Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope Nintendo Switch Review
Summary: A good story with lots of twists and turns based on the choices that you make
4
You are in control!
Abandoned and all alone, four college students and their professor become stranded in an isolated town, miles from anywhere, after their bus crashes in bad weather. Trapped by a mysterious fog in the town of Little Hope, they search desperately for a means of escape whilst visions from the past haunt them from the shadows. Through these mysterious visions, they bear witness to the town’s gruesome past that center around the terrible events of the Andover Witch Trials. Figuring out the true motivations behind these apparitions is their only hope for escape (and survival) from the hell hole that is Little Hope.
It is the middle of the night and the roads are dark and eerie. A roadblock detours a bus of college students and their teacher towards the town of Little Hope. When a fatale bus accident leaves them with a missing driver, no cellphone service, and stranded in the midst of a thick fog – they will have no other choice than to walk the dark roads in search of any form of help. But where are the people? Why are all the houses abandoned? And why does the continual appearance of a mysterious little girl lead to deadly situations for our lost party of five? Only time will tell as you control the of the narrative of this story, as well as the lives of everyone that are in your hands.
With the options to play solo or co-op mode, Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (the third game in this series) allows the player(s) to switch between the perspectives of five different playable characters. Where, based on the choices you make, can have life or death consequences in your version of the story.
There are infinite number of possibilities, based on quick time events (QTEs) and dialogue choices, that either change the outcome of a character’s path, maneuver tricky situations, or build-up (and breakdown) relationships between each other. The QTEs seemed to pop up (mostly) unexpectedly and without a lot of time given to respond. I often found myself having to re-do an action in order to get it right the second time around or witness a deadly outcome that I wasn’t hoping for.
Throughout the game, you will have the chance to play as each of the five characters. All come with a different set of personality traits and relationships between each other, which can be quickly viewed via the menu button. This is useful if you like to see the history of the choices you made during the game. However, I didn’t find it as helpful (overall) unless I wanted to play the game again, in order to choose a different outcome.
Navigating the characters and exploring the different environments within Little Hope, makes up for the majority of the gameplay, but the fixed screen (while navigating) can become a bit tedious. You can pick up and examine objects which provide background to the story or offer up an insight into what may happen in the future (should a certain choice be made). Further clues are provided by the game’s narrator (the host) in various cutscenes, as the story unfolds.
Final Thoughts?
Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is definitely a story-heavy game. My favorite parts were the eeriness of the storyline, the dialogue (and acting) of all the characters (especially the narrator), and the twist at the end. I would have preferred more jump scares and the ability to skip through some dialogue (that was a bit slow), but overall it was an enjoyable game to play.
Game Details
Title: Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
Genre: Interactive Drama/Survival horror
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platform: Nintendo Switch
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