The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes (PlayStation 5) Preview

This time the game follows a group of soldiers during the Iraq war who, instead of uncovering chemical weapons, find themselves at the centre of an ancient horror. During a scuffle an earthquake hits, plunging the cast into the depths of the earth. As with previous Dark Pictures games the story is based on local legend, real history and more, giving the horror a real edge of believability like a well constructed conspiracy theory. Players can look forward to exploring, puzzle solving and choosing the way the story plays out, influencing which characters will survive and which will not. As with previous games they were quick to remind everyone that literally all the characters can die in the game so best be careful when making choices. Playing as soldiers can sometimes take the tension out of a horror title but it looks like this will not be the case here.

Visually the gameplay shown is superb, featuring incredibly convincing acting and crazily realistic environments. The detail far outstrips what has been shown in the previous titles with what looks like a totally new lighting system. Characters all look awesome and lifelike
while the new monsters, what little we see of them, look very spooky to say the least. It looks a lot like the little robotic ticks of characters in previous games have been ironed out with each character coming across as lifelike throughout the showcase. It's genuinely impressive to see. Those playing on the new consoles can also experience a higher graphical fidelity, the features of which have not yet been revealed.

Along with all of this great news all of the game modes from previous installments are here to stay. Single player allows for one player to play through the story with only their choices influencing the story. Shared story mode means both players make decisions for characters drastically altering survival rates. Movie night mode allows for 4 players to couch co-op their way through the story each as different characters. These were wildly entertaining in the previous titles and are very, very welcome in House of Ashes.