The theme of the game is a witch hunt that took place in the late 17th century in New England, in the north-east of the USA. Throughout the approximately five-hour adventure, one can find motifs from the Silent Hill series, as well as many cinematic images, such as The Witches of Salem, The Omen, The Messenger of Hell or The Witch. Most importantly, however, the new English game performs far better than the first episode of The Dark Pictures, improving on most of its predecessor's flaws. While the first game of the series was basically a disappointment, I thoroughly enjoyed this one

The once prosperous New England town of Little Hope suffered decades ago from economic decline and the closure of its factories, and it was impossible to survive on tourism alone. Particularly as the town was reaping the rewards of its grim past, with tragic events mirroring those in Salem and Andover. People were drowned, burned at the stake and crushed, and the devilish energy born of blatant injustice, as you might guess, is back to take revenge on those who happen to be entangled in Little Hope. Our unlucky victims are the victims of a bus crash that overturned a block away from the boarded-up (and quite literally so) town. They are lost students straight out of a horror film about teenagers, their grumpy old friend and a professor trying to keep his head on straight, whose only hope, nomen omen, is to move on. And there is nowhere to go, because 'Little Hope' offers perhaps the greatest area for exploration so far, usually empty, but nevertheless necessary to explore, as we learn the history of the cursed place from notes or newspapers discovered here and there. We can also find illustrations bearing prophecies of a possible future, always vague, but nevertheless successfully building up tension.

The plot here is more complex than it appears at first glance. Suffice it to say that, plot-wise, Little Hope is by far Supermassive Games' strongest offering, but its effect is subordinated, for better or worse, to the finale. It does a good job of explaining the script's kinks, clarifying all the inconsistencies and wrapping things up, but on the other hand it doesn't encourage you to finish the game again. In other words, despite a good story, in terms of gameplay this is probably the least attractive part of the Dark Pictures Anthology (I also include Until Dawn in this collection out of convenience), both because of its poor replay value and low difficulty level.

Encounters with creatures are great, it's still fun to play with someone next to you on the sofa or on the other side of the internet connection, and the whole thing is directed with aplomb and jump scares can give you sudden heart palpitations, but Little Hope struggles to generate tension during the numerous exploration scenes. There seems to have been too much subordination of the story - whose leitmotif is dealing with loss and guilt - to the pace of the gameplay, with the result that interactivity is relegated to the background, making us more of an observer

Nonetheless a successful game that did not disappoint and is worth trying out.

The theme of the game is a witch hunt that took place in the late 17th century in New England, in the north-east of the USA. Throughout the approximately five-hour adventure, one can find motifs from the Silent Hill series, as well as many cinematic images, such as The Witches of Salem, The Omen, The Messenger of Hell or The Witch. Most importantly, however, the new English game performs far better than the first episode of The Dark Pictures, improving on most of its predecessor's flaws. While the first game of the series was basically a disappointment, I thoroughly enjoyed this one The once prosperous New England town of Little Hope suffered decades ago from economic decline and the closure of its factories, and it was impossible to survive on tourism alone. Particularly as the town was reaping the rewards of its grim past, with tragic events mirroring those in Salem and Andover. People were drowned, burned at the stake and crushed, and the devilish energy born of blatant injustice, as you might guess, is back to take revenge on those who happen to be entangled in Little Hope. Our unlucky victims are the victims of a bus crash that overturned a block away from the boarded-up (and quite literally so) town. They are lost students straight out of a horror film about teenagers, their grumpy old friend and a professor trying to keep his head on straight, whose only hope, nomen omen, is to move on. And there is nowhere to go, because 'Little Hope' offers perhaps the greatest area for exploration so far, usually empty, but nevertheless necessary to explore, as we learn the history of the cursed place from notes or newspapers discovered here and there. We can also find illustrations bearing prophecies of a possible future, always vague, but nevertheless successfully building up tension. The plot here is more complex than it appears at first glance. Suffice it to say that, plot-wise, Little Hope is by far Supermassive Games' strongest offering, but its effect is subordinated, for better or worse, to the finale. It does a good job of explaining the script's kinks, clarifying all the inconsistencies and wrapping things up, but on the other hand it doesn't encourage you to finish the game again. In other words, despite a good story, in terms of gameplay this is probably the least attractive part of the Dark Pictures Anthology (I also include Until Dawn in this collection out of convenience), both because of its poor replay value and low difficulty level. Encounters with creatures are great, it's still fun to play with someone next to you on the sofa or on the other side of the internet connection, and the whole thing is directed with aplomb and jump scares can give you sudden heart palpitations, but Little Hope struggles to generate tension during the numerous exploration scenes. There seems to have been too much subordination of the story - whose leitmotif is dealing with loss and guilt - to the pace of the gameplay, with the result that interactivity is relegated to the background, making us more of an observer Nonetheless a successful game that did not disappoint and is worth trying out.