Supermassive returns to the fray with the Dark Pictures Anthology.
There are many types of terror, and although most creatives have agreed that “jumpscares” is the best way to instill terror in the user, whether in movies, series or video games, there are many different formulas to cause real fear. The curious thing is that the inclusion of this form of frightening is one of the few ways in which horror in movies and video games are alike, and that is that the ideas to try to scare, as well as the execution of these ideas, are usually quite different.
This is something that is true many times, but it is not a rule that must always be followed, and over the years we have seen a large number of horror titles that are closer to the formulas of the big screen. Among these, we can highlight practically all the titles of Supermassive Games, a company that brought us Until Dawn at the time, and that over time have been creating what is known as “The Dark Pictures Anthology”.
After bringing us The Quarry in collaboration with 2K Games, this studio returns to the fray with the next installment of its horror anthology. Specifically, we are talking about “The Devil in Me”, a title that It will arrive on November 18, and which we have already been able to test. Here we tell you what we thought.
The formula prevails
I think by now we all know the formula of Supermassive Games titles: cinematographic horror, decisions that will affect the story, and quick time events in crucial moments whose result can mean life or death for the character in question.
To the delight of those people who are in love with this formula, this has not changed in The Devil in Me, being the playable background practically the same as the other titles of the anthology, and we say the background because we have only been able to test a part of the game, so it is possible that at a certain point the gameplay will change. Even so, it is possible to notice the occasional improvement that seems to be made to improve the user experience.
Interestingly, and despite the fact that we have seen it many times, at no time have we felt the gameplay as outdatedbut it feels more like it fits the story, always having the same base, but with different ways of approaching it.
The playable formula of the other titles in this anthology is maintained in The Devil in Me.
The type of horror changes with each installment
We have already talked about the gameplay of the game, which remains, in essence, the same as the previous titles of the saga, but we can say that this is not the most important thing. All the video games of this franchise focus mainly on telling a horror story, and each of them uses a different terror.
With what we have played we cannot say clearly what the main focus is going to be, because we could be totally wrong, but it is clear that Some species of porcelain automata will play an important role in this. As we have said, we do not know if this will be the main type of terror, because it also seems that we will find something in the style of the game of cat and mouse, with a kind of enigmatic murderer, but it is necessary to point out that everything points to these automata will have some importance.
In addition to this, it is necessary to mention that this title, in addition to the previous ones in the saga, use the jumpscare resource to instill terror, while keeping the user in tension. Even so, at least in the section that we have been able to test, there is no overuse of this element, so in principle you can be calm about this.
It seems that the plot of this installment will have something to do with porcelain dolls.
Performances worthy of film productions
As we have said before, the titles of the Dark Pictures Anthology try to bring to the video game everything that has made horror movies great, being close to interactive movies, despite having quite large playable sections. to support this there is something that we always find in these titles: a cast to match.
It is practically impossible to put a single downside to the performances of the different characters in the other titles of the saga, and this is something that we have been able to verify that it remains in The Devil in Me. Yes, as always there are characters who are better acted than others, but all of them can be highlighted for their good performances. Of course, we are commenting on this with respect to the original version, and it is that in the version that we have tested this was the only type of existing audio (although the full title will come with Spanish dubbing).
Even so, having the precedents of the previous titles of the saga, we can expect good voice acting from the spanish dubbersalthough considering the great cast it has, we can not help but recommend that you play it in the original version when it is released.
Probably one of the best sections of this title ends up being its great cast.
On the verge of hyperrealism
Normally when we test a version before launch we don’t usually talk about the graphic section as such, because this is a section that can change in a very short time, but in this case it is necessary to mention it, because even manage to surprise.
All the titles of this franchise have had a good graphic section, especially at a technical level, but in this case, comes dangerously close to hyperrealismthis being something that is especially noticeable in the faces of the characters, although the work done with the settings and lighting is also remarkable.
At times this title has managed to surprise us graphically, and that was only part of the game.
the nightmare is coming
The release of The Devil in Me is getting closer, and from what we have been able to prove, we will find ourselves before a title that will follow the path of its predecessors, but changing (again) the type of terror, although keeping much of the elements that made it famousas well as the bases of its gameplay.
For now we have to wait for it to be released, because as we have said numerous times, we have only tried a small part of the adventure, but without a doubt this title aims to delight fans of Supermassive Games’ work.
