| “ | Welcome to the Murder Hotel where nothing is as it seems, and the amenities are to die for!
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The Devil in Me is the fourth and final installment of the first season of The Dark Pictures Anthology series, and the fourth installment overall.
It is an interactive drama survival horror video game with slasher horror elements developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for a multi-platform release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on November 18, 2022.
The game is based on Henry Howard Holmes, United States of America's first serial killer.
Synopsis[]
A group of documentary film makers receive a mysterious call inviting them to a modern-day replica of HH Holmes’ ‘Murder Hotel’. But on arrival the crew soon discover they’re being watched and even manipulated, and suddenly there’s much more at stake than just their ratings!
Plot[]
PrologueIn 1893, during a trip to the World's Fair Columbian Exposition, honeymooners Jeff and Marie arrive at the World's Fair Hotel. Once at the hotel, the Whitmans are greeted by its owner, Henry Howard Holmes, who checks the couple into a room before going back to his business. Having rejoiced over their luxurious suite, the spouses splits up, with Marie going to take a bath and Jeff going to the lobby to buy a shaving kit. As Jeff walks down the hall, he nearly falls into a deadly trap. Meanwhile, Marie bathes when a figure enters the room, who she mistakes for Jeff. It turns out to be Holmes, who immediately attacks Marie, killing or mortally wounding her. Jeff arrives in the bathroom but is too late to save his wife. Confronting Holmes, he can attack him or run away, but both choices result in his death. After the murders, Holmes goes to welcome new guests and new victims to his hotel. Main StoryAs the prologue ends, the player enters the repository, where they are met by the Curator. He coldly explains his role as a recorder of the player's story and talks about basic gameplay mechanics before saying goodbye, telling the player that "the game is afoot". Throughout the game, the player interacts several times with the Curator, who summarizes the decisions made by them and offers them hints. Act 1 On October 26, 2022, Lonnit Entertainment, consisting of presenter Kate, cinematographer Mark, lighting technician Jamie, sound engineer Erin and their producer Charlie, are struggling with the production of the final episode of their series "The Architects of Murder". That is until, out of the blue, they get a call from a mysterious man, who introduces himself as Granthem Du'Met. He claims to own the recreation of H.H. Holmes' Murder Castle on his island in Lake Michigan and offers the group his hotel for filming. Charlie gladly accepts the offer, after which the crew gets on a ferry to the island. Upon arrival, they meets Du'Met in person, noticing his strange behavior. Having checked the crew into the hotel, he promises to meet them for dinner, but as they settle in, Jamie notices Du'Met running away from the island with a strange girl. Learning of his departure, the crew freaks out as they are now on their own, but Charlie takes it as an opportunity to shoot footage for the episode without Du'Met getting in their way. As the crew starts preparing, Erin hears some noises, following which she finds herself locked in a blacked out room. While the others try to get Erin out, she encounters a shadowy figure in the room with her, which either spares Erin or kills her. At that moment, the crew breaks into the room only to find a distraught Erin or her entirely missing. Act 2 As the crew regroups back in Erin's room, they are distressed and confused about what happened with her. Trying to come up with a further plan of action, the group splits up, with Charlie and Jamie going off to find Du'Met while Kate and Mark go to the former's room to prepare to leave the island. Erin is left in her room in confusion. Looking for Du'Met, Charlie and Jamie follow a blood trail which leads them to a trap, where the two find the groundskeeper and the masked killer who attacked Erin. The groundskeeper dies when Charlie accidentally activates the trap, after which the hotel is sealed shut. Moreover, when Charlie and Jamie try to reunite with Kate and Mark, a wall suddenly appears between them. Trying to find a workaround, the first duo finds themselves trapped in a freezer room and then separated when Charlie falls through a trapdoor into the basement. Meanwhile, Erin is locked in her room and forced to walk down a secret passage to the Silver Ash Institute, where she can find the tape that indicate Charlie is cooperating with a killer. Hearing Jamie's voice over in the intercom, Erin can hide in the cupboard and survive, only to still be caught in the trap, or run and die. Jamie then regroups with Kate and Mark in the restaurant, after which the trio goes down into the cellar. At that moment, Charlie explores the basement and is lured into the furnace room. Once Charlie is trapped, a fire trap is activated, in which he can be burned alive or survive by laying beneath a grate. Either way, the rest will assume Charlie died. The trio moves on and reaches an abandoned spa, through which they return to the lobby. The group then finds Erin, either turned into an animatronic (if she is dead) or locked in the suffocation chamber (if she is alive). Kate tries to help Erin, but finds herself trapped inside another section of the vault. Jamie and Mark discover that the air is getting sucked out of the vault and they have to decide who to kill in order to save the other. To save both Erin and Kate, Jamie must kill the latter as Mark will find a leak in Kate's window and save her. The group reconvenes and formulates a plan on getting to the lighthouse to send a signal for help. The walls start moving and the group once again separates with Mark falling down a trapdoor and Jamie being blocked from Kate and Erin. Mark falls into the trap, but thanks to a fortunate set of circumstances, he instead finds himself in the basement, more specifically in the killer's workshop. Trying to get out of the workshop, Mark can be caught by the killer, but either way he ends up outside the hotel. At the same time, Charlie gets out of the furnace and tries to escape from the basement through the waste disposal. Trying to get through the industrial shredder, Charlie can die but otherwise he makes it outside the hotel as well. Meanwhile, Kate and Erin, looking for Jamie, find out a little bit more about the previous victims of the killer. It turns out that the man who introduced himself to the crew as Du'Met is actually an author named Joseph Morello, who, along with his family, was a previous guest and victim of the killer who is the real Du'Met. The girls then regroups and sneaks into the control room from where Du'Met controlled the traps. The trio comes up with a plan to trap Du'Met between the walls, but it fails and Jamie and Kate themselves end up trapped in the glass trap. As the wall between them moves toward Jamie, she is forced to decide who will be crushed, herself or Kate. However, if either of the girls have the screwdriver, they will break the glass as it comes towards them. Act 3 With both Kate and Jamie surviving the trap, the girls continue to run away from Du'Met. A chase ensues, first on the rooftop and then in a maze in which Jamie and Erin may die. The chase ends with the girls escaping into the woods, but losing Erin on the way. Trying to get to the lighthouse, Jamie and Kate stumble upon an abandoned farmhouse where they find Morellos' dog Connie. At that moment, Du'Met enters the house and the girls hide, but Connie starts growling. Jamie can kill the dog to avoid attracting attention or spare it, which could lead to her death instead. Either way, the girls escape Du'Met and continue on their way to the lighthouse. Parallel to this, Mark and Charlie reunite and together head for the lighthouse. Along the way, Charlie can die either from Du'Met in the warehouse or in an attempt to cross the chasm. Upon reaching the lighthouse, the two are greeted by Erin. If she found Charlie's tape Erin will confront him about it, to which Mark can stick up for Charlie or leave him tied up outside (which will later lead to Charlie's death). Exploring the lighthouse, the group finds Charlie's tape that has been edited by Du'Met and a spare boat key. Mark reaches the top of the lighthouse and turns on the beacon. Making his way down, Mark spots Kate and Jamie, but doesn't realize Du'Met is behind him. The further course of the game follows one of two ways and depends on the player's decisions: If there is at least one survivor besides Kate and Mark or the two are the only survivors but weren't caught by Du'Met, the group will escape to the dock, where they will find the bodies of Joseph Morello and his daughter. The survivors are also confronted by a state officer about it, but the latter is killed by Du'Met. The group successfully escapes on the speedboat only to be attacked by Du'Met once again. The protagonists either all die or succeed in defeating Du'Met, seemingly killing him. On the mainland, the group is rescued by a truck driver. After the meeting with the Curator, Du'Met's mask is shown washed up, before he picks it up. If Mark and Kate are the only survivors and both were caught by Du'Met, Mark will awake in an enclosed space and find Kate strapped onto a stretcher with tubes up her nose, leading to a beaker filled with acid. Just then, A video opens with Joseph Morello revealing that he was forced to bring the crew onto the island to save his daughter. Morello tells that Mark must do the same in order to save Kate, or they both will die. In Mark's case, he has to either call or not call the Collins family. If Mark refuses, the couple will die; otherwise, Mark, as "Du'Met", will tour the Collins family to the hotel before fleeing the island on the ferry with Kate. EndingsThe player meets with The Curator for the last time. If Du'Met "died", The Curator angrily tears out a paper with list of names as a malevolent force bangs on the door leading to the repository. The Curator then comments on their ending and the number of survivors, after which he says goodbye to the player, promising that they will meet again in the future. The ending depends on the finale and has two versions:
After the credits, a short teaser announcing the fifth installment of the anthology and the Season Two premiere, Directive 8020, is shown. |
Gameplay[]
See The Dark Pictures Anthology#Gameplay for full gameplay of the anthology.
The Devil in Me has a strict auto-save system that prevents the player from reloading the save file to an earlier point in the game if they want to change their decision.
To see all the content in the game, the player must pass it multiple times on different paths and scenarios. Moreover, the game involves a permanent death mechanic, which means the loss of a character forever if they died. Thus, The Devil in Me provides numerous outcomes and endings for each character. As the Season One finale, the installment is much longer than its predecessors, taking more than 7 hours to complete.
Jamie is forced to choose which of her friends - Kate or Erin - she must kill to save the other.
Throughout the game, the player is constantly faced with moral dilemmas ranging from the usual dialogues to life and death situations (whom to kill, give a tool or keep it, etc.). For these cases, the player has a moral compass that offers them two or three choices for the answer - act rationally ("Head"), act emotionally ("Heart"), or say/do nothing. However, the time to choose is limited, about 5-10 seconds depending on the situation. The Devil in Me utilizes a system of "bearings" that record any choice of action made by the player, which may have great consequences later on and are able to affect the outcome of the game.
The gameplay is focused on exploration, quick-time events (usual and Keep Calm segments) and discovering collectibles. The latter include pictures that show possible future events and secrets that reveal the lore and help to reveal the hotel's past, as well as Du'Met's backstory. An in-game system keeps track of all discovered collectibles, making them always available to the player, regardless of their current playthrough. Collecting all or specific secrets, as well as completing the game, rewards the player with bonus content that provides additional information about the game's lore and development.
As the Season One finale, The Devil in Me features brand new gameplay mechanics that didn't appear in the anthology:
An example of the inventory system shown at the bottom left.
- Protagonists gain advanced move sets, allowing them to interact more with their surroundings. Characters are now able to: run, climb, crawl, vault over obstacles, jump over gaps, squeeze through tiny spaces, balance across beams, etc. Also, when a threat is present, the protagonists can find a hiding spot to hide from it until the situation is clear.
- Exploration now includes solving light puzzles (finding hidden codes, untangling antique fuse boxes, finding ways out of mazes, moving things around to find new routes, etc.) in order for the player to work their way through the hotel as well as to keep the protagonists alive.
- An inventory system has been added. Protagonists are now able to use items they possess to increase their chances of survival. Items may be altered, broken, lost, or given to other characters. Moreover, each protagonist from the beginning of the game is equipped with a specific tool directly related to their work:
- As a businessman, Charlie is equipped with a business card, which he can use to pry open latches on drawers.
- As an investigative journalist, Kate is equipped with a pencil, which she can use to shade over torn bits of papers and find what's written underneath.
- As a cameraman, Mark is equipped with a camera, which he can use to gather evidences of the crimes they've uncovered.
- As a chief grip, Jamie is equipped with a multimeter, which she can use to rewire electrical circuits.
- As a sound engineer, Erin is equipped with a directional microphone, which she can use to hear through walls.
- New collectibles are added in the form of coins known as obols. Collecting these coins will unlock items which players can view. Moreover, these coins will have greater meaning to the anthology, as the Curator is keen on collecting them.
Finally, The Devil in Me offers players four game modes: single-player, which allows to play the game from a main (Theatrical Cut) or alternate (Curator's Cut) perspective, and multiplayer, which allows two players online (Shared Story) or two to five players offline (Movie Night) to play the game.
Characters[]
The Devil in Me follows five main protagonists, who are lured to and trapped in a replica of the "Murder Castle". The protagonists are members of a documentary film crew. The supporting cast includes a couple visiting the Murder Castle for a honeymoon, a true crime author, a dog, and three serial killers from different eras.
Protagonists[]
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Antagonists[] |
Supporting Characters[]
Soundtrack[]
In-Game Music[]
- 1. Du'Met
- 2. The Journey
- 3. Watchful Eye
- 4. The Chase
- 5. The Island
- 6. The Trap
- 7. The Honeymoon
- 8. Hunted
- 9. The Hotel
Other Music[]
- Intro - A Conversation with Death
- Credits - Oh Death (by Signature Quartet)
Development[]
During the making of The Devil in Me, the Supermassive Games team drew inspiration from the Saw series, taking grotesque traps and dilemmas, as well as the film The Shining, taking the concept of a sinister building with menace lurking around every corner. In addition, the team was inspired by several classic slashers, such as Psycho, Halloween, and Friday the 13th.
Unlike previous games, The Devil in Me first appeared on June 28, 2021, when its title and title art were trademarked. Before that, the only confirmed information about the installment was where it would take place (known from the cloth map of the anthology universe) and its theme (known from books in previous two installments).
The first glimpse of the fourth installment in the anthology appeared in House of Ashes' gold picture showing a man (Charlie) getting burned in a trap as a woman (Jamie) watches the scene through TV. Moreover, as the credits end, the announcement trailer[1] is shown, revealing the identities of some of the protagonists. After a while, the names of the main cast, being Kate, Charlie, Mark, Jamie and Erin, were revealed.
The teaser opens with the dialogue between a man with a cigarette and someone hidden in the shadows. When asked what it's like to be a killer, the man says that a killer is an artist and that seeing someone's life fade away before your eyes is true art. His monologue is first accompanied by footage of entrails and corpses, followed by scenes of the protagonists facing danger and getting caught in the traps. It is then revealed that the smoking man is actually an animatronic corpse and the voice comes from a Dictaphone. The teaser ends with the voice asking the listener if they have already left their mark in the world like he did when the man in the shadows turns off the Dictaphone, followed by the title of the fourth installment and Season One Finale - The Devil in Me.
The World's Fair Hotel.
On December 31, as a celebration for New Year, Supermassive Games released the first post about The Devil in Me, which features a view of the World's Fair Hotel from the outside, with the killer standing in front of the building. In the same post, it was announced that the game will be released in 2022. On March 28, 2022, the official game poster was revealed, confirming the name of the central protagonist played by Jessie Buckley, Kate.
The first activity about The Devil in Me started on June 29, when the Steam page[2] was updated with new information about the installment. On July 7, a short story trailer[3] was released, showing the beginning of the setting, as well as revealing the release date to be somewhere in Autumn.
On August 24, for Gamescom 2022, a new trailer[4] was released, featuring new gameplay mechanics (inventory, advanced move sets, and puzzles). It also confirmed the release date of The Devil in Me, which is November 18. A day later, an interview[5] with Tom Heaton was released, where he revealed the settings, protagonists and gameplay in details. Along with the interview was a 16-minute gameplay footage, where the group encountered one of the traps Du'Met designed and might even lose one of the protagonists, being Erin.
On October 12[6] and 18[7], two parts of an interview with main actress Jessie Buckley was released. In it, Jessie talked about what it was like to play Kate and her experience casting her role. On October 24, a 1 hour demo of the game was released to various content creators and game reviewers. This demo allowed the players to play seven new chapters. Players were also able to play as each protagonist and even kill Erin.
A day after the demo launched, a website[8] about the World's Fair Hotel was released, in which 4 categories: Rooms, Experience, Wellness, and The Island can be viewed in order to see snippets of the hotel. However, each category can subsequently be viewed days after days. Days later, a link below the Reserve button, known as Archives, can be viewed, showing the game's promotion in an old newspaper format. On October 27[9], as a celebration for the upcoming Halloween, a short trailer was released, featuring the protagonists' attempts to confront Du'Met and their brutal deaths.
Reception[]
General reviews for The Devil in Me
In Metacritic, The Devil in Me received mixed or average reviews for the PlayStation 4 and PC versions and generally favorable reviews for the Xbox Series X/S version.
Special Releases[]
Animatronic Collector's Edition[]
The Animatronic Collector's Edition is an exclusive edition release of The Devil in Me. It features a copy of the game and a pre-order bonus with an animatronic bust figurine, a Lonnit Entertainment business card, a postcard with envelope, and a map of the World's Fair Hotel on an island.
Volume 2 Edition[]
The Volume 2 Edition is a collection bundle featuring copies of both House of Ashes and The Devil in Me and a pre-order bonus with House of Ashes playing cards, the same map mentioned previously, and pins (eclipse and drawing compass).
System requirements[]
Note: CPU should support SSSE3 instruction set, otherwise the game will crash on loading screen ("SMG028 FATAL ERROR").
Trivia[]
References[]
- References to The Devil in Me appear in other installments of The Dark Pictures Anthology:
- In Man of Medan: Brad's ghost story; an article in the 1947 Newspaper about the murder of a gangster near a hotel; the Ritual Book.
- In Little Hope: an article in the Old Magazine about the show "Architects of Murder"; an article in the Newspaper: Factory Protests about the Chicago World's Fair.
- In House of Ashes: an article in the War Newspaper about serial killer Manny Sherman; a book titled "Mind of a Killer"; the sweater pattern of the shepherds; Nick's shirt with the word Chicago.
- The Devil in Me contains many references to the other installments in The Dark Pictures Anthology:
- References to Man of Medan: a wine bottle labelled "IL DUCA DI MILANO."
- References to Little Hope: a line in a book about tackling demons face-on.
- References to House of Ashes: the name "Jeff Kolchek."
- References to Directive 8020: Crash Plaque; the last line in the second page of the Anxiety Book; Erin's quote about a rocket being able to be launched from the Nerve Center; a magazine titled "Future Vision: Countdown to Mars".
Other[]
- "THE DEVIL IN ME" logo is written in Mazzard font family.
- The title of the game is a reference to Holmes' murder confession to the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he allegedly stated "I was born with the Devil in me".
- The skull in the game's cover has metal brackets, which refers to the mechanism used by Du'Met to move animatronic corpses.
- The Devil in Me is the first installment to feature confirmed LGBTQ+ characters (Jamie and Erin).
- The Devil in Me is the last game in the anthology released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
References[]
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