The Dark Pictures Anthology offer a rare and unique experience. I find the series as a whole to be underrated, not for their narrative or quality, but because they created Shared Story Mode.
Shared Story is a game mode that I don’t see talked about very often but feels revolutionary in the realm of narrative co-op gaming. Admittedly this is potentially a niche that couldn’t actually quantify a realm, but is the audience really that small? or do they just not realise the super interesting and fun play experience that this unique mode can provide.
So, Shared Story Mode is the ability to play these game via online co-op. This differs to the couch co-op option, because rather than passing the controller, you will each be playing different characters at the same time. Sometimes you will be in the same scene, exploring together and talking to characters – sometimes on either side of the same conversation, picking up clues and discussing the story. Other times, you will split up, taking charge of different characters in their own scenes, sometimes completely separate and sometimes affecting each others experience.
There is no right or wrong way to play this, but I believe the best way is to play with a friend that has similar values to you (e.g. explores a similar amount, investment in story, same intentions for characters etc) in a voice chat. When you’re characters are exploring together, you are free to chat away, but as soon as you are alone then you both mute yourselves, in a pact not to talk again until your characters have reunited (if they are so lucky). At that point, you can tell each other about what you did, what you found and what you learned.
Now, I am not saying Shared Story is THE definitive way to play. There are pros and cons. For example, in Shared Story you accept from the start that you aren’t personally going to get to play/see every scene. This is probably the biggest factor against playing this way. This also means that you may miss out on some context as you won’t get to see all of the clues that your parner saw, and therefore can’t make your own complete theories. Depending on your situation you may be rushing, unsure what your partner is doing and whether they are waiting for you. However, the game does a really good job of accounting for that.
While some of the edits can be a little janky, I am always impressed with how they manage to seamlessly tie the two playthroughs together. You never end up stuck waiting around, not knowing what to do. Also, in our experience, the gameplay is divided well, ensuring that both parties each get to play some key scenes. There are even some moments that you wouldn’t see in single player mode as you can only ever have one point of view. It is always fun to have the potential unpredictability that a friend can bring to a simple conversation between two characters, and it is always funny when it goes wrong.
Without further ado, here is my ranked list of Season 1 of The Dark Pictures Anthology, based on my Shared Story experiences.
4. House of Ashes [2021]
House of Ashes seems to be quite widely regarded as the best of the bunch but for whatever reason, that was not my experience. The issue? I cannot remember most of what happened in this game. The intro was strong, and I remember something happening at the end. Other than that? I have no idea. I cannot decide which is more damning, a bad impression, or no impression at all.
3. Little Hope [2020]
Little Hope is one of the games that I have the most conflicted opinion on in my entire games catalogue. It should be number one on this list, easily. The time spent playing this game, getting to know the characters, making connections, having the wildest theories and being excited by the potential, all washes away because of one thing that I cannot specify without spoiling the game.
I was so into what this game was doing. The non-linear storytelling is surprisingly fun to experience as a duo and the intrigue surpassed the horror, urging us to discover every clue that we could possibly find. The entire experience was such a thrill and delight, and while my buddy Hajda did not have the same turning point as I did, I was so disappointed that 20 minutes of the game managed to colour the rest of my entire experience.
2. The Devil in Me [2022]
The Devil in Me is the one out of all of the games that has the premise that interests me the most. The trailer gave very saw-esque vibes and that is the flavour of horror that I grew up with. I was disappointed to see upon release that the general reception was ‘meh’ at best. However this did lower my expectations enough to be thoroughly impressed with the time that I had.
I loved (and hated) walking around this claustrophobic, dingy, vintage environment, not knowing what was going to be around every corner. I loved that we were a documentary film crew, a classic but perfect reason to go to opt into traveling to a murder island. I loved the mysteries and isolation. This is the game that suffered the most from not being able to view all of the clues, as there were a lot of names and dates that got lost in communication. However, the experience of the story within the moment was a fun one, and I don’t think I could have handled this hotel alone.
1. Man of Medan [2019]
Man of Medan – the first of the bunch – remains my favourite, not because I didn’t enjoy the others, but because the premise of the game lent itself so perfectly to the shared experience. Once again, it is difficult to express the particulars for spoiler reasons, but trust me when I say that if you are still blind on the series and are interested in Shared Story mode, try it out for this one at least.
The truth is, even the bottom of my list offered a super fun time with my friend where we got to discover a story in a way that no other game offers. Shared Story Mode – despite its flaws – is a gem of an experience and I really hope that Supermassive manage to succeed in their Season 2 goals. The only other studios that I can think of that play within in this space are Hazelight (A Way Out/It Takes Two), using the narrative but using a lot of split screen, and Total Mayhem Games (We Were Here) which is much further into the puzzle genre.
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