By Chris Skeldon 
Supermassive Games independent studio was well known for the game Until dawn In 2015, especially because the title has the good atmosphere of Survival Horror with many playable characters, whose fate is determined according to various decisions they made throughout the plot. Following a very similar premise, the developer team decided to start a series of anthology of horror games with a heavy focus on narration, otherwise known as Dark pictures.
It was the first game in this series Maidan Men, Launched in 2019, followed by Little hope In 2020. Early in 2021, we promise Ash House, Which seems to not only follow in the footsteps of other studio games but also bring some fan-requested improvements. We had the opportunity to check unpublished details about the title in a digital event promoted by the publisher Bandai Namco. You can check the following news!
Back to terror
Early in the House of Ashes show, game director Will Doyle commented on the importance of The Dark Pictures’ series for the studio and the fact that they are always trying to bring new ideas and ways to intimidate and surprise their audience with each iteration. For those who don’t know, it’s worth noting that the franchise will have eight titles in total, each with an embedded story and its own theme, but sharing similar mechanisms.
This is great for those who like to watch games of this genre in a professional layout, which is not uncommon these days in the gaming world. Other than that, it is also very good for people who just find one of the topics interesting and want to try a game without much commitment.
No case Ash House, The scenario is very different from what we saw in the previous games and explores some old features. The story takes place in 2003, at a time when the Iraq war was still at its height and when a team of US armed forces was dispatched to investigate suspected weapons of mass destruction. The group ended up being attacked by Iraqi forces, but an earthquake halted the fight by opening holes on both sides, revealing the ruins of a mysterious ancient temple.
Real world inspiration
Although the story is fictional, the whole idea of the temple that the characters find in Iraq comes from the real world. Will Doyle explained that the inspiration came from Mesopotamia (the region where present-day Iraq is located), where King Naran Simm was in power between 2255 and 2218 BC in Acadia. One of the myths surrounding Naran Sim is that he disturbed the gods by stealing a temple belonging to Enlil (the Sumerian god of wind, earth and storm), causing his kingdom to be cursed with hunger, war, and pestilence.
In the game, the story shows that the king builds a great temple as an offering of peace to the gods, but his pleas are not heard, his kingdom falls, and the temple ends buried in the desert sands for hundreds of years. This is until the moment the Americans and Iraqis fall into this forgotten temple and confront the monsters that still inhabit the place.
Another interesting source of inspiration came from the book In the mountains of madness From HP Lovecraft, one of the great masters of literary horror, so you can expect some good scares from the game.
Enemies or allies?
As mentioned earlier, there are soldiers from both sides who fall into the Naran Sim Temple, which can initially cause a good level of tension between characters. In order not to have to face two different enemies deep in Iraq, the soldiers in the war needed to form an alliance so that they would have a chance to survive against the monsters they would encounter.
The enemies you encounter in the Hulk are worse than you thinkSource: Massive games / running
At the moment we already know five playable characters, all of whom can either survive or die depending on the actions and decisions you make during the plot. A large part of the topics covered during this group interaction include loyalty, prejudice, distrust and whether rivalry can be left aside for the greater good.
In the midst of it, they gradually discover the mysteries of time, something that the folks at Supermassive Games made sure not to show too much so as not to spoil the game’s surprises. However, you can already see that the combo has very interesting potential.
Hear fan reviews
Director Will Doyle even noted that while the game mechanics of The Dark Pictures franchise are similar, their developers are always looking for ways to improve their new titles, especially considering comments and comments from their fans.
The studio took into account fan feedback to make improvementsSource: Massive games / running
In House of Ashes, for example, the still camera has been replaced with a camera that is fully controllable to the player, something players in the franchise have previously requested. This should make exploration more natural and immersive, which is also aided by a dedicated flashlight button that you can control freely now.
There will still be levels of difficulty for you to choose how to approach the game, but this isn’t just about the game’s challenge. We say this because there is now also a separate difficulty for fast time events only, which are those situations where you have to press a specific button in an agile and unexpected way.
Now it will be possible to choose even the difficulty of the QTEsSource: Massive games / running
Supermassive Games had already heard fans complaining that QTEs were too easy and too difficult in their games, leaving them confused about how they balance out different people so it’s entirely up to the player to decide if he wants more challenging events or not.
Spreading terror for the new generation
Another important detail is that Ash House It will be the first title in the franchise to be released on new generation consoles, that is, on PS5 e Xbox X / S. Doyle promises that in these releases, the game will have much improved graphic fidelity in relation to the releases that will be in PS4 e Xbox One. On a PC, obviously everything depends on the hardware the player has, but it’s also where you’ll find the best graphics capabilities.
On the other hand, those who love to play horror titles with their friends will love the behaviors that the new chapter of The Dark Pictures brings. You can choose to play online with a friend or play with up to five people locally, with each person having the opportunity to control a character.
You will have several different modes to enjoy the gameSource: Massive games / running
For those who prefer to play by themselves, there will be two special modes for this: “Theatrical Cut” and “Moderator Cut”. The first is the regular game, where you control all the characters at separate times, while the second mode comes as a pre-sale bonus and allows you to experience the story from the perspective of other characters and watch the scenes in which they are not shown. Standard mode.
There certainly wouldn’t be a shortage of reasons to try Ash House More than once, either to check different situations or to see what would happen to each character if you had made a different decision. At the moment, the game does not have a specific release date, but it is expected to hit consoles and PCs that are still in progress. 2021!