11/04/2026 - Besu's Best Games
Besu Tadesse is back with another horror game review! This week, he brings us his thoughts on The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
reviewed by Besu Tadesse
Released in October 2020, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is a cinematic survival horror game developed by Supermassive Games and published by BANDAI NAMCO. You play as a cast of students and their professor who become stranded in the small town of Little Hope, where you must find your way through the fog and escape while uncovering the mysteries of a 17th century witch hunt and other tragedies that haunt the town. This is the second game in the Dark Pictures series.
Much like their breakout game, Until Dawn, the game takes you through what feels like a movie experience, complete with at least one or two well-known actors (Will Poulter is the banner star in this installment). Graphics are polished, and gameplay is a mixture of exploration, decision trees, and surprise quick-time events, all of which combine to create an immersive experience through this rundown town with persistent and space-bending fog. Items are strewn throughout the environment: some unlock secrets of the town while pictures give you premonitions about key events to look out for. Certain items change the trajectory of conversations and, by extension, the options you have for gaining insight and preparing yourself for the coming dangers. If you have played or read any choose-your-own-adventure style story, this, and other games like it, are in the same family.
The vibes are creepy as hell. You get pulled into past events where doppelgangers of your cast mates are involved in terrible ordeals, many of which are perpetrated by a variation of a small girl that appears to haunt and stalk the town. Having gone through roughly a third of the game at the time of writing, I’m not entirely sure I understand what exactly is happening, but it also feel like all the pieces are there. This is the kind of mystery storytelling I enjoy, one where I always feel so close to knowing only to have the rug pulled from me.
There’s not much innovation in the gameplay – if you have played one Supermassive game, you know what you’re getting into. You don’t have to worry abouy any fast-twitch hand muscles, save for some occasional button-mashing during a QTE. The key to enjoying a game like this is in the rich and haunting story, as well as in finding ways to uncover as much of the mystery as possible, as well as in improving your interpersonal relationships to get more insight into the gameplay. The game also has different multiplayer options for you to enjoy with one or many friends. However, if you’re looking for a lot of action or high-energy playing, I assure you this isn’t your game.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is available on game consoles and PC. If you’re into great atmospheric horror and storytelling, give it a try. Enjoy!
MORE ABOUT BESU TADESSE
An author based in Maryland, Besu Tadesse loves to write horror and speculative fiction. He has published two books – The Ghosts of Poplar Valley, a paranormal horror novella about our history’s echoes into the present, and Broken Persons, a short story collection that deals with broad themes of grief, trauma, and speculation on the future.
His short stories have been included in several works, including Devour the Rich!, Arsenic and Grandma’s Refrigerator: Horror Told in Colours, Dark and Dreary: A Basement Horror Anthology, A Chronicle of Horrors: An Anthology, Recipes for Newlyweds: Stories of Marital Bliss, With Teeth: A Dark Fiction Anthology, and several upcoming projects. He also works as a gaming writer and reviewer for Calcopia and Uncomfortably Dark.
You can find him on all social media platforms under the handle @stickybearartist.
Comments