The Dark Pictures Anthology began back in 2019 and House of Ashes is the third episode in this standalone series. The game begins in the ancient empire of Akkad before the timeline shifts to Iraq in 2003. This was during a time when the United States was still looking for nuclear missile bases they thought Saddam Hussein was hiding.
That’s the core mission of the military group in House of Ashes. When the team goes to the suspected missile site, they fall into a sinkhole wherein an ancient civilization is discovered. What lies in the wake for them and are there any tips to keep the five core playable protagonists alive in this brief game?
6 Two Types Of Co-Op
This series’ unique co-op mode returns for a third time around. For those that never played any of these games before, there are two ways to join up with friends. Movie Night Mode supports up to five players. This is a couch co-op mode that has each player take command of a single character. Whenever the character switches in the game, the controller is passed.
This is done to create a more dynamic story without one player making all of the decisions. That’s the same idea for online co-op between two people. The thing about that mode though is that each player won’t know what the other has been up to. This can create an even better story since no actions can be watched, making decisions even trickier to judge. The endings in the game could get wild.
5 Action Isn’t Always Necessary
The game is divided into two primary response prompts. Half of the game will have players respond with one of two answers. The other is more action-oriented such as hitting buttons to get away faster without injury. There are even some shooting elements in the game.
Shooting is more automatic than a Call of Duty game which House of Ashes shares a lot with in terms of some themes. The important thing to note though is that sometimes the best response, even with action prompts, is to not do anything at all. For example, Jason has the chance to shoot a running soldier at one point. If players let this soldier go then another character, Salim, will side with Jason easier. This will greatly affect major choices in the game so remember, there is no need to always act.
4 Actually Read Notes
As is typical in horror games, there are tons of objects and notes to find in House of Ashes. Sometimes it might not seem like these notes have any significance on the situation at hand. In other horror games, like Resident Evil, they don’t help with gameplay unless there is a direct puzzle clue.
In House of Ashes, written notes help more often than not. If players read these notes thoroughly and keep a mental diary, it can assist in the decision making. The more context the player has then the greater the arsenal they will command aka knowledge. It may be obvious to say but exploring is always recommended. Don’t always go toward the goal post right away.
3 Accessible Options For Non-Quick Gamers
There are moments to explore the environments manually, as previously mentioned, but most gameplay elements in House of Ashes are based on quick-time events. This can range from making dialogue choices, to keeping a character’s heartbeat under control, to aiming a reticle and shooting. With buttons always changing, it can be hard to keep up.
For gamers looking for a horror game but are afraid they aren’t fast enough to make decisions quickly, House of Ashes has a solution. There are accessible features in the options menu to slow down response time and to switch responses to just one button. Those are the two major accessible features to help out the casual crowd but there are more.
2 Pop On Headphones
The sound design in House of Ashes enhances the experience in several ways. It makes it easier to hear things, for one, from sound effects to characters talking. This is especially useful when characters split off and continue talking far apart. Subtitles would also help but they clutter the screen.
Being able to hear better will also make the game easier in terms of difficulty. Hearing something close or far off in the distance may help with decision-making. A surround system would also be nice to have for this game or any other AAA experience. Since most gamers at least have headphones, that’s the more common tip to advise.
1 Embrace Death
Gamers naturally are born with the instinct to win. This can range from beating a game to winning a match in a multiplayer arena. It can also matter when players wish to get the best ending of something with multiple paths like in House of Ashes. What makes this series unique is its branching paths that allows characters to die.
It might feel terrible to lose a character in the game, but that’s also the whole point of these types of adventures. Every player’s experience should be different. Discussing what choices were made with friends after the fact fun. So, on the first playthrough at least, embrace death. Don’t backtrack to old saves and try again. And if death really is too much to handle then there are always the accessibility features in the options to make victory almost certain.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes was released on October 22, 2021 and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.