The Dark Pictures Anthology has had a varied, intriguing season full of interesting characters and unexpected settings.

From an abandoned old ship to a quiet remote town, we have finally made it to a murder house for this brutal finale.

The Devil In Me once again sees you take the lives of five people in your hands, making life-altering, impulse decisions in the heat of the moment. From the word go, you know that nobody is safe. And you soon learn that even when you think they are, they might be turning a corner into death.

As a group of documentary makers, looking to shoot an episode that finally gets the ratings of a failing show back up, you are invited to a hotel on a remote island that pays homage to one of America’s original serial killers, H.H. Holmes.

But from the moment you step off the boat, you realise something isn’t right and perhaps not everyone is who they say they are. The documentary makers are already at odds with one another, with various inter-personal dramas that play into the plot, but in order to survive they’re going to need to rely on one another. And you.

This is one of my favourite Dark Pictures games to date. The game moves along steadily, gradually building out its characters, giving you enough information about the past, and leaving plenty of breadcrumbs so you can learn about your mysterious host.

Each character has a unique skill which makes them useful to the group, with Jamie really handy with circuit breakers, and Erin who has a listening device that picks up soundwaves through the walls.

These skills are also useful for them when they are separated and have to be resourceful when dealing with the sliding doors and revolving walls of this horror palace that you definitely won’t enjoy your stay in. Spoiler alert.

It follows the standard fare of other Dark Pictures games where you tap buttons at the right moment to perform certain actions, move gingerly and shimmy across certain tight ledges and surfaces, and time your heart beats as you try to stay quiet and hidden.

Speaking of hiding, there’s a bigger focus on that here as prompts will appear as you wander the house and the killer is on the loose, hunting for you. This makes sure the sections of discovery and exploration that much more intense and dynamic, meaning you can’t take your eyes off the screen for a minute.

These characters are also in serious peril. It’s entirely possible for the entire cast to get wiped out, but they can also all survive. Characters who somehow manage to escape certain death can just as quickly still end up dead from one wrong turn.

There are decisions in this game that will test the player too. Acts you’ll need to perform or contemplate that will turn your stomach and make you squeamish. These are much more impactful than House of Ashes and indeed most of the other games, really lasting with you through your playthrough and long after it.

Many sequences in this game actually reminded me of the Saw franchise with multiple murder rooms of different types that have a purpose or objective which can involve several characters at once. I’ll say no more for spoilers, but I did find one problem with the game is that the characters themselves barely seem to have a moment to reflect on what they’ve done or what’s happened as they’re being moved into another area or they’re on the run.

I guess that is a testament to how well these characters are written as I really wanted an epilogue, to know what the survivors got up to after this traumatic series of events, or to at least give them a bit more time in the limelight, to understand how they’re coping. The plot moves at such breakneck pace, though, the second half of the game sees them more isolated and trying to escape. Understandable, I suppose.

Visually, the engine is showing a bit of age now, with some textures looking a bit rough and textures a bit bland. The game experiments with certain camera angles as you interact with objects and this can sometimes cause a glitch or two as you’re stuck in a wall or from a corner.

There’s also a few sections that were way too dark and required a serious upping of the brightness in order to see where I was going at all. Some sections are also overly lengthy in terms of wandering around aimlessly or going back on yourself a few times which got a bit frustrating.

All that said, this was my personal favourite of The Dark Pictures games so far. It’s an explosive, hard-hitting, rollercoaster from start to finish. You’re uneasy from the very beginning and that doesn’t let up until to the very end.

Verdict

The Devil In Me has its faults with glitches, narrative hiccups and visual issues, but from a character, pacing, decision making and entertainment standpoint this is the best of The Dark Pictures Anthology so far and ends Season One with a suitable bloodthirsty, gripping finale that will leave you hungry for much more.

Pros

+ A story that grips you from the word go and constantly leaves you on edge
+ Interesting set of characters you just want to learn more about
+ Twists on existing mechanics make the experience feel fresh