The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

Choice-driven horror adventure with rival soldiers trapped underground

Supermassive Games · Published by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe · Released Oct 21, 2021

Reviews: Very Positive; 89% of 11K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 88% of 44 in 30 days
Playing now: 28; right now
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: 3 years ago; Oct 12, 2022

Free demo available, 2 playing it now: get the demo.

What is The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes?

This standalone cinematic horror adventure follows opposing soldiers trapped in a buried Sumerian temple near the end of the Iraq War. You navigate the temple, make choices that change the story and who survives, and fight to escape its creatures. You can play alone, online with a friend, or locally by passing a controller.

For you if...

+you like horror stories shaped by your decisions
+you enjoy military action mixed with creature horror
+you want to make story choices with a friend

Not for you if...

−you expect frequent hands-on combat rather than cinematic scenes
−you want a horror story without a military setting

What players say

89% of 11,028 reviews are positive · 88% of 44 in the last 30 days

Players praise the branching story, characters, action, and playing with friends. Others find the story predictable or the cutscenes too long, and some report crashes and visual glitches. Recent players also complain that Friend's Pass is unavailable or does not work.

Screenshots and trailer

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-4690K or AMD FX-8350
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 960, 4 GB or AMD Radeon R9 380, 4 GB
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 65 GB available space
DirectX: Version 11
Notes: Estimated performance: 1080p/60fps with graphics settings at "Low". Framerate might drop in graphics-intensive scenes. - 64-bit processor and operating system are required.

OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 2060 6 GB or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 8 GB
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Storage: 65 GB available space
DirectX: Version 11
Notes: Estimated performance: 1080p/60fps with graphics settings at "High". Framerate might drop in graphics-intensive scenes. - 64-bit processor and operating system are required. - Windows 10 (Version 1809 or later) and a 4GB VRAM GPU (graphics board or video card) are required for DirectX 12 API.

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 30
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing
Age rating: 17+

Steam Deck: Playable

Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
External controllers are not supported for the primary player

Multiplayer and co-op

Languages

Full audio: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Russian. Text only: Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America, Traditional Chinese.