What Critics Are Saying About Dark Pictures: Little Hope

Publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer Supermassive Games are releasing the perfect game for this year's Halloween horrors. That game is Little Hope, the second installment within The Dark Pictures Anthology series. Both the first title and this upcoming follow-up are survival-horror experiences that place a strong emphasis on making the types of decisions that have big consequences tied to them. Along with that major gameplay mechanic, players also have to stay on high alert as quick time events pop up alongside surprise scares.

Just one day before it officially launches on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, reviews for Little Hope have gone live. The critical response we've seen thus far ranges from highly recommended to downright terrible.

Andrew Shaw of The Digital Fix gave Little Hope one of its highest scores with a 9. "Little Hope feels far closer to the Until Dawn experience than Man of Medan did, a true horror movie experience transferred to your video game, while still maintaining enough of the good ideas introduced in the first Dark Pictures title and improving them," Shaw said. "It is a sign of a developer finding their feet with a new horror IP and refining their signature playstyle; the future is looking very promising (and terrifying) for The Dark Pictures Anthology."

Tuffcub of TheSixthAxis also spoke highly of the game and awarded it with a 9. "Little Hope fits the bill perfectly," Tuffcub said. "The annoyances found in Man of Medan have been almost completely removed leaving a spooky tale with jump scares to giggle about, heart racing action, and tonnes of atmosphere. For £25, Little Hope is an absolute steal and highly recommended."

Little Hope also received a bunch of positive scores from reputable sites such as God Is A Geek and Comicbook.com. Chris Hyde of God Is A Geek celebrated the game's storytelling, dialogue, and the impact that comes with making major decisions. "It's curious story is interwoven with an eerie setting that's masterfully navigated through solid camera selection," Hyde said. "The dialogue feels believable as do the characters and there's a good mix of jump scares and uneasy foreboding to give it the horror clout. The decisions you make really make an impact demonstrating just how much thought has gone into the different outcomes."

Tanner Dedmon of Comicbook.com gave the game a 4 out of 5 and noted that "Little Hope offers what feels like a dizzying number of choices and storylines, and the brief nature of the game frees you up to pursue those grim and gratifying outcomes as often as you'd like."

Some critics enjoyed Little Hope to a certain extent, but still found issues with it overall. Kimberley Wallace of Game Informer ultimately scored Little Hope with a 7.5. "Little Hope is inconsistent, like a witch-in-training still learning how to fully weave a spell," Wallace said. "It sets up its story well and keeps you guessing, but the execution is lacking. However, seeing the fantastic ending makes putting up with those boring moments a little more bearable." 

Thomas Deehan of Trusted Reviews gave the game a 7 and noted that it doesn't quite reach the highs set by Supermassive Games' Until Dawn. "As a short, enjoyable romp that can be shared with friends either locally or online, Little Hope is worth the price of admission," Deehan said. "In both scares and narrative however, Little Hope doesn't come close to matching the same heights reached by Until Dawn, meaning that true horror lovers should probably look elsewhere."

IGN and SiliconEra stand out as the outlets that have given Little Hope its lowest scores thus far. "Little Hope tells a mostly one-note story with underdeveloped characters, and even a fun co-op mode can't inject enough life to fix that," said IGN's Lucy O'Brien. "A gorgeous setting and some genuinely frantic monster sequences save it from being a complete disaster, but this still feels like a step backward from the heights of interactive horror stories." IGN's final score came in at a 5.

As far as SiliconEra is concerned, its review was highly critical of what Little Hope has to offer. Reviewer Kazuma Hasimoto gave it a shockingly low score of 4. "At most, the game is just boring and uninteresting," said Hashimoto. "Unless you happen to have some spare cash and want to pass the time, I really can't recommend it."