The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is the latest title in the series, and it has many choices to consider if players want to keep everyone alive. Some of these choices involve strengthening relationships between the characters, completing or ignoring quick-time events, or even choosing whether or not to shoot someone. To keep everyone alive until the end of House of Ashes, there are several significant events where the right decision needs to be made.

In House of Ashes, players will take control of five unique characters as they fight to stay alive. The characters, some of which begin as enemies, will need to work together to survive after they all get trapped in the ruins of a Sumerian temple. Although House of Ashes has premonitions to help players make decisions or avoid dangerous situations, they can be a bit hard to decipher. Decisions like what characters should say to each other can strongly steer the direction of the game.

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To get the best ending in House of Ashes, players will need to strengthen their characters' relationships at every opportunity. Choosing the kind, honest, and hopeful dialogue options will usually be the right way to go. When everyone survives, players will be awarded "The Golden Path" trophy/achievement. However, if players want to collect all the trophies/achievements, then a few playthroughs will be necessary because there are several associated with character deaths.

How to Save Everyone in the Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

House of Ashes Best Ending

With over 60 unique deaths in House of Ashes, players may find it difficult to keep everyone alive. There is some leniency in the game, such as certain quick-time events that can be failed or decisions that have little impact, but a lot of the choices in the game are important. The following decisions must be made in order to get the best ending:

  • Air Support: At the beginning of the story, Eric should choose to get air support as suggested by Jason for added safety. At the end of House of Ashes, the air support will help kill creatures and protect the survivors.
  • The Farmer: When the facility is raided, Jason will be given an opportunity to shoot a farmer after telling him to run. In order to save Jason from Salim shooting him, Jason must not shoot the farmer in this scene. Consequentially, both Jason and Salim will help each other later in the game.
  • Merwin: Merwin, although not playable, needs to be kept alive to allow him to call for air support towards the end of the game. Players should take Merwin with them and fail Nick's QTE when Jason is giving Merwin morphine. The safer route will then need to be taken when the morphine kicks in and the three of them escape the monsters.
  • The Rope: In House of Ashes, when Rachel and Eric are chased by Dar, Eric will need to choose whether to hold on to the rope or cut it letting Rachel fall. If he holds on, both characters will fall and Eric will die, but if he cuts the rope, only Rachel falls. She will survive the landing, and Eric will safely move on.
  • Salim’s QTE: When Salim runs from the monster, the QTE must be completed successfully. This will lead to Salim learning about the creature's weakness to sunlight.
  • Medical Kit: When Nick hears Joey crying out, send Jason to watch over Merwin, then bring Eric to look for Joey. After the large pool of blood is found, there is a split in the path, and players need to walk down the darker one on the left to find the medical kit. Doing so will let players heal Salim before entering the vault, and he will, in turn, be able to save Nick.
  • Nick and Salim: When Salim explains information about the monster to Nick, it's important that players choose the supportive dialogue option. This will strengthen the relationship between the characters.
  • Sneak by the Monster: Similar to saving everyone in A Little Hope, players will need to be successful in many QTEs throughout House of Ashes. When going through with the plan to sneak past the creature, there will be a QTE that needs to be successfully executed, or the player will be caught.
House of Ashes Vampire Clarice
  • Clarice: Clarice will meet up with Rachel at one point and eventually admit that the creatures implanted a parasite in her, so she will turn into one of them. Players should choose to be emotionally supportive until being asked about medicine, where Rachel should be honest and tell Clarice she isn't looking well. Rachel needs to abandon Clarice so she doesn't later kill Eric. She will reappear as a monster at the end where a QTE event needs to be completed successfully to save both Eric and Rachel.
  • The Stake: When Jason and Nick enter the chamber from the game's prologue, Jason will be able to grab a stake from a corpse that's to the right of the entrance. Later, he can use the stake to defend himself against Joey.
  • Machine Gun: When given the opportunity, Rachel should choose to stay behind with Jason and shoot the machine gun. A successful QTE will result in giving the rest of the team enough time to escape, and they will recall the location of the mines in the catacombs. Alternatively, players can themselves remember where the mines are, but having it done automatically is much easier.
  • Crucifix: When Kurum approaches Nick in the Assault, players should choose the crucifix, not the rifle, to face off against him.
  • Salim’s Shot: Salim will have the opportunity during the Assault to shoot the monster coming after him or the one attacking Rachel. To keep Rachel alive, Salim will need to shoot the creature going after her.
  • Saving Eric: Like its predecessor, Man of Medan, House of Ashes requires that its characters frequently save each other instead of themselves. Rachel can choose to save Eric or retreat during the Assault. She must save Eric to keep him alive, or he won't make it to the end.
  • The White Phosphorus: In desperation, Rachel raises her knife to slash the white phosphorus, but players should wait out the choice and do nothing so she can survive.
  • Going Back for Salim: When escaping as Jason, players should choose to go back for Salim after he calls for help on the radio. The pair will save each other during a QTE event, and both will survive the scene. If players don't go back for Salim, he will die.
  • The Final Stand: In the last mission of the game, even if all other correct decisions were made, players can still lose their characters. Each person will have a QTE sequence, and failing it will cause that character's death. Complete each sequence successfully, and everyone will survive to the end of the game.

As with other games in The Dark Pictures Anthology series, like Man of Medan, there are many choices that have serious consequences. House of Ashes features a variety of dangerous sequences where players will need to react quickly in order to save their characters. Completing the game with every character alive will unlock "The Golden Path" trophy/achievement. Using the premonitions and strengthening relationships, players can plan ahead to make decisions that will save everyone in House of Ashes.

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The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.