And sit down with the development team at Supermassive Games to talk about the latest entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology, and go behind-the-scenes to discover the process behind creating the studio’s particular brand of interactive cinematic horror.

A snippet.

With new tales released annually -- developer Supermassive Games has eight Dark Pictures planned -- we’ve now gotten our first look at the 2021 installment, called House of Ashes.



With the setting being modern-day Iraq, and the recent conflict within the region, the tale follows soldiers on both sides as they uncover an ancient temple and a dark presence that may or may not feature fangs and claws and other monstrous things. Compared to the first two entries, House of Ashes is something of a departure, its tone is more Creature Feature than Supernatural Thriller.

“House of Ashes is a very different beast,” Game Director Will Doyle tells me. “A Little Hope was kind of a folk-horror, this is more action packed. And it draws from a different set of influences, we're looking at films like The Descent and Aliens, so it feels very different. The creatures themselves are horribly threatening, and there's more than one. The action involves our soldiers being in running gun-fights with monsters, and nearly always up against an overwhelming threat.”

“We're really trying to make you feel that the creature is out there,” Will adds. “That you feel its presence and that it’s threatening you at all times.”

Our Full The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes Preview and Developer Interview