The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me

While waiting to see what season 2 of The Dark Pictures Anthology has in store for us, The Devil in Me closes the first one by bringing a few novelties and an interesting character. This episode is a little bit better, but it has a hard time renewing the series and, despite some improvements, it still suffers from the shortcomings of its predecessors, especially on a technical level. It is still attractive, with ordinary characters and a plot that is not very well written, but a serial killer and a Murder Hotel that have an effect, with, moreover, delicate decisions to be taken and jump scares that can make you jump.

From a narrative standpoint, it’s tough to tie up all of a story’s threads when any one of them can end at any time, and “The Devil in Me” exhibits the usual flaws of that approach. Characters tend to be awkwardly sidelined, and motivations don’t quite coalesce. Even the hulking murderer who can kill every character begins to feel a little inept when we spend so much time dodging his killing blows.

The Devil in Me does not reach the level of its predecessor House of Ashes, nor that of Little Hope. The plot lacks twists and some time-honored The Dark Pictures problems are still present. However, if you fancy a quick horror snack, you will be served (once again) at your beck and call.

The newest entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology takes a few risks but mostly sticks to the format to deliver another decent horror adventure.

While staying true to The Dark Pictures franchise, The Devil in Me attempts to innovate by incorporating an inventory system and characters with real-world expertise. By taking on America's first serial killer, the game manages to instill an interesting vibe with its "Castle of Murders." Unfortunately, and although we are curious about the fate of each of the protagonists, the title struggles to convince completely. The story takes a long time to start, the pace is a little too slow – despite some nice finds – and we feel little empathy for the characters, stereotypical as possible. If we add a gameplay that accumulates clichés seen and reviewed, The Devil in Me does not have the content of The Quarry or even of a House of Ashes. Despite everything, the formula works thanks to the place inspired by a real event and a finale rich in tension.

A solid conclusion using all the mastered features from the license.

The Devil in Me could have been the final pearl by Supermassive in recent years with the Dark Pictures Anthology and instead ends up collapsing on the weight of its own ambitions. It's really a shame, because a few more forethought from an authorial point of view and a shorter overall duration would have been enough to pack the icing on the cake of a project that has given interesting vibes. It would be stupid not to recommend the purchase to those who have followed the whole process and still have not got tired of the formula.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me is the best game in the series yet. Featuring a solid cast and dynamics to boot, I was well engaged in wanting to ensure everyone made it out of the horrific Murder Castle alive and was genuinely devastated when some didn’t. More opportunities are provided to explore and pick apart the environment than ever, often unearthing genuinely intriguing readables. Technical shortcomings once again rear their head a bit, showing stiff character animations from time to time and varied visual fidelity in some character models. Some of the equipment you’ll use to poke about the hell you’ve found yourself in is inconsequential but when they work they really work. At the end of the day, these flaws are forgivable. With obstructive shifting walls and deadly traps waiting around every corner so that you’re never really sure when you’re safe or not, The Devil in Me is a very alluring setting for horror fans.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me is the season finale that tries to make forget the ups and down of the series. This time around pays homage to the great slasher movies of early eighties, but the story is too weak and the gameplay limitations hold back the developer's ambitions.

If you expect a revolution in terms of gameplay, you’ll be disappointed. The developers still experiment in search of the perfect interactive cinematic experience formula, but their attempts are too modest to really make a difference. The Devil in Me is not only derivative, but also squanders the potential of its story and setting, and compared to The Quarry, looks like an unpolished project developed on a tight budget.

The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me has a promising start but ends up being a lackluster final game in the first season of this horror Anthology. Although the formula can still work, as demonstrated by The Quarry, with bland gameplay and uninteresting characters this sub-series clearly needs a facelift.

The Devil in Me could have been a decent detective story with unexpected twists. It could have been a dissection of the mind of a perverted killer or a social commentary on the obsession with serial killers. Supermassive Games could have played mind games with players in the tradition of The Dark Pictures anthology. And yet, they chose to create a bland mixture of horror tropes in an otherwise intriguing setting and with a pretty good atmosphere.

Overall, I do not think that The Devil in Me is boring by any means, but it is also not nearly as impressive as I would expect a season finale to be.

I still would recommend The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me on release if you can handle the technical issues at present. If Supermassive Games manages to implement some updates and fix the performance issues, then I’d perhaps even recommend it – highly! – to seasoned horror fans. In spite of its flaws, The Devil in Me tells a riveting tale of a horrific killer in a thoughtful manner, opens up important discussions about human obsession with sanctifying spectacles, and it shows great potential for the future of the series. It’s just a shame about… everything else.

Overall though, it feels like a patchwork of things the team wanted to make work but didn't finalise. It's like the hotel recreation itself - odd, but promising, and then as we delve deeper and deeper we realise that the enigmatic engineering has its weaknesses and its parts that aren't done yet. This isn't to detract from the fear that I felt, nor from the stomach-churning sense of dread whenever Du'Met turned his head like a hawk realising he might have heard someone breathe. I only wish the nausea wasn't from indigestion after an overstuffed and underdone game.

The Devil In Me is one of Supermassive Games' most interesting title to date. It's an entry that expands on their classic horror formula while never straying far from the decisions that made these games so fun. Unfortunately the plethora of bugs made getting through this title a nightmare. While there is still fun to have in the story and gameplay, it's a title that's recommended to play through in a few months when these issues are fixed.

It is commendable the rate at which the developers have been able to craft these individual stories. Considering the widely branching narratives (that seems no less complex here) there's always been a feeling that The Dark Pictures was handled by the B team, while the A team developed the standalone titles. The Devil in Me has the feeling of a C team development (or D team, if the VR titles have their own?). There's enough mistakes to make the whole thing feel like a freshman effort mistakenly placed at the end of a quadrilogy. The story and the setting deserved better than to be absolutely trounced by the poor quality parts, but given how quickly the developers iterate and respond to feedback there's plenty of hope moving forward. As the bookend to their first season of this experiment, though, they left plenty to be desired.

Quotation forthcoming.