The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is the third entry in the survival horror video game series whose first season is going to conclude next year with The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me. This is also the strongest entry in the series so far and offers much replay value.

The story revolves around a group of military personnel and resistance fighters who accidentally discover a Mesopotamian temple during the Iraq War. They initially suspect that Saddam Hussein's regime might have hidden weapons of mass destruction here but the truth is actually much more gruesome. The five characters discover some mysterious extraterrestrial monsters who have been trapped in this temple since a gruesome massacre in ancient Akkad more than four thousand years ago.

This video game convinces on several levels. First of all, the background stories involving an extraterrestrial invasion, elements of ancient Mesopotamian culture and the current backdrop of the terrible Iraq War have been mixed in a perfectly balanced manner.

The locations are particularly intriguing because players never know what's going to be around the next corner. The game keeps some stunning surprises until the very end that convinces with its epic proportions.

The length of this entry is also more generous than the running time of its two predecessors. House of Ashes offers roughly around five hours of non-stop entertainment and takes players on an epic survival adventure ride where their choices decide about the outcome of the five profound characters. For a fair price of just below forty Canadian dollars, this game offers gripping entertainment and has also much replay value and can be enjoyed with little groups of friends on a cold autumn or winter night.

Several other elements have also been improved with this entry, most notably the controls that are much more fluid than before. While the predecessors had some frustrating issues with quick-time events, the controls are much easier to handle for players with less experience in this entry, increasing the potential chances of survival for the different characters.

Another element that stands out positively are the vivid, bright and atmospheric graphics that make players feel as if they were inside a Hollywood movie. This improvement makes the entire experience much more authentic, epic and intense.

At the end of the day, The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is a highlight in this video game series and one of the best horror video games created in recent memory. It will not only appeal to fans of old date but also to potential new players. You don't need to be familiar with the two predecessors to enjoy this video game that should make it onto several lists of best games of the year.

Detailed rating:

Atmosphere: 8 /10 

Challenge level: 8 /10

Controls: 9 /10

Game flow: 8 /10

Graphics: 9 /10

Length: 10 /10

Long-term fun factor: 10 /10  

Sound: 8 /10

Soundtrack: 8 /10

Story: 8 /10

Total score: 86 / 100

Those Who Remain published by Camel 101 and Wired Productions is a survival horror video game released in late spring 2020 on Xbox One, Playstation 4, Nintendo Twitch as well as Steam. The game takes about four to six hours for fast players to complete but I have played for about ten to twelve hours in total. The story revolves around Edward Turner, a man who with a troubled past who is on his way to break up with his mistress at a cheap motel. When he arrives there, his lover is nowhere to be found in the empty hotel and his car gets stolen. Edward Turner soon realizes that something is amiss as he witnesses strange knife-wielding phantoms in the shadows. He must find his way to the nearby town of Dermont in order to figure out what has happened.

This game has gotten mediocre to bad reviews but there are many enjoyable elements for horror video game fans. Those Who Remain oozes with atmosphere thanks to creepy locations, strange opponents and unnerving soundtrack. The game doesn't rely on easy jump scares and has slow pace but those elements make the abandoned town of Dermont so much more detailed and frightening. The locations vary from post offices over police stations to family homes. Another positive element is the story as Edward Turner learns more about a thirteen-year-old girl who has died under mysterious circumstances. The player encounters numerous people who could be held responsible for that tragedy and must decide whether to forgive or damn them. These decisions can lead to three different endings and exploring these offers some replay value as well. There are numerous riddles the player has to solve in order to advance. While most of them rely on solving puzzles, finding equipment and creating light sources, some others are tough to figure out and increase the game's degree of difficulty.

The game is not without its flaws however. The graphics look quite dated and the retro look makes me think of adventure games from the late nineties such as the first entries in the Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises. While Those Who Remain might be perceived as a tribute to such franchises, it's probably rather a lack of budget and development that explains such graphics. The biggest issue are however the controls. It takes quite some time to learn how to handle items precisely but the greatest challenge remains to escape the different opponents that are chasing Edward Turner. It might take about a dozen tries at certain points which can become slightly frustrating.

However, the positive points clearly outweigh the negative elements regarding survival horror game Those Who Remain. It can't compete with other recent releases such as Remothered: Broken Porcelain, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope or A Plague Tale: Innocence but it's nevertheless highly recommended to genre fans. The game convinces with gloomy atmosphere, fascinating locations and an intriguing story. The only noteworthy negative elements are the complicated controls and dated graphics. The game is available for a fair price of about thirty Canadian dollars and its deluxe edition includes four post cards and a free downloadable graphic novel. This deluxe edition certainly offers value for money and would make for a great Black Friday purchase or even a cool Christmas gift to have some fun at home during the ongoing pandemic.

Detailed rating:

Atmosphere: 10 /10 

Challenge level: 10 /10

Controls: 5 /10

Game flow: 6 /10

Graphics: 5 /10

Length: 8 /10

Long-term fun factor: 7 /10  

Sound: 8 /10

Soundtrack: 8 /10

Story: 9 /10

Total score: 76 / 100

Mafia: Definitive Edition is a remake of the Czech action-adventure game of the same title released eighteen years earlier. This definite edition has been recreated entirely with new graphics, new soundtrack and new voice actors. It has been created by American developer Hangar 13 and released by American publisher 2K Games for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.

The characters, locations and story are exactly the same as in the original game. The players incarnate young cab driver Thomas Angelo who is strong-armed by two members of the Salieri family into helping them escape an ambush by the rival Morello family in 1930. Thomas Angelo initially doesn't want to join the Salieri family but changes his mind when members of the Morello family ambush him and destroy his cab. He wants to get his revenge and earn some money during the Great Depression. Thanks to his loyalty and dedication, Thomas Angelo slowly climbs the career ladder and gets more and more important missions done such as competing in a car racing competition and assassinating a corrupt politician. The made man also begins a relationship with the daughter of Salieri's bartender and has finally found a place he likes to call home. Cracks start to show when Thomas Angelo starts questioning some of his missions and realizes that Don Salieri is hiding something from the rest of the family. The conflicted rising start must now choose between loyalty and convictions in the best interest of his family, friends and himself.

This new definitive edition convinces on numerous levels. The graphics are absolutely stunning and bring the era of the Great Depression in the United States of America to life in a realistic way. The soundtrack is immersive, diversified and cinematic and especially the two radio channels one can listen to while driving a car are particularly entertaining. The controls are much more fluid than in the original game and certainly increase the enjoyment of playing this game.

The only negative element is that the story of this game is exactly the same as in the original game. It would have been great to add some side missions or perhaps to offer an alternative ending. Those who have played the original game will play this one for nostalgic reasons but won't get any innovation or even surprises here.

Despite that one particular flaw, Mafia: Definitive Edition is the best organized crime game you could possibly imagine. Anyone who likes action, crime and stealth games should definitely enjoy this release. It's much more concise than numerous contemporary open-world video games and convinces with immersive atmosphere, fascinating characters and a gripping story line. This approach isn't old-fashioned but very focused instead which is an element I am missing in franchises like Grand Theft Auto for instance. Sometimes, a little bit less can be so much more and this is precisely the case here.

Detailed rating:

Atmosphere: 10 /10 

Challenge level: 8 /10

Controls: 9 /10

Game flow: 9 /10

Graphics: 9 /10

Length: 9 /10

Long-term fun factor: 9 /10  

Sound: 9 /10

Soundtrack: 8 /10

Story: 8 /10

Total score: 88 / 100

A Plague Tale: Innocence is an action-adventure horror stealth game developed for Playstation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows by French video game developer Asobo Studio. The game takes place in Aquitaine during the Black Death pandemic in the fourteenth century. The story follows teenage girl Amicia whose father gets brutally murdered by the Inquisition. She gets separated from her mother and must flee with her younger brother who suffers from a mysterious disease. It later turns out that her brother Hugo has the ability to control rats that are spreading the pandemic with an ability known as the Prima Macula. Grand Inquisitor Vitalis Benevent attempts to kidnap Hugo to inject his blood and control the pandemic. Amicia decides to protect her brother Hugo and defeat the Grand Inquisitor by any means necessary and is supported by other teenagers such as a young alchemist, sibling thieves and a blacksmith. Things become even more personal when Amicia realizes that her mother is still alive and hold captive by Vitalis Benevent.

The game has an appropriate length of seventeen chapters and its difficulty increases steadily. There are three opponents that can be seen as bosses in the game, namely hostile villager Conrad at the end of the second chapter, Lord Nicholas at the end of the fifteenth chapter and finally Vitalis Benevent at the end of the sixteenth chapter.

A Plague Tale: Innocence convinces with stunning graphics that bring the Middle Ages to life. The cinematic soundtrack blends in perfectly. The characters are diversified and intriguing. The story line has a few interesting twists and turns and is entertaining from start to finish. All these elements develop a nearly cinematic atmosphere that can be considered the game's greatest strength.

There are only two minor flaws that should be pointed out. While the story progresses smoothly throughout the first two thirds of the game, the final chapters from chapter thirteen onwards feel rushed and slightly confusing. The thirteenth chapter when Hugo mysteriously runs away from his sister and somehow manages to find members of the Inquisition is the worst part of the game. The controls are the second and most important flaw. The characters are sometimes difficult to control during battles and it's particularly challenging to make Amicia run when she is in danger. Her character dies on numerous occasions when being followed by enemies who manage to run much faster than her which can become slightly frustrating.

Despite those two minor flaws, A Plague Tale: Innocence is a detailed, entertaining and immersive horror stealth game that brings the Middle Ages back to life and manages to mix facts and fantasy in a balanced way.

Detailed rating:

Atmosphere: 10 /10 

Challenge level: 9 /10

Controls: 6 /10

Game flow: 8 /10

Graphics: 10 /10

Length: 9 /10

Long-term fun factor: 8 /10  

Sound: 9 /10

Soundtrack: 7 /10

Story: 8 /10

Total score: 84 / 100

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is the second entry in the interactive survival horror game series by British video game developer Supermassive Games. This video game available for Playstation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows was initially supposed to be released earlier this year but it was pushed back just in time for Halloween due to the coronavirus pandemic. If you appreciated the immediate predecessor The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan as well as Until Dawn, then you should certainly like this video game here as well. It certainly doesn't reinvent the genre but convinces with gripping atmosphere, interesting choices and overlapping story lines.

The game follows four college students and their professor who return from a field trip and need to take a detour via abandoned New England town Little Hope due to an accident on the main highway. Their bus however crashes in the thick fog and their driver mysteriously disappears. The five characters need to stick together in order to survive the night in the sinister town. As they explore a sinister bar, a forgotten cemetery, an old-fashioned factory, a creepy playground and a dusty police station, the five characters realize that something seems to be amiss about that town. They are haunted by mysterious flashbacks and encounters with ghostly creatures. They learn about fateful witch hunt trials that divided the community three and a half centuries ago at the beginning of the town's existence. The five protagonists also learn about a terrible house fire and a shocking factory closure that led to the town being shut down half a century ago. The three time lines slowly start to connect as the protagonists learn the stunning truth behind the mysterious events. The choices they make are not only going to determine their own fates but might even change the fateful events of the past.

This video game convinces on numerous levels. It takes about five and a half hours to play it from start to finish but offers much replay value due to multiple hidden scenes and a multitude of different endings. Little Hope has a creepy atmosphere right from the start that is carried throughout the entire game until a stunning ending that leaves no questions unanswered. The impacts of the different choices that can be made throughout the video game are often less immediately obvious than in the predecessor but might come back haunting the player towards the climatic ending. The three story lines are all very interesting and the way they have been interwoven progressively starts to make sense as the game goes on.

Another positive element is that the controls rely less on quick time events than in the predecessor which improves the overall fluidity. The controls are a little bit easier to handle in this game as well. The graphic and sound effects are very solid even though there could have been some more diversity regarding the overall soundtrack.

The voice actors did an excellent job here as well and increase the immersive atmosphere. Pip Torrens convinces as mysterious curator, Will Poulter does an excellent job breathing life into socially awkward but reasonable student Andrew. Ellen David incarnates mature but impatient student Angela. Caitlyn Sponheimer convinces as rebellious and vibrant student Taylor. Kyle Bailey incarnates more popular and sociable student Daniel who is however often conflicted regarding his opinions and fails to emerge as a positive leader. Alex Ivanovici plays professor John who is very intellectual but also very controlling.

The only negative elements that should be pointed out are that the game isn't particularly innovative and that the story line is somewhat predictable with an ending that I could actually see coming by a mile.

Still, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is one of the most atmospheric, dynamic and entertaining video games in recent memory and highly recommended to anyone who likes to explore horror stories with a few twists on a cold autumn or winter day.

Detailed rating:

Atmosphere: 8 /10 

Challenge level: 8 /10

Controls: 8 /10

Game flow: 9 /10

Graphics: 9 /10

Length: 9 /10

Long-term fun factor: 9 /10  

Sound: 8 /10

Soundtrack: 7 /10

Story: 8 /10

Total score: 83 / 100