The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me reviewed by Tristan Ogilvie on PC. Also available on PlayStation and Xbox.
“The Devil in Me’s twisted murder castle setting provides the literal foundations for what could have been an exciting horror adventure, but pacing problems and an insipid group of potential victims makes for a slaycation that’s low in stakes and lacking in any substantial thrills or hand-wringing decisions to make. Efforts to bring gameplay variety to each playable character haven’t really shaken things up to any notable degree, and the quicktime event-based survival sequences adhere to a stress-inducing formula that’s starting to feel a bit too familiar. Ominous animatronics and a hulking aggressor mean the concluding chapter of The Dark Pictures Anthology is still capable of inducing the occasional jump scare, but for the most part The Devil in Me’s tour through a maniac’s mansion is disappointingly lacking in any real menace or surprise.”
Man this is brilliant Whoa Look at this It's amazing this is intense usually the Most unsettling thing you can find in a Hotel is a mysterious mattress stain or Clumps of hair in the shower drain but The devil in me presents you with Accommodations that are less like a Best Western and more like your worst Nightmare inspired by a real-life Murder Castle and its Infamous serial killer Owner the fourth and final episode in The dark picture anthology's first Season presents a fascinating facility Full of ghastly death traps and creepy Animatronics to encounter unfortunately It squanders it all in a bland band of Lead characters and pads its run time With tension draining detours that made Me wish I could have called down to Reception to request an earlier checkout Time Hello Welcome to the World's Fair Hotel The devil in May's premise is certainly A tantalizing one an unsolicited Invitation to spend the night in a Remotely located reconstruction of H.H Holmes's House of Horrors would seem Easier to turn down than the volume on a Silent movie but it proves to be too Good to refuse for a small crew of Filmmakers struggling to produce a
Documentary on America's first serial Killer he's Mark you know The team is effectively there just to Grab footage that will lend some Authenticity to its production and Indulge in the lavish Hospitality of Reclusive Hotel owner Grantham dumet but The promise of bed and breakfast soon Gives way to the threat of bedlam and Bloodlust There's something back here as it Becomes clear that dumit isn't just Intent on recreating the look and feel Of the World's Fair hotel but reenacting The horrifying events that took place Within its maze-like structure too All right Unlike the previous installments in the Dark pictures Anthology which were Inspired by Supernatural evils the devil In me's roots in real historical events Brings a far more plausible Edge to its Horror which I personally find far more Compelling than Fantastical Tales of Ghosts and vampires Uncovering the clues about the hotel's Disturbing Origins and the true identity Of its owner remained a gripping Endeavor and I was definitely more Preoccupied with piecing its Central Mystery together than I was with Ensuring its five playable leads each Remained in one piece by the end
Hey be civil with Charlie he's the one Who chose to be on civil blowing up on Me when all I did was my job the main Problem with its cast is that they are So uniformly uninteresting that I never Felt particularly invested in their Attempts to survive this harrowing stay In the heartstab hotel The Devlin means early cast interactions Provide a broad insight into the group's Dynamic no money in my pocket a dead Phone and last in the middle of goddamn Topeka that wasn't my fault it was a Hundred percent your fault because you Fly by the seat of your ass but the Writing just isn't strong enough to put Any real meat on their bones before it Can be burnt or bludgeoned by one of the Hotel's devious torture devices Developers supermassive games did a much Better job at adding a believably human Spark to its cast via the friendly quips In the Quarry earlier this year but here Any such attempts at playful banter are Too frequently fall flat it may look Good on the page but there's more to it And it doesn't help when the lines are Often delivered with dead stairs and Stilted movements that make it seem like Each character is literally scared stiff This is my don't be scared song Sing and I won't be scared long Doesn't really work there's just very Little warmth to anyone on screen and
Thus when three members of the team were Snuffed out during my seven hour Playthrough each of their Grizzly Fates Elicited shrugs of apathy instead of Shrieks of anguish Oh we're all gonna die Hello Packet of smokes Figured it was too good to be true there Was still a solid serving of scares Though typically delivered by the sun Jolting to life of the Warped Animatronic hotel workers and residents First introduced in the form of an Ominously silent bartender in the hotel Bar and growing increasingly Twisted in Design as the story progresses a more Physical threat is the mysterious mask Assailant thrusters H.H Holmes who Stalks the separated members of your Squad from the Shadows like a bowler hat Wearing Michael Myers The occasional encounters with him Successfully ratchet up the tension even Though they each rely on the reused set Of run or high decisions and QuickTime Events that have long become the Standard in supermassives horror Template [Music] Such tension is rarely maintained for Long however since despite the variety Of torture chambers to be found in its Sadistic setting the main thing that the
Devil in me seems hell-bent on killing Is time there are significant stretches Spent Meandering around in the Gloom Shimmying along Ledges and crawling Under Fallen trees in the hotel's Island's surroundings where you are safe In the knowledge that absolutely nothing Can hurt you when you're outside of an Interactive cut scene there are Certainly secrets to find in these Sections but there's also boring crate Pushing environmental puzzles and Balance beam walks that do little bit Pump the brakes on your progress forward The Mansion itself is Rich with ornate Detail and atmosphere but it too rarely Feels particularly dangerous to explore False walls that shift around you are Intended to disorientate and induce Panic But instead proved to be little more Than a minor inconvenience as you Saunter from one end of the obstructed Hallway to the other looking for the one Door that doesn't have a locked padlock Icon floating in front of it it's Surprising just how sedated the Devil And me can seem and at times it felt Like I'd checked into the world's most Terrifying hotel but forgotten to take The do not disturb sign off the door This reminds me of shit's summer camps [Music] Efforts have at least been made to make
Each playable character's sequences feel Distinct for starters they're equipped With a range of contrasting light Sources in order to navigate their way Through the Shadows the flickering flame Of Charlie's Zippo lighter casts an Amber glow around his immediate Surroundings while Mark's camera flash Gives only a momentary Glimpse at what Lies ahead and brief bursts at a time The latter would have been a great way To startle with flashes of horror like The instant camera in Madison But unfortunately it's not used nearly As creatively here A Modest inventory System has also been included for the First time in the dark pictures Anthology series and this at least Introduces different ways to interact With elements of your surroundings Charlie's business card can be used to Jimmy the locks of certain draws in Order to access additional evidence While Aaron's shotgun microphone is used To a reasonably unsettling effect in one Sequence to isolate the tortured moans Of an unseen victim [Music] However many of the unique Character-specific tools seem somewhat Redundant Jaime has an electrical Multimeter to theoretically help her Repair tripped fuse boxes but its analog Display doesn't really seem to indicate
Anything of consequence meanwhile the Monopod for Mark's camera is eventually Augmented with a sharpened drill bit to Fashion it into a weapon yet I was never Presented with an opportunity to Actually use it even though he stuck Around all the way to the end credits Subsequent playthroughs May well uncover More meaningful uses for these devices But based on my first experience the Inventory system seems like an addition To the dark Anthology formula that's More superficial than supermassive Foreign The devil in May's Twisted Murder Castle Setting provides the literal foundations For what could have been an exciting Horror Adventure but pacing problems and An insipid group of potential victims Makes for a slaycation that's low in Stakes and lacking in any substantial Thrills or hand-wringing decisions to Make efforts to bring gameplay variety To each playable character haven't Really shaken things up to any notable Degree and the QuickTime event-based Survival sequences adhere to a Stress-inducing formula that's starting To feel a bit too familiar ominous Animatronics and a hulking aggressor Mean the concluding chapter of the dark Pictures Anthology is still capable of Inducing the occasional jump scare but For the most part the devil and me's
Tour through a maniac's mansion is Disappointingly lacking in any real Menace or surprise For more IGN reviews check out our Verdicts on pentiment and Somerville and For everything else stick with IGN Okay check this out it's his hat who HH Holmes [Music] You okay no I did this thing Popped out of nowhere [Music]
