“I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing—I was born with the “Evil One” standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since.”
These were the words of H.H.Holmes, the devil in the white city who confessed to the murder of 27 people, but is believed to have killed as many as 200. Like most serial killers, pop culture and serial killer obsession has meant that his name and his infamous deeds have lived on for over 100 years. Now, Supermassive Games have taken their own proverbial stab at discussing not only Holmes himself, but our collective obsession with true crime stories in the fourth part of their Dark Pictures Anthology series of games.
For those unfamiliar with “The Dark Pictures Anthology”, they are a series of short, budget titles built around a similar framework to Supermassive Games’ massively successful game, Until Dawn. The Dark Pictures games have a similar layout to Until Dawn; a narrator we check in with between chapters, choices that affect the outcome of the game and more quicktime events than you can comfortably hammer X to.
The Devil in Me is the fourth and final in the first series of games and while it does get a lot right, it might be the weakest entry in the first season. The previous games [Man of Medan, Little Hope & House of Ashes] all managed to subvert expectations. While they may have presented themselves as the story of a haunted boat, or an eerie little Salem town or even the dark caves of Iraq during wartime, they all managed to break audience expectations with wild twists.
That is not the case with “The Devil in Me” which proclaims itself as a slasher experience and very much so is just that. This is not strictly a negative by the way. There are people who felt cheated by Supermassives previous games Until Dawn & The Quarry, expecting just that. Those people will love The Devil in Me for its simplicity.
The game tells the story of a team of documentary film-makers, Charlie [Paul Kaye], Kate [Oscar Nominee, Jessie Buckley], Erin [Nikki Patel], Mark [Fehinti Balogun] and Jamie [Gloria Obianyo]. The team are putting together a show about serial killers and their H.H.Holmes episode is lacking in fresh material.
They are also coming apart at the seams with interpersonal issues abound. DP Mark and Presenter Kate used to date but have split up. Director Charlie is a narcissist who is the butt of his team’s jokes. Erin feels more like an assistant than a sound tech and Jamie is itching to move on to bigger and brighter things.
In what is a totally cool and not at all suspect offer, the team are invited to an island where there will be a perfect recreation of H.H.Holmes murder hotel. Their mysterious benefactor, Granthem Du’Met, tells them they can come and film the location; but he will need to give him their phones. Any person who has ever seen a horror movie knows that this is the beginning of one, but our team are obsessed with getting the footage they need and don’t stop to think just how dumb this is.
Pip Torrens absolutely shines once again as “The Curator”; the narrator character we check in with each act. In each entry in season one, Pip has been the highlight bringing a wry wit and dark charm to the role. The Curator will playfully make fun of you for making mistakes and losing characters, while also offering insight and “hints”. Honestly, if there’s one thing that has been consistently good this season, it is this character.
Not long after arriving at the island, the crew plummet into a deadly game of cat and mouse against Du’Met who seems to be carrying on the work of his idol, H.H. Holmes. This involves “SAW” like traps, moving walls and plenty of the ol’ stabby stabby. I actually played through the game three times; once in Co-Op with my friend Brooker and then twice more in solo play. There were numerous technical issues and glitches while playing in Co-Op on PS5 that didn’t appear while playing solo.
These issues, while not game breaking, definitely damaged the overall immersion of the experience. While playing in Solo Play, I was able to enjoy the atmosphere a lot more. The story doesn’t really do anything too wild compared to similar narratives like Saw or Hostel. While it might not be totally apparent who the killer is [or his motives] on a first playthrough, if you go through the game again and take in a lot of the collectible lore, things certainly begin to take shape.
The game is bolstered by top class performances by Irish actress, Jessie Buckley [star of Alex Garland’s divisive horror film, Men] and Paul Kaye [Dennis Pennis, Game of Thrones & my personal favourite, Anna and the Apocalypse]. The characters might seem one note at first, but like all Dark Pictures games, the more time you spend with them will make you realise they might not be the stereotypes they appear to be on the surface.
Overall there are some good scares across the game’s 6 hour runtime, with one scene involving Erin and a sound recorder providing my favourite chills. The sound design during this sequence is so impressive that even thinking back on it, I get goosebumps. The downside of games like this that demand multiple replays, is that the thrill of the scares fades when you’ve already seen them a bunch of times.
The pacing is the games most egregious misstep as there are moments that completely break the flow of the experience. Jumping from a hectic chase scene as one character, into a calm scene wandering the forest as another just feels super jarring. If you wanna go the route of watching everyone die, the deaths are super grisly with one involving a glass wall being especially gruesome to witness.
The Devil in Me might be the weakest entry in the first season of TDPA but that doesn’t mean it’s not a hell of a lot of fun; especially to fans who have been crying out for a more traditional slasher story. The game also shines a light on serial killer obsession and how it can lead to horrific consequences for those desperate for material; as well as those keen to outdo their heroes’ killcount.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me is available now on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series S & X.
