Dark Pictures Anthology. Supermassive Games' interactive horror titles are connected by gameplay alone, with each game having its own distinct story. Though the studio's first foray into this genre, Until Dawn, was praised for its narrative, the games in the Dark Pictures Anthology have all suffered in the same area: their big reveals.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Until Dawn, the Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry]
In Until Dawn, players struggle to survive against monsters called wendigo, which set a precedent of high stakes and real danger for Supermassive's horror titles, as well as showcasing the potential for more interesting adaptations of creatures from real-world folklore. While Dark Pictures' premiere, Man of Medan, was largely competent, the twist that the game's supernatural occurrences were caused by hallucinogenic gas was not only telegraphed early on but also disappointing for fans who were expecting legitimate supernatural horror. Little Hope's twist was in a similar vein, revealing that the entire story was a hallucination, but this revelation was hardly set up at all. In both of these cases, the supernatural horror that fans expected from Supermassive Games was exchanged for expectation subversion, and the endings of otherwise competent horror stories were dragged down as a result.
Throughout The Quarry, the main characters are hunted by monsters referred to in-game only as "creatures." The nature of the monsters is hinted at throughout, but only a few scenes before the big reveal, a small detail spoils the long-awaited truth. It would be one thing if the reveal occurred early due to a player's choices - after all, The Quarry's many choices and endings are its chief selling point - but for it to come from a minor UI element is simply anticlimactic. While controlling Emma, players are given the option to light fireworks to fend off one of the creatures. By doing so, players' Path updates to include a spoiler-filled description: "Emma set off a firework in the attacking werewolf's face." Thus, any players who did so had their theories about the game confirmed or denied only a handful of scenes before the game apparently intended to do so.
Supermassive's Horror Games Keep Sabotaging Their Endings
By undercutting the build-up of their own reveal of The Quarry's werewolves, Supermassive once again sabotaged their execution of one of the most important elements of a horror story: the ending. While Until Dawn had campy slasher film trappings, it also contained a complex mystery that kept players engaged. Similarly, with each entry of the Dark Pictures Anthology, discovering the true nature of what's befalling the games' characters was their primary narrative engine. With the decisions made surrounding each of these games' endings, Supermassive has continually subverted expectations, just not in the manner they probably hoped.
As each entry in the Dark Pictures Anthology was released, they were met with criticisms primarily concerning their narratives and focus on quick-time event difficulty rather than decision-making. However, when The Quarry was announced, it offered renewed hope in the studio's future. Supposedly, The Quarry was a spiritual successor to Until Dawn, which gave fans hope that it would feature a return to the studio's roots in actual horror. While the game did live up to its promise in that regard, it could not escape from the narrative mistakes of its predecessors, and The Quarry's werewolves were spoiled in the process.
