The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope begins with a gruesome series of events that set up the game's overall tone, telling players that this is not going to be another slow start for the series. Little Hope is a major departure from the goofy slasher that was Until Dawn and is much more exciting than Man of Medan. Little Hope doesn't go out of its way to reinvent the wheel in any way, but it does keep things entertaining with a gripping story and characters that are hard to hate and even harder to see meet their demise.
Little Hope is a great addition to a growing series in The Dark Pictures Anthology that touches on all of the staple elements of the horror genre. It presents a compelling story told through outstanding vocal performances from its star cast, and does so while never forgetting to take the time to keep things creepy. Little Hope is admittedly less nightmare-inducing than the past entries, presents itself with a degree of realism and maturity that doesn't disappoint. The only real issues lie not in what is shown, but in what isn't.
Gameplay in Little Hope has few alterations on the effective formula that started with Until Dawn. Players are once again taken through a 4-to-5 hour movie with a number of interactive moments. This gameplay loop is surprisingly less tedious than it has been in the past, however, due to Little Hope's sense of pacing throughout. There is much less wandering from room to room with no real direction, so major events come swiftly and often effortlessly. When those events do present themselves, they are more intense than in past entries. Making mistakes with the quicktime events is made to feel more dire, as characters rarely get second chances when they are in true danger.
One issue with gameplay is that choices feel less impactful than in previous games. Little Hope is built around two or more players taking control over certain characters. This is a fun way to play the game with friends, but leads to a number of choices where deciding which character to help ends in the other character just helping themselves somehow. The only real consequences seem to be death, and these circumstances only come at very specific points in the game. Player choices make an obvious difference toward how the game ends, but moment-to-moment choices usually amount to little more than how nicely a character speaks to another in their next encounter.
The biggest issue with Little Hope is the fact that while the plot is compelling and the characters are interesting, the game's goals revolve around events that have largely already occurred. Players are meant to control the main cast as they wander the ghostly town, figuring out what ultimately happened during a series of deadly witch trials that occurred in the 1600s. Flashbacks to this time are great, but it is hard not to feel as though controlling characters during this moment in history would have made for a more interesting adventure.
Choosing where a character should run while being pursued by monsters is scary, but not as scary as deciding how to defend the honor of a woman accused of witchcraft. Those choices would likely lead to larger branching consequences than the ones that become the characters who reside in the present day. Little Hope could have been about passing the blame onto the next person, or lying about a character's whereabouts to avoid being suspected. Instead, the only real goal is to keep wandering around in the dark until the next time a monster jumps out to force players into a quicktime event.
Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is a fun addition to the series, but sadly leaves players wanting more. What is presented to players is done so with brilliant visuals and even better vocal performances. The stakes feel real, and losing a character is a truly painful experience for an invested participant. The overall plot suffers from being set after all the good stuff has already happened, though, and while it isn't lacking in scares or thrills, it is lacking in diverse choices that have lasting consequences outside of immediate death. Little Hope is worth checking out for its general presentation, but might be better on sale.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. Screen Rant was provided with a PlayStation 4 code for the purposes of this review.