Review of “The Devil in Me” – the scariest part of the series

Of course, each of us is afraid of different things in different ways. But if you’re like me, then no amount of supernatural phenomena or fantastical monsters can really scare you – part of your brain will always remind you that such things do not exist. But what scares me for sure is a mentally ill person with murderous intent. Unfortunately, these kinds of horrors are all too real, so I can’t separate myself from them as easily as I can separate myself from the fantastic ones. The final episode of the first season of Dark Pictures Anthology is dominated by a serial killer that really makes my hair stand on end. In addition, it has a great country house, reminiscent of the first Resident Evil, as well as a very good soundtrack. It’s a deadly combination.

• Platform: PS5 (review) PS4, XSX|S, X1, PC
• Publication date: 11/18/2022
• Producer: Supermassive Games (England)
• Genre: Horror adventure game
• Czech localization: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 65 GB
• Game time: 7+ hours
• Price: 1049 kr (PS Store)

Strong start

The plot of the game is very much inspired by real events around “America’s first serial killer.” H. H. Holmes opened a Chicago hotel in 1893 in which he allegedly killed up to 200 people (identification was made difficult by, among other things, the fact that he maintained a “secret crematorium” in the hotel’s basement). According to some reports, Holmes equipped the building with secret rooms, hiding traps such as a funnel or a gas chamber. If you’ve ever watched the Jigsaw movies, you can imagine the kind of “killing games” this serial killer ran. While the reality was actually a bit quieter than the newspapers of the time made it out to be, the game appropriately leans into this aspect of the story by introducing a modern-day assassin in 2022 who has built a replica of Holmes’ hotel on a remote island where he lures a film crew at the start of the game. documentaries from five people.

However, the game begins with a prologue set in 1893 and in playful form presents “a typical night in Holmes’ bloody castle”. And it is this introductory chapter that from the very beginning sets a very high bar for the horror of the whole game. Holmes is presented here as a relatively pleasant gentleman, but there is something fishy about him. The moment he begins his first kill, he has the most terrifying indifference and calmness with which he deals with his victims. His superhuman fascination with human anatomy oozes from the entire scene, and the entire passage has the same unsettling and uncomfortable feel to it as, for example, in the currently popular Netflix series Dahmer. I must say that the fear of this insidious madman kept me for most of the game, mainly because of the strength of his opening introduction.

The most frightening thing about him is the indifference and calmness with which he deals with his victims.

In addition to Holmes, the “main character” Kate, played by the magnificent actress Jessie Buckley, also deserves attention. But as usual in this series, any of the five playable characters can die, and anyone can survive/become the main character. While the individual characters are interestingly written and acted, there are unfortunately a few things about the story itself that can noticeably detract from the overall experience. For example, I have never been bitten by the ease with which the film crew allows themselves to be lured into a remote mansion of an unknown owner at the beginning. It’s just one of those scenes where you think no one in their right mind would react to all the suspicious signs of an impending threat with such nonchalance. Fortunately, however, there are not so many such moments in the story, and many situations, on the contrary, work with their suffocating atmosphere and realism.

Genre change

The first two-thirds of the game works like a great horror game, combining the atmospheric labyrinth of a sprawling mansion with the creeping threat of an insidious assassin and his deadly traps. I was genuinely surprised at how well the haunted house pattern can still work these days. I recalled the house from the very first part of the Resident Evil series many times. After all, the music also contributes to this, which, in my opinion, is deliberately similar to the soundtrack to the aforementioned cult game. But as the plot developed and approached the revelation of the identity of the killer, it became obvious that the creators had somewhat moved away from the original genre towards something more fantastic. Given what we said at the beginning of the review about what kinds of fears affect me so much, the game lost much of its creepiness for me, which further emphasized the rather drawn-out “action” ending, which at times seems unintentionally comical.

In terms of gameplay, this series is difficult to evaluate, because in many ways it can be said that this is more of a movie than a classic game. Nevertheless, the creators have moved some important mechanics forward, so that, for example, unique equipment for individual characters appears here (a directional microphone, a camera with a flash, etc.) or even a limited inventory, where, by exchanging items between characters, you can drastically affect their chances of survival. I also noted with gratitude the higher mobility of the characters, when you can run almost everywhere, and not just walk. If you like these interactive horror movies, The Devil in Me offers what I think is the best part of the series. However, it doesn’t quite reach the quality of more narrative “standalone” games like Until Dawn or The Quarry. But this is the final part of the first season of the Dark Pictures series, so next time we will have a new concept and mechanics (and space travel).