Games You Should Play If You Like The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

"Little Hope," the second installment in Supermassive Games' "The Dark Pictures Anthology," follows four college students and their teacher as they explore a deserted town in search of their missing bus driver. Trapped in the middle of nowhere, the group finds themselves caught up in a real-life ghost story that weaves between past and present, complete with arson, accusations of witchcraft, and deadly doppelgangers. Like "Man of Medan," players must navigate a slew of quick time events and high stakes dilemmas that have lasting consequences for the main cast.

Though "Little Hope" received mixed reviews, largely due to its controversial ending, the standalone horror game still has a lot to offer. Many considered it an improvement on its predecessor, building momentum for the franchise. Supermassive has since announced the next entry, "House of Ashes," a subterranean thriller set for release this October. With fall right around the corner, you might be looking for more horror experiences like "Little Hope" to bridge the gap between summer and the spooky season. The following titles are sure to help you meet your pre-Halloween scare quota.

Before Supermassive Games launched "The Dark Pictures Anthology," the developer captured the hearts of horror aficionados with "Until Dawn." The PlayStation 4 exclusive tells the story of eight teenagers who find themselves trapped in a remote mountain area after their getaway takes a dark turn. Hollywood performers, including Hayden Panettiere of "Heroes" and "Nashville" acclaim, bring the characters to life, though ultimately it's up to you to determine who lives and who dies.

The adaptive narrative and "Butterfly-Effect Interface" utilized in "Until Dawn" earned Supermassive a reputation for delivering spine-tingling interactive experiences with a heavy emphasis on player choice. From minor decisions to massive dilemmas, each move you make can have lasting consequences, culminating in one of thousands of outcomes. "'Until Dawn' redefines the importance of player choice in story-driven adventure games," wrote Game Informer's Jeff Marchiafava. "Gone are the closed-loop decisions showing you the immediate repercussions of your choice before funneling you back onto the main path with everyone else."

If you want to discover the game that made Supermassive a titan of interactive horror, look no further than "Until Dawn."

"Detention" takes place in a fictionalized version of Taiwan, and leverages aspects of Taiwanese and Chinese culture and mythology to provide a unique, story-driven experience. In this alternate version of reality, the country finds itself under martial law. The action unfolds at Greenwood High School, a campus tucked away in a secluded region. More isolated than ever, two students struggle to survive the wave of evil beings who have taken over the space. To escape with their lives, they must first uncover the mysteries at the heart of the school's curse.

Billed as an atmospheric horror title, "Detention" combines side-scrolling, point-and-click, and puzzle solving elements. While it doesn't feature the unbridled jump scares that help give games like "Until Dawn" and "Little Hope" their edge, "Detention" wields its eerie visuals and sound design to keep the player on edge. "There is a very real sense of dread as you chip your way through the story," Destructoid asserted in its review. "It never fully lets up and, instead, allows itself to build until you're almost used to the oppressive paranoia."

Though not a perfect game, "Detention" offers a short but memorable shuffle through the supernatural that horror fans won't want to miss.

Another historical tale, first-person survival horror title "Maid of Sker" borrows from 1898 Wales with its spin on the story of Elisabeth Williams and the real-world Sker House. Inspired by Welsh folklore, the game sees main character Thomas Evans travel to Sker Hotel at the behest of Williams, his lover, who expresses concern about the odd behavior of her family. Evans soon learns that a cult has seized control of the property. These blind individuals, known as "The Quiet Ones," serve as the main antagonists.

"Maid of Sker" revolves around a "dynamic environment sound feature" that forces the player to carefully navigate the hotel's rooms and grounds. Though The Quiet Ones can't see Evans, they share a heightened sensitivity to sound. Actions as simple as breathing or bumping into an object alert the cult members to Evans presence and can lead to a grisly outcome, introducing a prevailing stealth element to the gameplay.

"Maid of Sker" split critics and players when it released in 2020. While many reviewers pointed out that the game does not provide a particularly innovative take on the genre, its environment, breath-holding mechanic, and sound design produce a classic horror experience.

Though not a horror title, first-person psychological mystery "Draugen" contains similar elements to some of those found in "The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope." Set in the early 1920s, "Draugen" follows Edward Charles Harden, an American who travels to an isolated fishing village in Norway to search for his missing sister, Betty. Lissie, a headstrong young woman, accompanies Edward, and the two work in tandem to uncover the horrible truth hidden beneath the settlement's peaceful veneer.

Edward, whose tumultuous mental state seems to affect his surroundings in unexpected ways, serves as one of the key draws of "Draugen." The more you play, the clearer it becomes that Edward is an unreliable narrator, forcing you to question everything you see and experience. This sinister note ripples through the title's beautiful, rural setting, injecting a feeling of dreadful anticipation into even the most mundane moments. "What begins as a simple search for a missing sibling quickly becomes an exploration of grief and loneliness in a town full of secrets," described Destructoid's Ray Porreca. "Nothing ever quite adds up – Betty's belongings appear in strange places and the truth is always just out of reach."

You won't find the adrenaline pumping, high stakes moments of "The Dark Pictures Anthology" in "Draugen" — its twists and tragedies present a more subtle descent into madness.