We tested a cooperative beta that takes us a little deeper into the new horror title from Supermassive Games.
The anthology project from the creators of Until Dawn continues with the second installment of the series. Following Man of Medan, The Dark Pictures Anthology presents Little Hope, a product that follows the mechanics of its predecessor, while exploring a completely new story. FreeGameTips has had the opportunity to test a new beta, in which we have been able to explore the cooperative mode Do not play alone. We tell you our impressions with the new Supermassive Games production.
The story of the video game places the spotlight on several college students and their professor, who are trapped in the mysterious town of Little Hope. Soon they will wish they hadn’t embarked on that journey, for nightmare images haunt them and visions loom through the mist. What is real and what is mere illusion? Why does everyone share the horrible memories of people from the past? As in Salem, in this part of New England the trials and executions of supposed witches took place. Suspicious and convicted women were driven to fire or to death by drowning. And now, several centuries later, the past returns to haunt the living.
This is how cooperative mode works
The peculiarity of this cooperative mode is that each player simultaneously plays one of the characters. In this case, we take control of Daniel, who is accompanied by Angela and Taylor. Meanwhile, the other user plays as Andrew, always under the watchful eye of John, his teacher. They are two separate groups, so that the story forks and each player experiences their part of the story that takes place in parallel.
The survivors advance with their flashlights in front, illuminating the darkness. We try to go through a gate, but it is firmly closed. So, we make our first decision in a dialogue. As in Man of Medan, we can choose between several options, among which is the possibility of not saying anything. At this time, we prefer to calm our colleagues and find an alternative route. The objective is to find a girl who seems to be lost in the town. The path cannot be missed and we soon came across a playground, and how could it be otherwise, the girl hides in that area.
We reach out, contact occurs …
Terrifying vision, “what the hell is going on?” The characters wonder, trembling with fear. The present mixes with the past and Daniel enters a scene from yesterday. Amy and her husband Joseph now appear in the sequence. The student cannot believe it, not only because he witnessed events that occurred centuries ago, but because the people he sees are an exact physical copy of Angela and John. Stunned, he witnesses the entrance of the Reverend Samuel A. Carver, who accuses Amy of being a witch and has her arrested for her supposed deal with the devil. Neither her husband nor Daniel, a spectator of everything that happens, can do anything about it.
Same formula as Man of Medan
From a mechanical point of view, Supermassive Games has stayed true to the previous formula. The game is based on decisions, which change the course of the story and modify the destiny of the characters and the relationships between each of them. In that sense, Little Hope hides some collectibles that give us clues of what may happen, such as the death of one of the survivors. However, that is only one of the possible paths. As for the second playable pillar, Quick Time Events continue to appear from time to time, so it is necessary to be very attentive to respond without making mistakes. It is still early to assess the set, but playably it is a very conservative title that hardly presents any significant news, at least in terms of mechanics.
When Daniel, Angela, and Taylor find the police station, they realize that Andrew and the professor are inside. After conducting a QTE in which the two players repeatedly hit a button, the door gives way and the two groups come together. The story brings together both users and all the survivors. The demo still has some other surprises in store for us, but we only have to cross a bridge that does not seem at all safe. The ground is full of holes and cracks, which heralds a more than likely fall into the jet-black waters. Now, we no longer handle Daniel, but John, a teacher who has proven to be quite a coward. On that occasion, however, he offers to pass first.
And what could go wrong? Many things. And what goes wrong? For now, a humanoid creature emerges from the river. And there they all go, run away, run away. We won’t tell more about that final scene, but we’ll say that up to that point everyone has survived. We then replay the game to see what we missed with the other group. Basically, Andrew and John make their way to the police station, where they try to find a phone to call for help. What they find are more visions, also starring the same characters. Amy’s trial is carried out with the foreseeable guilty verdict and consequent death sentence. Andrew yells for mercy, but apparently only Amy is able to hear the characters in the present, so the judge and the reverend think the woman is asking for help from Satan and his demons. The die is cast, he must die …
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope was scheduled for summer, although it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will finally be released on October 30 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
