Here we have five characters with different personalities struggling with a car accident, a small town known as Little Hope which hides macabre mysteries in the jaws of a thick fog free to proliferate in the darkest night, the search for absolute evil that resulted in the witch hunt of the late 1600s, and a more enigmatic child than Mona Lisa herself. When connecting everything through an intertwining of space-time jumps that see the protagonists interface with their doppelgänger, you will have all the ingredients of an intense Supermassive Games title. Take note that this is the second chapter of the anthology of horror stories. Here is my The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope review on PC.
WELCOME TO LITTLE HOPE
The road sign at the entrance of Little Hope will very eloquently invite you to abandon any glimmer of hope left over from the road accident. All you can do is continue towards the center of the city through increasingly narrow and mysterious locations, extricating yourself between abandoned buildings and poorly lit country roads. It will be during your involuntary wanderings that you will come across some supernatural presences.
These supernatural presences are from another era capable of catapulting you back to the distant 1692. Since the fog will block any attempt to escape, you will need to survive and defeat evil. In my Little Hope review, I prefer not to tell you too much about the plot due to the fact that by me spoiling it will definitely take away the intensity of the storyline when you play the game.
However, something I can tell you is that, unlike The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan (the first chapter of the anthology), in Supermassive Games’ Little Hope you will find yourself in front of a much more solid plot that is more interesting, has an original ending, is functional, unexpected, and very appreciable.
The same protagonists of the story told by the Curator have undoubtedly well-defined behavioral traits, although not yet sufficiently characterized. Wanting to rely on personal feelings at the end of the story, lasting about 5-6 hours, I can tell you that, if you loved Until Dawn, you will be faced with a much more similar product than you would expect after playing Man of Medan.
YOU MAKE THE CHOICES
Within the narrative arc of Little Hope you will have the opportunity to impersonate the five protagonists and outline their character traits by untangling the various choices that you will face, allowing you to access an infinity of different possibilities. As I find it right in this genre of video games, you will have a complete picture of the story already at the end of the first run.
However, you can experience new situations, with the survival or death of the characters also through subsequent runs. A feature of Supermassive Games’ The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope that I really appreciated is the characterization that you can give to the characters through the choices. By unlocking new character traits, in fact, you will have the opportunity to escape death in some crucial situations.
The management of quick time events in Little Hope is also very interesting. These quick time events can be recognized by a warning on the screen. However, do not underestimate these quick time events, because sometimes the moments in the game will cause heavy excitement and anxiety and subsequently you will find yourself failing miserably quite a few times. But this is all part of the fun!
JUMP SCARES WITH FRIENDS
The horror anthology of Supermassive Games moves, in this second chapter, towards a partially less horror drift. The problem lies in the typical horror gimmicks used within the title, which are limited to a series of jump scares, which you will almost come to expect after a while. They could have done more to jump scares, but it is equally true that, in this way, they extend the possibility of approaching this title to even the most occasional horror gamers.
On another note, something that is very interesting is the possibility of playing The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope with other friends locally, or, even better, facing the entire story in online co-op mode. I mean, I always watch horror movies with friends, so it just makes sense to play horror games also with friends.
HOLD ON TO HOPE
The technical system in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is, without a doubt, one of the biggest strengths of this title. Although the polygonal size is certainly not at the top in all scenarios, an intelligent use of the Unreal Engine, combined with an artistic direction that is not at all flat and, on the contrary, inspired, helps to create the perfect mood for a horror story through fear.
Supermassive Games’ Little Hope provides you with a soundtrack that is always perfectly fitting and, when necessary, pressing and intense. The facial animations of the characters are definitely interesting, but not without flaws. They have improved direction compared to the past, with much less clear-cut and more cinematic room transitions within conversations.
Searching for premonitions in the game is inevitable. These are collectibles which, through a particularly painstaking exploration but simplified by locations that are anything but large, could help you to understand the mystery that lies behind Little Hope even before the grand finale. In other words, these premonitions show you the fates that await your characters.
I found no problems when it came to the optimization of the title. In the PC version that I tested, the game allowed me to reach an average of 60 fps at ultra details on a configuration based on a Sapphire RX 5600 XT video card. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope takes Supermassive Games’ horror anthology to a whole new and certainly higher level than Man of Medan ever did!
Do you want to try Supermassive Games’ The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope? What do you think of my The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope review on PC. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. Are you interested in more games? Check out our reviews for The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man Of Medan, Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, and Ghostrunner.
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