CGMagazine had the spooky opportunity to take a special observation into The Dark Pictures: The Devil In Me, the season finale for the anthology video game series.
The Dark Pictures anthology games have always fascinated me with the choices they provide and the experiences and stories they create. Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco were proud to announce their latest addition to the anthology video game series, The Devil In Me back in October 2021. The creators and fans have already marked this fourth game in the series as a Season 1 finale to the series. CGMagazine was able to exclusively get a hands-on first look into some grotesque gameplay elements and riveting storyline.
Like most great story-driven games, the personalities and characters set the atmosphere and minutiae of the narrative throughout the game. The story for The Devil In Me follows a 5-person documentary show crew called Lonnit Entertainment—who are making a series called “Architects of Murder” about famous American serial killers.
The team consists of Charlie Lonnit, the British owner of the production and show director; Kate Wilder (played by Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley), an introverted, complex member of the team who serves as the show’s presenter; Mark Nestor, the professional cameraman and ex-boyfriend to Kate; Erin Keenan, an intern who is an aspiring audio specialist underappreciated by Charlie; and Jamie Tiergan, the crew’s chief grip who handles lighting and electrical work.
The horror elements for The Devil In Me are all related to America’s first serial killer, Henry Howard (H.H.) Holmes. For a quick recap, Holmes was infamous for building the 1885, Englewood, Chicago “World’s Fair Hotel”, but later became known as “the Murder Castle.” It got called the latter name because when guests checked in, they never really left. The hotel would be filled with various booby traps, shifting landscapes and horrific wonders—killing all those who entered.
In real life, Holmes was found guilty of murdering upwards of 27 people in his murder hotel but was suspected of killing even more. At his trial he stated, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing.” A creepy line but a perfect pull for the title of this Dark Pictures game.
“The Devil In Me would be the longest runtime out of all the previous Dark Pictures games…”
The Supermassive Games Game Director, Tom Heaton, noted how they wanted to specifically build around the Holmes murders but also draw inspiration from recent and classic horror films such as the Saw franchise, The Shining, and slasher films like Psycho, the Friday the 13th movies, and the Halloween films. He also explained how those films worked synonymously with The Devil In Me because of “the grotesque traps” and they all share the same horror characteristics related to the Holmes case.
So, the Lonnit crew are desperate for content for their first season to finish strong with the Holmes case as the season finale—with hopes to be renewed for multiple seasons. The problem is they have run out of money, ideas, and content. Then, a bad miracle occurs as they receive an ominous call from a man named Granthem Du’Met, who introduces himself as a wealthy architect and collector. Du’Met explains to the film crew how he inherited an old hotel from an old relative who was obsessed with serial killers—not off-putting at all.
Like all good horrors, the crew agreed to visit the hotel’s island location but were sworn to secrecy and every film crew member had to hand over their phones. While the story bodes a lot of setup for the characters’ demise, the gameplay looks quite fun and interesting with controls feeling familiar to seasoned Dark Pictures players.
As for gameplay, the player(s) are able to explore a lot of the “Island Murder Castle hotel” in a similar way fans of the Resident Evil games will be all too familiar with. Heaton boasted The Devil In Me would be the longest runtime out of all the previous Dark Pictures games—with its approximate 7-hour runtime. Man of Medan and Little Hope were about 5 hours long, and House of Ashes was about 6 hours.
Each character has special items that reflect their personalities or traits, which help them explore the hotel in a detrimental way. For example, Charlie carries a business card that allows him to pick certain locks. What makes The Devil In Me stand out from the previous anthology games is its newly added, simple quick inventory system for special items picked up (i.e. Room keys).
While this was a hands-off preview for the epic season finale for Season 1 of The Dark Pictures Anthology, all I could think about was when I could get my hands on this game! Currently, The Devil In Me is slated to be released on Tuesday, November 18, 2022. It will be available to play on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam (PC).
And lastly, yes, the wonderful Pip Torrens is reprising his role as “The Curator.” This means death is always on the table and The Devil In Me will be pushing the limits on making the toughest decisions for trying to keep all the characters alive.
