The Dark Pictures anthology is a series fascinated by cinematic horror, and the setting of each film spins a new yarn, allowing Supermassive to cast a wide net. Following the ghost ship in "The Man from Medan" and the witch problem in "Little Hope," "House of Assis" explores a Sumerian temple with Marines and CIA agents. The switch from civilians and jump scares to soldiers and gunfights is an important one, and while initially hesitant, the anthology is stronger for it.

Soldiers on a mission discovering a monster or something supernatural is, of course, a classic genre trope that has spawned some of my favorites, from "Aliens" to "Dog Soldiers." But for a series that owes more to adventure games than action romances, the heavily armed jarhead seemed an odd choice. The series' first feature, "The House of Ashes," was a strange choice, since it turns out that the gruesome bat-like antagonists of "House of Ashes" don't give a damn about bullets.

That didn't stop the Marines, or the pair of Iraqi Republican Guards who fell into the Sumerian Temple with them, from consuming a lot of ammunition. Nor explosives. Except when they are lethargically shooting monsters at each other. There are many long and flashy QTEs, and they rank among Supermassive's most interesting and most elaborate.

Salim, one of the Republican guards, is playable and appears in most of the top fights. He gets a large metal rod early on, which must have some mystical power behind it. In addition to being an ass-kisser, Salim provides an important Iraqi perspective, balancing the initial gung-ho attitude of the Americans.

The monsters of House of Ashes like to lurk in the dark, but Supermassive doesn't hold them back much. They reveal themselves quickly, and from then on, you will often see their terrifying claws constantly creeping out, especially through doorways. They are disgusting to look at, make bone-chilling noises, and laugh at you when you take a bullet.

Despite its emphasis on lively action sequences, "House of Ashes" also offers criticism of the Iraq War, personal conflicts, and even a doomed love triangle. All of these are fodder for horror, building tension and setting up the possibility of betrayal. You have the opportunity to seriously screw over your "allies" at key moments, or you can try to befriend them all. You make the choices, but it's hard not to get caught up in what the characters are feeling. Their personalities and relationships are established early on, and I found myself doing what made sense for them rather than making smart choices.

For example, there is a well-trodden trope of survivors being injured or infected; "House of Ashes" likes this pattern. In one instance in particular, my co-op buddy and I deliberately repeated an obviously wrong choice over and over again. The game gave us multiple chances to kill or leave a character who would clearly bring disaster, but after hearing the Marines mouth the words "leave no one behind," the clearly wrong choice was the winner. And horror is all about inviting disaster. A horror movie where everyone makes rational decisions is a boring horror movie.

It's surprising that only one of the main characters died. Eric, the U.S. Air Force colonel leading the mission, didn't survive the night, but that's okay, because he was a bit of a loser and an insecure "nice guy."[15] House of Ashes nails the horror trick of making it fun to root for their deaths, if not their lives! . Eric's death was not planned by me, it was sealed after an earlier bad decision.

Failing a QTE has consequences, but Eric's death was not because of that. In fact, I had one successful attempt to make him do one last heroic act. Choices determine life and death more than dexterity. Also, the QTEs, though intense, are simple and give you enough warning in advance to give you a sense of the impending QTE and even tell you what QTE is coming up.

Supermassive began adding this helpful context in "Little Hope," and "House of Ashes" continues the trend. You are not allowed to touch it until you have completed your exploration. This is especially beneficial in a cooperative setting, where you are not going to stop your companions from looking at a Sumerian demon relief or an excerpt from a diary from the thirties.

The hapless fivesome become a band of amateur archaeologists, and the soldiers follow in the footsteps of an old expedition; House of Ashes continues the anthology's penchant for playing with actual myths and historical events, this time with Mesopotamian legends and "Akkadian The Curse" is a delight. In this poem, the gods took revenge on Naram-Sim thanks to the Gutian invasion. In the prologue to "The House of Ashes," however, the Gutians are not as big a problem as the blood-sucking underground monsters.

The Sumerian temple was a bit grander than a small New England town or a rusting ship, and the mystery at its heart-what in the world were these beasts-meant that I was greedy for any document, tablet, or journal I could get my hands on. My fellow archaeologists and I played around with theories from start to finish.

Mechanically, there is little that is new, but the cooperative play experience is somewhat stronger. Again, there are three modes, allowing you to play solo, with up to four friends (sharing one controller), or in shared story mode with one other person. In the shared story mode, whereas before you could play as everyone, this time you take care of certain characters, as Rachel and Salim, a CIA field officer and Eric's estranged wife, each have long sections where they act alone. Without them operating alone in their adventures, trying to play as one of them would only be awkward, lacking the important context of what they saw and did.

This gives me and my companions a greater sense of ownership over the characters and makes it easier to role-play consistently. It also means that we really need to rely on our partners to fill in for us, as we often find ourselves apart and doing completely different things. One time, while I was having a gut-wrenching conversation about relationships, my partner was in a pool of blood with Rachel. One of us was more stressed than the other.

I just wish the camera was better. There are lots of dark, narrow hallways, and the camera zooms right up to your shoulders, so your character takes up half the screen. At times, it clearly tries to evoke a shooter, but it doesn't work because it's so floaty and ponderous. At least it's fine for slowly exploring the spacious rooms of the temple, and if you want to get a good cinematic shot, that's always possible. It's also a good excuse to hit the screenshot button. Unfortunately, some of my best shots are firmly in spoiler territory.

I probably made the mistake of starting my first play at 10pm. And of course I had to spend another half hour dissecting it with a friend. The last part is pretty wild and easily the best payoff "Supermassive" has ever set up, but the journey to get there is also pretty compelling. Like many horror films, it walks a perilous tightrope between ridiculousness and coolness, and while it doesn't always land on the right side, it remains a fantastically entertaining, even if snarly.