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The third game in the series, House Of Ashes continues the legacy of disturbing gameplay for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Dark Pictures' adoring fans. Even many experienced players don't know what to expect going in, making the first playthrough a whirlwind of fear and excitement. Getting wrapped up in a game is exactly what you want, but it can prevent you from seeing some of the finer details.
Unlike most other games, House Of Ashes has a lightly interwoven series already built in, opening up the developers' options for secret elements. Hardcore fans are bound to play through the game multiple times, but not everyone has the time, cutting them off from the subtle context House Of Ashes has hidden behind the drama.
7 ꦆ Staircase To The Underworld ♈
The area where you'll spend most of your time in the game, the Zagros Mountains are much more than this title's setting. Located on the Iran/Iraq border, their history dates back to the ancient Sumerians, the earliest known culture in the area. The mountains were believed to contain the entrance to Kur, their version of the underworld, via a large staircase.
Instead of being judged, the dead would continue on a shadowy version of their normal life in the deep, dreary caverns below. In the game, similar caverns are inhabited by the main antagonist, the vampires. While shadowy souls don't exactly give off welcoming vibes, the parasitic alien bats definitely ramp things up to the next level.
6 Pointless ꦺArmor
It might feel better to have some protection covering up the characters, but the kinds of enemies you face for most of the game can't be deterred with a little body armor. Wearing armor as a fashion statement is fine as long as you don't rely on it for extra protection, especially when it comes to the abominations that are the vampires.
Even if it was going to provide a layer of protection, the armor isn't even covering all the important areas, leaving wide open spaces begging to be attacked. For a game set in the Iraq war, you'd be surprised how little gunfire affects the gameplay, throwing you into combat situations that are sink or swim at best.
5 ♚Anthology Hi🔜nts
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As expected in an anthology series, the developers have left hints at what's already been and what's to come. In Man Of Medan, you'll find multiple issues of the 1947 newspaper. One of the newspaper titles is about 24 archaeologists going missing in the Zagros Mountains, never to be found again. In Little Hope, Tanya's necklace is a crescent shape, the same shape that represents House Of Ashes in the curator's bookshelf.
Throughout the game, there will also be references to The Devil In Me, Dark Pictures' fourth installment, starting with a newspaper reference to the serial killer Manny Sherman, a man that murdered at least 13 women. If you look in Rachel's Desk you'll find a book called ''Mind of a Killer," which is a quick guide inside the mind of the deranged.
4 ౠ ൩ Vampire References
Some of the most fun easter eggs in the game involve 168澳�🎐�洲幸运5开奖网:just how much vampire lore they shouted out, using the characters' names to highlight key personalities in vampire culture. Starting with the man who wrote the book that kicked it all off, Clarice Stokes is hinting at Bram Stoker, the author of 1897's Dracula. More of a deep cut, Jason Kolchek is in reference to Carl Kolchak, the main character of Night Stalker.
Who could call themselves a vampire fan without mentioning the man himself, Stephen King? In fact, he inspired multiple characters' names, like Eric and Rachel King; Salim Othman is also brought up due to King's ''Salem's Lot,'' racking up a total of three of the five playable protagonists in the game. That's a big tribute to the most prolific horror author in the game.
3 🤡 Blending The Stories
The first two games in the series gave little indication that they took place in the same universe, a usual thing for an anthology. Rachel and Eric, two of the main characters, visit the diner that appeared at the beginnin🧜g and end of Little Hope, going as far as crashing on the same highway twenty years apart.
As th🐽e games go on, the connection will become more clear, with the number of clues growing progressiveꩵly in every new title. The faint nods in the first two games could have been passed off as insider easter eggs, but the evidence is mounting. With no release date for the fourth title, The Devil In Me, speculation is all we have.
2 ඣ The Mystery Man
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The curator is a charaཧcter that has made his way into a♛ll installments of the series. In House Of Ashes, the man of mystery plays a much bigger role than his strange conversations in the prior two. You'll see him posted up in the background of some of the most intense scenes in the game, lurking around every time there's a chance the character might die.
Even after three games, the role this shadowy figure plays can't be worked out, besides keeping you company outside the narrative of the game. During your occasional meetings in the repository, you'll find him useful with his tips about the right decisions to make, all while providing an interesting backdrop filled with hints and references.
1 Out Of Place ܫ
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Stone tablets will appear throughout the game, showing you premonitions of different characters' fates. The suspicions will range wildly, from positive to a painful death. Most of these tablets will reference a character in the game, putting you on edge or easing your worries — all except one.
The one labeled ''Hotel,', 168澳洲幸运💝5开奖网:only found in the Strange Aeons chapt🌄er, will show you a disturbing scene where two characters with familiar faces cross paths. One sees the other burst into flames with a creepy mannequin doll in the background,ꦅ which is a sly no😼d to the next game in the series and a cliffhanger in the making.