THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY: THE DEVIL IN ME

Supermassive turns to a notorious serial killer for its season finale

At a time when the videogame industry is beset by delays, there’s something almost supernatural about Supermassive’s ability to release a Dark Pictures game every year. And yet The Devil In Me has nothing to do with otherworldly forces, as this fourth entry in the horror anthology (and ‘season finale’) places us in the hands of a sadistic but very human serial killer. “He’s got hold of this idea that murder could be an art form,” game director Tom Heaton tells us, “and he’s trying to create the perfect, most appropriate death for each character.”

The pitch only grows more grisly as details are revealed. The inspiration here is HH Holmes, nowadays known as America’s first serial killer, a charming conman who built his own hotel in Chicago in the late 19th century. The building was reportedly full of bizarre traps made to confuse and deceive victims, Heaton explains. Legends tell of dead-end corridors, moving walls, sealed windows, poison gas, and trapdoors to a basement containing vats of acid. While the true story of Holmes’ crimes isn’t so sensational, this so-called ‘murder castle’ does sound like a perfect setting for a horror game.