Horror game sends you 5,000 years into the past

After Until Dawn, Man of Medan and Little Hope comes House of Ashes: Supermassive Games shows the first gameplay for the upcoming shocker, which is about one of the most mysterious cultures in our history – you will discover traces of the Akkadian Empire in an unexplored cave system.

A game about one of the oldest civilizations in our history developing may be an accomplishment in itself, and as Supermassive Games assures, they at least want to loosely adhere to well-known facts of history: about the Akkaderwhich dates back to about 2350 BC. About the same amount is known about the Sumerians themselves as they did about the Sumerians themselves – very little, at least with regard to the origin of these first advanced cultures.

However, there is one aspect that pop culture in particular has liked to associate with the Sumerian Empire and its mysterious cuneiform script: Aliens. Whether House of Ashes will take the leap to aliens remains a mystery to itself until the release.

Check out the new PS5 teaser for House of Ashes:

House of Ashes: Soldiers in the ruins of a 5,000 year old culture

In 2003, an American CIA troop investigated an alleged underground weapons depot in Iraq. When the soldiers are attacked by the locals, the sandy soil gives way and both groups fall meters deep ancient cave system. Cawing noises from below reveal that they may not be alone.

In one Preview videothat we were allowed to see shows House of Ashes with adult protagoniststrying to escape the monsters from the depths. Meanwhile, Supermassive Games assures that the teething troubles from Man of Medan and Little Hope have been eliminated: No clunky controls of the figures, and the Camera becomes fully articulated in House of Ashes be.

The claustrophobic cave system in horror game took inspiration from classics like The Descent; also the works of HP Lovecraft should play a role.

Adult protagonists, adult story?

The fully equipped CIA soldiers, whose fate you are to determine in the game, bring a breath of fresh air to The Dark Pictures Anthology: Playing not unsuspecting teenagers, but capable soldiers could benefit the story and thus perhaps also the inherent horror. Not just from blood splattered splatter but also the horror that the mysterious creature brings with it in the Akkadian ruins. That is the monster most complex monster that Supermassive Games have developed to date – and in the gameplay shown, it doesn’t shy away from handing out a few good jump scares.

House of Ashes, meanwhile, works in a similar way to its predecessors: You take on different protagonists one after the other, meet difficult decisions and defend yourself with the help of fast-paced quick-time eventsin case it gets tough. All characters can die in the game, just as everyone can survive – depending on how well you are doing.

Next to the Single player Supermassive Games particularly recommends that Two-player co-op mode, in which you take turns taking over the characters and fighting your way through the story together. Also a Co-op mode for four players is back, so you are spoiled for choice.

The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes will be released in 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X. The next-gen versions of the game should, however, take full advantage of the better hardware of the consoles – so expect at least graphical improvements.