellar dubbing really make one of the greatest kind.

In the manner of horror, the game mainly uses a fixed camera angle that restricts your view. This adds to the intensity of the scenes because you can not look in the corners to ensure your safety before progressing, which allows you to constantly on the lookout throughout your game. Although the game is a Linear experience, particular areas allow you to control the camera and allow you to explore, find objects and collect objects that can be useful later in the game.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Review - The Final Verdict
Similar to other titles of the genre, your decisions are essential. However, by developing their previous efforts, your decisions seem to have a greater impact and depend on the choice rather than simply miss a button prompt. Each decision, choice of dialog and action is followed and noted thanks to an indicator at the top of the screen that helps to give the player the impression that the experience is unique. You can follow the status of your relationship via the menu, which shows the impact of all your choices, which further reinforces the feeling of choice.

The branched narrative of Little Hope and the relatively short playing time will allow players to replay the campaign to discover new results and a different end. Permanent death being omnipresent, it is exciting to see how the death or survival of a character would affect the result of history. In addition to the aspect of replayability, players can live a “shared story” where you can play the game with others online, taking the total control out of your hands. It’s a great way to enjoy Little Hope and could be a success this Halloween. In addition to this, the “Movie Night” mode that comes back, allows you to play locally with up to 4 players each controlling a different character. Supermassive Games has successfully added many features to make a title you revisit… if you dare.

Although beautifully rhythm in order to create suspense, some people may think that the game snakes because it has not been designed to offer strong sensations every second. In addition to this, a fixed camera angle is accompanied by bulky controls. Even if the static camera creates the feeling of claustrophobia and insecurity, this affects the movement of the characters, especially when the transition from one angle to another.

The Dark Anthologies: Little Hope improves the previous entrance of the franchise in all aspects and is one of the most compelling stories I have experienced lately. With incredible end that has left a deep and lasting effect, it’s a game that interactive drama fans have to experiment. Supermassive games have slowly perfected their skills in order to be considered one of the giants of the narration and Little Hope left me enthusiastically in anticipation of the next entry in what turns out to be a historical series.

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Good

  • Beautifully rhythmic
  • Strant engaging
  • Choices seem significant

83

The bad

  • Clumsy movement
  • A few clichés of horror
  • Short game time