Lots of fans were looking forward to Little Hope, the second installment of The Dark Pictures Anthology. Unfortunately, the game received quite mixed reviews, to say the least. The thing is, it’s impossible to discuss why without revealing some major plot points so please be warned going into this review. Let’s begin. 

Plot

A group of university students get into a bus crash and are stranded in the abandoned town of Little Hope. It turns out that there are more than foxes lurking in the shadows, waiting for the group to split up so they can come out and play… 

For me personally, the prologue was the creepiest and objectively the best bit of the game. It seems pretty random at first to watch this family burn alive in their home. However, it makes sense once you finish the game. 

One cannot talk about this game without discussing the plot twist. The ‘it was all in your head’ trope does not have a good reputation as far as the horror genre goes. A lot of players felt cheated as the storyline of Salem witches ended up not being relevant in the slightest. 

I am still not quite sure what to think to this day. On one hand, I am also disappointed in the twist because I feel like it ruins replay value which is a major selling point of these games. On the other hand, the narrative is an interesting exploration of stages of grief and had good merit. I just think the execution could’ve been better. 

Characters

One’s opinion of Little Hope’s characters is multi-layered, especially after finding out about the twist. As just university students, their characterization feels a little lacking for me. So much of the dialogue is focused on how to get out of the town that it rarely feels like the crew have their own personalities but rather are there for the numbers. 

Once we know who they really are, the writing choices make a lot more sense. However, it doesn’t change the fact the experience can get a tad aggravating when it feels like you’re always having the same conversation. 

Gameplay

Right away, it’s an immediate improvement from Man of Medan both graphics and general gameplay-wise. The walking mechanics are smoother, there are fewer weird scene cuts and general lag. There’s also a nice addition of character swaps during action scenes which adds some decent tension. One thing that irks me, is that the bearings somehow are completely out of order and look messy when trying to track your choices. 

Final thoughts

I do think this game had a lot of potential and even with the controversy surrounding the ending, it is still a fun experience (although as mentioned, replay value does decrease significantly). I understand what they were going for, however, I just don’t think it translated into the game as they intended which is why it’s at the bottom of the list in most people’s rankings of the anthology (including my own).  (3 / 5)