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The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me

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The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me
The cover art for The Devil in Me. In the foreground is the logo of The Dark Pictures Anthology, a skull facing the left side of the image.
Box art featuring Kate Wilder, one of the game's five protagonists
Developer(s)Supermassive Games
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
Director(s)
  • Tom Heaton
  • Dom Ireland
  • Will Doyle
Writer(s)
  • Andi Ewington
  • Paul Martin
  • Alex Farnham
  • Seth M. Sherwood
Composer(s)Jason Graves
SeriesThe Dark Pictures Anthology
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Release18 November 2022
Genre(s)Interactive drama, survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, also known simply as The Devil in Me, is a 2022 interactive drama and survival horror video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the fourth installment and the final installment of season one in The Dark Pictures Anthology, after Man of Medan (2019), Little Hope (2020), and House of Ashes (2021).

Like earlier games in the series, The Devil in Me features a cast of five playable protagonists and a multilinear narrative influenced by player choice. The game's decision-making scenes, of which there are several, can significantly alter the trajectory of the plot and change the relationships between the main characters. Due to these choices, any of the five protagonists can die permanently. The title introduced new features, such as character inventory, tool-based puzzles, and new movement capabilities such as running, jumping, and climbing.

The Devil in Me was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 18 November 2022.

Gameplay

The Devil in Me introduces multiple new gameplay features that are a departure from the previous entries in The Dark Pictures Anthology. There is now an inventory feature for the characters, tool-based puzzles, as well as new movement capabilities including running, jumping, and climbing.[1]

The Devil in Me has an ensemble cast that includes Jessie Buckley as Kate Wilder,[2] Paul Kaye as Charles Lonnit,[3] Fehinti Balogun as Mark Nestor, Gloria Obianyo as Jamie Tiergan and Nikki Patel as Erin Keenan.[4]

Plot

Premise

A photo of actress Jessie Buckley in 2019
Jessie Buckley (pictured 2019) voices Kate Wilder.

A group of documentary film makers receive a mysterious call inviting them to a modern-day replica of serial killer H. H. Holmes' "Murder Castle". As they film their latest episode, they slowly begin to realize things are not quite as they seem and that they are being watched and manipulated. Soon enough, they discover there is much more at stake than just their ratings.[1]

Synopsis

During the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, a newlywed couple (Edward Bluemel and Kitty Archer) checks into the World's Fair Hotel to celebrate their honeymoon, only to be murdered by the hotel's proprietor, Henry Howard Holmes (John Dagleish).

In October 2022, film crew Lonnit Entertainment, consisting of director Charlie Lonnit (Paul Kaye), reporter Kate Wilder (Jessie Buckley), cameraman Mark Nestor (Michael Addo), lighting technician Jamie Tiergan (Gloria Obianyo), and intern Erin Keenan (Nikki Patel), are working on a series about famous murderers. Their latest episode covers Holmes, who was eventually arrested and executed in 1896 for murdering over 200 people. Widely considered to be America's first serial killer, Holmes famously claimed that he was possessed by the devil and that killing was in his nature, so he requested to be buried under concrete so as not to rise from the grave and kill again. The crew is contacted by mysterious benefactor Granthem Du'Met (Abdul Salis), who offers to host them at his estate, where he has collected a number of artifacts related to Holmes that the crew can film for their series. While the rest of the crew is wary, Charlie readily agrees since the production of the episode is currently struggling.

Du'Met takes the crew via ferry to the estate, located on an island off the coast of Lake Michigan. They find it to be a perfect replica of the World's Fair Hotel, though they take note of Du'Met's hasty behavior. Jamie witnesses Du'Met and a little girl hurriedly leaving on the ferry, effectively stranding the crew on the island. Meanwhile, an unknown individual is shown crafting elaborate animatronic mannequins resembling the crew members. The crew decides to start filming in Du'Met's absence, but fractures begin to form, as Charlie wants to continue filming while Kate wants to leave the island for their safety. Charlie and Jamie later stumble into a booby trap set up by a man dressed as Holmes, surmising that he is the real Du'Met and the presumed Du'Met was an impostor. After the trap apparently kills the groundskeeper, the estate is sealed shut. The crew is subsequently separated and forced to navigate rooms filled with dangerous traps set up by Du'Met. Along the way, they also uncover numerous clues revealing that Du'Met's original identity was Hector Munday, an FBI agent and profiler who faked his own death to become a serial killer himself. They can also discover clues that the impostor Du'Met was true crime author Joseph Morello, who was a survivor of the previous group, and that the groundskeeper that was "killed" in the trap was merely a mannequin; the encounter was meant to instill fear and cause the protagonists to wander into the traps whilst trying to escape. The crew decides their best course of action for surviving is to activate the island's lighthouse to signal for help.

After the lighthouse is activated, the ending is determined by player choice:

  • A policeman arrives on the island and finds Morello's body, before being killed by Du'Met. The crew attempt to escape the island by boat, but Du'Met is able to sneak onboard. Following a final showdown, he apparently perishes either by being pulled into the boat's motor or when the boat crashes into rocks and explodes.
  • If Kate and Mark are the only survivors and are both captured by Du'Met, he shows them a video of Morello explaining Du'Met's MO of luring another group of people to the island by having one of the survivors claim to be Du'Met. Mark either complies and lures the next group to the island in exchange for him and Kate being released (after which Du'Met double-crosses and kills them) or refuses and is immediately killed alongside Kate.

Any surviving crew members are rescued by a truck driver after swimming to land, and the authorities proceed to investigate the estate. If no crew members survive, the truth about what happened on the island never comes to light. Either way, Du'Met is revealed to have survived, and a new group of five wins a trip to the estate.

Reception

The PC and PlayStation 5 versions of The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me received "mixed or average" reviews on Metacritic,[5][6] while the Xbox Series X version has received "generally favorable reviews".[7]

Sequel

In November 2022, it was announced that the next game in the series will be The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR. Described as a "fast-paced roller coaster action-horror shooter", it features locations and elements from the four games comprising the first season of the anthology. It is scheduled for release in February 2023 for PlayStation VR2.[15]

The next main entry in the anthology, and the season two premiere, was announced upon the release of The Devil in Me. Titled The Dark Pictures Anthology: Directive 8020, it will feature a science fiction theme and will be set in outer space. No release date or platforms have been announced.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Dark Pictures - The Devil in Me". Supermassive Games. Retrieved 14 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Dedmon, Tanner (31 March 2022). "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me Adds Actress Jessie Buckley". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  3. ^ "The Devil in Me release date, pre-order and director interview". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  4. ^ Wilson, Mike (6 November 2022). "Get to Know The Rest of The Crew in The Latest 'The Devil in Me' Trailer [Watch]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  5. ^ a b "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Mefor PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  8. ^ LeClair, Kyle (17 November 2022). "Review: The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  9. ^ Ogilvie, Tristan (17 November 2022). "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me Review". IGN. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  10. ^ Croft, Liam (17 November 2022). "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me Review (PS5)". Push Square. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  11. ^ Bell, Larryn (18 November 2022). "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me review: Checked out". Shacknews. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  12. ^ Raynor, Kelsey (17 November 2022). "The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me review - A thoughtful, but janky dive into the fetishisation of serial killers". VG247. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  13. ^ Blake, Vikki (17 November 2022). "'The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me' review: a deliciously macabre tale". NME. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Test du jeu The Dark Pictures : The Devil In Me". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). 20 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  15. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (2 November 2022). "Sony Announces 11 New PlayStation VR2 Games, Including The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR". IGN. Retrieved 2 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (17 November 2022). "Update: The Next Dark Pictures Game Is A Sci-Fi Horror Called Directive 8020". Game Informer. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
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