Hello, gamers and welcome back to another exciting “review, one of my “friends “and “colleagues” took great pleasure in “gifting “me the chance to review The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope… Not sure if this is a blessing or a curse, let’s find out!
Ok, so instead of giving facts and interesting points I’m going to use phrases, *Ahem*… NO NO NO NO… AWWW HELL NO… WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!.. RUUUUUUUN… NO, I DIDN’T WANT TO DO THAT… OH, I DON’T LIKE THIS… WHY DID I DO THAT????!!! There we go game fully summed up and reviewed, good game, now for 4 hours of cartoons and cute kitty videos…
What is going on here?
OK OK AMANDA… I’ll do this properly. So little hope is a game based on the choices you make, and all these choices affect the 5 characters you play as, while on their way to a field trip their bus has an accident, as in crashes not soils its chassis. This game picks up right off the bat and throws players into a world of misery, fear, and confusion. How do I know this I enlisted someone very near and dear to me a one Dalal light, she helped me interpret all the symbols and even some details other will miss, and hearing her chuckle and then say “well let me tell you one thing right away, someone is not going to have a very good day”, this didn’t set me up well to play this game. I pressed on, only to hear “oh I wouldn’t go that way not with that there”. And after politely thanking and sending miss light on her way I carried on, with a greater fear of the unknown than before.
The game pushes players in 1 direction, both literally and figuratively, a dense fog shrouds the town and any attempt to go backward is futile, the fog simply swallows you up and sends you facing the other way. The players are constantly haunted by noises and quick glimpses of distorted figures in the background, creating a constant tension of what’s going to happen next.
Little hope was a bustling town back in its day, major factories being the town’s lifeblood, but when the factories were closed down, the town was deserted and became a ghost town. In more ways than one. The town, even before its heyday, has a dark history. During the witch burnings of Salem, Little Hope did its fair share of witch-hunting and much to miss lights displeasure… Wait, when did you sneak back in? Uhm the brutal murders of supposed witches.
What was that noise?
Now that we have established the backstory of Little Hope, let’s jump into the game. Players will take alternating control of all 5 characters their names being Andrew, John, Angela, Daniel, and Taylor sometimes for investigation, sometimes for a slight visit back to the time of yore, sometimes for quick button events that don’t always guarantee an agreeable result. The characters will constantly talk to each other and it’s up to you to decide their response, will you be reassuring? Comforting? Undermining? Or a complete bi…….WAAAAAAAH!! AMANDA I TOLD YOU NOT TO SNEAK UP ON ME WHILE IM PLAYING THIS!!!
The Dark Pictures Anthology has a rather large focus on the character relations that you can build or break by way of the decisions you make. These actions do not only have a single effect on the storyline. Upset someone now, and have that consequence resonate back to bite you later. This makes every single decision, be it made with the head or the heart, have a massive cause and effect on the story. You will also be persuaded by the demons of your past or the past of a past life… Or the past of a past life’s past life? Ghastly distorted disfigured and mangled visages of what was once human and it’s up to you to make the right choices or face the consequences.
And if the game itself isn’t creepy enough, you will periodically meet “the curator” a mildly pleasantly unpleasant person, who will talk you through your choice as the game goes on, being a little more than cynical of your choices if not very judgemental in his opinion….he offers “tips” if you can call them that from time to time but don’t expect a clear-cut answer it’s a riddle within a mystery.
It’s up to you to get the 5 lost souls through this horror town to hopefully a good ending, hidden throughout the game are postcards with pictures which provide the player a small vision of what may or may not come to pass, based on your decisions made up to that point, I cannot say if they help or not. But that’s all on you…
The visuals of the game are stunning if not eerie, the music will always keep you in a state of unease, when those violins start up the hairs on the back of my neck start doing backflips… Even if nothing happens… At that point anyway. The fog always there, always foreboding, spurring you on and keeping all the horrors and nasties hidden until the time is right. I kind-of just scared myself there. Little hope has a wonderful if you can call it that, way of building tremendous amounts of suspense. Be that with the eerie soundtrack or perfectly placed silences. If you don’t turn in your chair a few times during this game there is something wrong with you.
Is it over yet?
During this night you spend trying to save these 5 characters you will learn so much about the witch-trails in general. And especially the horrors that would be the reason for so many innocent people to be put to death. Just like the curator will mention on several occasions, nothing is quite what it seems. And that statement rings true throughout the terror-filled night. Whether you care to listen to the voice of reason, or rather dig a bit further, maybe lend an ear to a creepy little girl, you might just make sense of this nightmare.
The Dark Pictures Anthology is so good at telling an intricate story that they are able to take a story, that at first, seems like nothing makes any sense, and have you piece the blocks together to help you experience one of the most “aha” moments ever just before the credits roll…
Verdict
Little Hope is the second outing in the Dark Pictures Anthology – series. Its predecessor, The Man from Medan, built a solid foundation, but at times had some graphical issues and lost its scare-factor after a certain point. Little Hope doubles up on the foundation and gives the graphics a massive step-up. The game is beautiful even on the aging Xbox One. The atmosphere is spectacular and you will be hard-pressed to find something that builds a better feeling of impending doom while delivering a great story!
Little Hope offers many replays, and I for one would advise it! Is it for everyone? Hmm, this is not easily answered but if you are looking for something to put a chill in your bones and deliver a fantastic story, then Little Hope is the perfect title for you. If you have ongoing heart conditions or serious bedwetting issues… Hard pass for your own sake. I greatly enjoyed my first run at this game and will definitely play it again to see if I can do better… 1 out of 5 is good right?
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to switch every light on I own, watch some cartoons in the fetal position. AMANDA MY BLANKEY IF YOU WILL.
Special thanks to Prima Interactive for the review content
