With the final installment of The Dark Pictures Anthology Season 1, The Devil in Me, having released November 18th, 2022. The latest installment titled, Directive 8020 was announced at the end of Devil in Me. With the first Season complete, it is time to look back at all interactive games made by Supermassive Games. This is our ranking of all Supermassive Interactive Games, from the first with Until Dawn to the latest of The Devil in Me.
WARNING: Spoilers on Supermassive Games’ Monsters Throughout
7. Hidden Agenda
Hidden Agenda was very unique when it came out. But being made after Until Dawn meant that it would struggle to stand on its own two feet against the powerhouse that is Until Dawn. What the game has that I commend it on is similar to that of Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch. That is, giving ultimate player interaction through the use of technology. In Hidden Agenda, you can choose what decision you make via your phone. The game plays on the TV as if you are watching a film, whilst you make all the decisions on your phone. It is a fantastic concept however it falls flat in its execute. My main issue with this game is that it is unmemorable and too short. The fact that I cannot tell you a single scene about Hidden Agenda tells you enough about this game.
- Characters: 3/10
- Story: 4/10
6. Man of Medan
Man of Medan is the first installment in The Dark Pictures Anthology. It is the worst of the four games in Season 1. What is good about this game is that it had to be made for Supermassive Games to improve on for the future installments of The Dark Pictures. Man of Medan had unmemorable characters who did not seem to care about what was happening to their friends around them or how dire the situation was. I think the main problem with this was the drop in quality from Until Dawn to Man of Medan. Characters felt stiff and lifeless. As a game which is an interactive film, this needed a serious change. Luckily, we see this polished character development in future games such as House of Ashes.
The monster of Man of Medan is a more psychological interpretation of the horror we would normally see in Dark Pictures games. The creatures are a hallucinogenic hostile entity crafted by a green mist. Most “monsters” are ghostly entities which move and scream like the Until Dawn Wendigos. From the supernatural monsters that we saw in Until Dawn to be remodelled into ghoulish figures, implying that the abandoned shipwreck is haunted is truly a let down.
- Characters: 3/10
- Story: 4/10
- Horror: 4/10
5. Little Hope
Little Hope’s story started out strong. Supermassive Games seem to love including some kind of strange supernatural twist in all of their games. This time, it follows a unique plot of time travel with a focus on witch trials. The story is the most convoluted out of all Supermassive Games but at the same time it is probably the most challenging to keep everyone else. All QTEs are a challenge due to most being failed ends in your character dying. But all characters in Little Hope are either boring or completely unlikeable. In my playthrough, I did not care who lived and who died. Whilst playing as our protagonists in the present day was at times, very intense, its climax made for an incredibly underwhelming finish.
Similar to Man of Medan, the monsters are psychological. As demons which haunt each protagonist in a unique way, taking on different forms. The outcome of your characters is determined by your choices made to develop their personalities. If you obtain a majority of negative traits then their demons will kill them. This is a very unique and interesting mechanic which separates it from the rest of Dark Pictures’ games. I enjoyed this as the main outcome for players to live or die however, for those going into the game not knowing that this is how it works, it can be a real kick in the teeth. The characters are not likeable whatsoever so their dialogue choices usually reflect their unlikability.
It felt that choosing the more heroic, charismatic, smart approach would not be faithful to the characters you are originally introduced to. No matter how good the storyline was, it was ruined by its twist ending. I absolutely despised this ending and felt that it was unnecessary and took away from the interwoven narratives between the present and the past. All mystery built up in the game was removed by its ending.
- Characters: 4/10
- Story: 5.5/10
- Horror: 5/10
4. Devil in Me
The Devil in Me is the fourth and final installment of The Dark Anthology Season 1. The ending of The Devil in Me implies that Mr. Du’Met is some kind of supernatural entity. Most likely, H.H. Holmes himself. This game had possibly the dumbest characters in it, therefore it is the most truthful to the horror film tropes. However, as a player controlling these characters, a lot of the time, the horror and main decisions were done for us. Choosing who dies in a 50/50 is completely different to the decisions in both The Quarry and Until Dawn. It felt as though you had no real control over what happens for the outcome is already decided based on one thing you did ages ago.
The characters were average but likeable. However, the fact that I preferred the two side characters who got killed in the prologue to our protagonists says a lot. The Devil in Me had a strong story, especially with the weird mannequins who look like Du’Met’s victims. However, there was not enough for me to become aligned to the protagonists of the TV crew. Even though it took over an hour for the real horror to begin, I did not care about any of them by the time the horror settled in.
The characters were so stupid when they realised what was going on. To repeatedly fall into traps by going into rooms with the door locking behind them. Characters run off for no reason, knowing that the walls move and can block you off from the rest of the group. Finally, the Mr. X style character of Du’Met with his Terminator superpowers made for a cheesy slasher style finale.
- Characters: 6/10
- Story: 6.5/10
- Horror: 6/10
3. House of Ashes
House of Ashes was the third installment of The Dark Anthology Season 1. It is very different from the rest of the season as it follows a military group who at the beginning of the game, no one is likeable. But what this game does in comparison to the others, is perfectly execute the developmental arc of a character. Each had their moment to shine in the game and perfectly portrayed the human of our characters. But that I mean, everyone had both good and bad sides, making them seem more human than those in other Supermassive Games. House of Ashes is by far the best Dark Pictures game.
I hope that Season 2 follows a similar formula to that of this installment rather than the other three. I have to say that, House of Ashes is the most action-packed, thrilling adventure of all Supermassive Interactive Games. The monsters took the idea of vampires and combined this with the extra-terrestrial. House of Ashes reminds me of The Descent and Aliens, a great concoction of horror meets survival.
Its downside comes with the amount of time it takes to fall in love with the characters. For a game focussed on our choices and how the outcome can determine whether a person lives or dies. To take 1-2 hours for character alignment is a problem as you may never get to see the characters develop because you got them killed off very early on.
- Characters: 7/10
- Story: 8/10
- Horror: 7/10
2. The Quarry
Personally, The Quarry was the easiest Supermassive Game to complete and achieve the best possible ending. Most of the decision relied on QTEs and whether or not you picked up an item in one of the first chapters. I enjoyed the story a lot but when playing, knew that the hunters were a red herring. This reminded me of the two main plotlines of Until Dawn playing simultaneously which I enjoyed.
What makes this game however, is the characters. Everyone is very likeable, aside from Jacob (because he is the reason they all got into the mess in the first place, just to get it on with a girl) and Ryan. Ryan bothered me because he seemed to have the most information about the situation at all times but never wanted to share it with the rest of the group. The Quarry was non-stop entertainment from start to finish and its only real downfall was the anticlimactic ending.
I loved how the “curator” was a tarot reader, older woman who offered us help but had an ulterior motive of her own. I appreciated how you could relate to and understand both sides of the same story. That players could easily choose to side with either the woman or the Hackett family. The horror was not as scary as Until Dawn, however do not let that take away from how good The Quarry is.
- Characters: 9/10
- Story: 8/10
- Horror: 7/10
1. Until Dawn
So far, nothing has beaten the first Supermassive Interactive Horror Game. Until Dawn followed two main plotlines. One as the slasher, revenge style horror that we have got to know and love from the iconic Scream franchise. The other as a supernatural, hostile force in the underbelly of the cabin. Both stories flow so well together, giving the audience two types of horror in their first experience. Until Dawn was filled with twists, well-made characters and great dialogue.
This is the best interactive game due to the development of the characters. Each character in their own right had something unique about their personality that made them stand out. The game was challenging in all the right ways. Especially with the original mechanic of staying still when the Wendigo were nearby. Each character, aside from Em were really likeable.
With characters such as Mike having a great development arc of becoming the hero. Sam became the heroine we all wanted to survive. Because there is nothing more impressive than Sam keeping a towel wrapped around her body in the middle of a chase sequence. She deserves a medal for it. Whilst Ash and Chris felt more like side characters, their relationship kept things interesting. Josh is still the most fascinating character to be produced by Supermassive Games and has a level of depth that the others do not. How on earth Matt and Em were a couple is mind-blowing to me when they are polar opposites of each other. But it made for good dialogue and tension between the two and the rest of the group.
Until Dawn was a real horror challenge, with actual moments of fear. This game was not cheesy in its delivery of a slasher horror. Nor was it ever boring. Until Dawn will remain the top Supermassive Interactive Game unless something new and better comes along.
- Characters: 8.5/10
- Story: 9/10
- Horror: 8/10
Concluding Thoughts
I rated Supermassive Games psychological horror low not because of its category of horror but because of its overall impact. I do not prefer supernatural horror over psychological. But the problem with Supermassive’s take on psychological is to trick the player with the disguise of supernatural horror to lure in the Until Dawn fans. Psychological horror can work when done correctly such as Amnesia, Silent Hill 2, Alan Wake, Hellblade and P. T. All psychological horror produced by Supermassive Games in their conclusion felt like a cop out to what could have been a decent game overall. This is why games such as House of Ashes and Devil in Me are overall better games in the Dark Pictures Anthology.
We hope you enjoyed our ranking of Supermassive Interactive Horror Games. Let us know what you think by checking out Gamer Journalist on Facebook. Interested in more horror content? Check out our related articles, Top 7 Horror Movies That Would Make Great Games or The Quarry is a Throwback to Classic Slasher Flicks.
