User:PSA/sandbox/The Devil in Me

''"The Devil in Me" redirects here. For the 1977 studio album by Thelma Houston, see The Devil in Me (album).''

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, also known simply as The Devil in Me, is a 2022 interactive drama and survival horror video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The final entry for The Dark Pictures Anthology first season, The Devil in Me is the fourth game in the series, after Man of Medan (2019), Little Hope (2020), and House of Ashes (2021). Like with earlier entries, The Devil in Me features a branching storyline and an ensemble cast of five playable protagonists. Many scenes in the game involve critical decision making moments that can change the course of the narrative and determine who lives and who dies. The story continues even without the dead characters.

Jessie Buckley, who portrays an investigative journalist named Kate Wilder, stars as the title's leading actress. The game centres around a documentary filmmaking crew who visit a replica of the H. H. Holmes Murder Castle upon receiving an invitation from an unknown person. When they arrive in the Murder Castle replica, a serial killer traps the protagonists in the building, forcing them to find a way out of danger.

While The Devil in Me retains staple features of the anthology, like quick time events and "pictures" that give players a glimpse of future story outcomes, new gameplay mechanics include [?]. Incorporating a soundtrack by the anthology's composer and long-time collaborator Jason Graves, Supermassive's The Devil in Me is based on the life of serial killer H. H. Holmes and draws inspiration from an assorted collection of works like [?].. The game was released on 2022 for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, receiving [?] reviews. [?]

Critical response
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes received "mixed or average" reviews from critics and "generally favorable" reviews from users according to Metacritic, a review aggregator.

House of Ashes was widely regarded as the anthology's "best game yet" upon its release and as an improvement over the previous two entries, with a few reviews calling it a "step in the right direction" for The Dark Pictures.

Technical aspects and gameplay
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Narrative aspects
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The characters of House of Ashes were the subject of commentary for many critics. One of the protagonists, Salim, received widespread praise from audiences. Rachel Weber, writing for GamesRadar+, commented that some of the characters felt like "good impressions" of human beings, describing Salim as a character she "really wanted" to save, and Richard Wakeling from GameSpot wrote that the developers did an "excellent job" at making Salim a sympathetic character and cited his character dynamics as being the game's "best and most poignant moments". Jordan Devore from Destructoid agreed and considered him as the "most likeable" and "relatable" of the cast, and he also calls Salim the "most pragmatic" due to his willingness to put aside conflict in order to escape the temple. Tom Orry from VG247 thought that Salim stood out from the cast due to his backstory and personality, and Polygon 's Cass Marshall added that Salim's character motivation of returning home to his son throughout the story, his "enormous vampire kill count", and his relationship with Jason was what made him stand out. Jason also received some praise from critics. Marshall found Jason's dynamic with Salim to be "satisfying and bittersweet", whereas Game Informer 's Marcus Stewart remarked that, even though his interactions with Salim came across as "cheesy", he lauded the acting behind Jason's character, considering his war trauma and character development as "endearing" moments that drew Stewart close to the protagonist.

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Reception, meanwhile, was divided on the game's handling of political themes and messages. Some critics commended the story's portrayal of Iraq and its people. Others criticizing the inconsistency in some aspects of the political commentary, which included topics like war violence or the role of American soldiers in the Iraq War. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec auctor nunc velit, at tincidunt justo elementum non. Nulla fringilla sodales mi, in tristique ante aliquet eu. Praesent consequat nisl eu elit lacinia imperdiet. Phasellus mauris leo, hendrerit faucibus fermentum non, aliquet ac arcu. Praesent rutrum nisi non libero sagittis fringilla. Etiam dignissim nulla nunc, nec dignissim purus pulvinar vel. Nam feugiat auctor magna sed feugiat. Quisque sed tempor risus. Nunc eu elit est. Ut dapibus nulla et tincidunt consectetur. Nulla faucibus sem non quam ultrices suscipit.

Sales
Compared to the previous title Little Hope, House of Ashes received 27% less physical sales in the United Kingdom upon its debut. The game entered the UK boxed charts at number six, with 48% of boxed sales coming from people ordering it on the PS5. The PS4 and Xbox versions made up 36% and 16% of physical sales at the time, respectively. It dropped to number 21 on the week of 30 October, when it saw an approximately 52% decrease in sales. Factoring both digital and physical purchases, House of Ashes reached the GSD Top 20 Games monthly chart for October, where it placed at number 11.