The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me Review — Murder Castle, Co-Op & Is Season One's Finale Worth Playing?
Five filmmakers, one replica Murder Castle, and a killer who has studied H.H. Holmes' homework — the Dark Pictures season one finale still delivers a great horror premise.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me is an interactive-drama survival-horror game from Supermassive Games (Until Dawn) and publisher Bandai Namco, released 18 November 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. A true-crime documentary crew is lured to a faithful modern replica of H.H. Holmes' "Murder Castle" and must survive a copycat killer's trap-filled labyrinth. It closes season one with the anthology's best setting and most ambitious gameplay additions — and its roughest pacing. With sequel Directive 8020 now out, 2026 is a fine time to catch up.
Quick verdict:
Play it if you love choice-driven horror, couch co-op movie nights, or you're finishing the Dark Pictures season one arc. Skip it if sluggish exploration and technical jank will pull you out of the story.
The Devil in Me at a glance
| Game | The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me |
| Developer / Publisher | Supermassive Games / Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Release | 18 November 2022 |
| Platforms | PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S |
| Series position | 4th entry, season one finale (after Man of Medan, Little Hope, House of Ashes) |
| Genre | Interactive drama / survival horror |
| Modes | Solo, Movie Night (couch co-op 2–5 players), Shared Story (online co-op, 2 players) |
| Length | ~5–7 hours per playthrough; huge branching replay value |
| Reception | Metacritic 69 (PC/PS5, 79 Xbox) · OpenCritic 72, 55% recommend · Steam "Mixed" (~56%) |
| Rating | ESRB Mature |
Table of contents
- Story and premise
- Gameplay: what is new this time
- Multiplayer and modes
- What holds it back
- After the finale: Directive 8020 is out now
- PC system requirements
- Buying advice for 2026
- FAQ
Story and premise
A struggling true-crime documentary crew — led by producer Charlie Lonnit, with journalist Kate Wilder (played brilliantly by Jessie Buckley), intern Erin, camera operator Mark and lighting director Jamie — receives an invitation too good to refuse: a mysterious benefactor has built a meticulous, faithful reproduction of H.H. Holmes' "Murder Castle" on a private island in Lake Michigan, and wants the crew to film their season finale there.
Low on money and options, they hand over their phones, board a blacked-out limousine, and arrive to find that their host — a Holmes obsessive calling himself Granthem Du'Met — has rebuilt more than the hotel's architecture. He has recreated its function. Trapdoors split the team, walls shift, and the building itself becomes the weapon.
The premise is the strongest in the anthology's first season: a sly commentary on true-crime obsession staged inside America's most infamous killing building. The southern-gothic-meets-SAW atmosphere, unsettling audio design and strong performances (Buckley especially) carry the story even when its middle act drags.
Gameplay: what is new this time
If you have played Until Dawn, The Quarry or any earlier Dark Pictures game, the core loop is familiar: explore, examine clues, make timed dialogue choices, and survive quick-time events where any of the five leads can permanently die. Your version of the story is the canon — everyone living and everyone dying are both real endings.
The Devil in Me adds the biggest mechanical shake-up in the series to date:
- Character tools and light inventory: each crew member has signature equipment — Kate's pencil shading for hidden notes, Erin's directional microphone, Mark's camera flash, Charlie's lock-picking business card — that opens different paths and secrets.
- Fuller movement: climbing, crawling, shimmying across ledges, mantling and squeezing through gaps makes the Murder Castle a place to traverse, not just watch.
- Environmental interaction: push and pull crates, restore power, solve small puzzles, and hide from the killer in closets or under furniture with a hold-your-breath heartbeat minigame.
The additions make exploration genuinely busier, and in co-op — where two players each command different characters with different tools — they even affect strategy. The catch is pacing: all this walking, shimmying and crate-pushing stretches tension thin in the middle act.
Multiplayer and modes
This remains the series' biggest advantage over almost every other horror game:
- Solo story: the complete branching experience alone, playable as the Theatrical Cut or the alternate-perspective Curator's Cut after finishing.
- Movie Night: 2–5 players pass the controller on the couch, each assigned specific characters — still the best way to introduce friends to horror games.
- Shared Story: full 2-player online co-op where each player sees (and decides) different scenes simultaneously — choices collide, and both players live with the consequences.
The Curator (voiced by Pip Torrens) returns to comment on your progress between acts, and premonitions collected through the castle hint at characters' possible deaths — the classic Dark Pictures checklist.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Best setting in the series: the Murder Castle | Sluggish middle-act pacing and exploration |
| Meaningful new tools, movement and puzzles | Traps are underused; mere binary choices often |
| Jessie Buckley and a strong five-cast ensemble | Frequent transition jank, pop-in and stutters |
| Superb couch and online co-op options | Fails to fully exploit its SAW-style promise |
| Enormous branching replayability | Mixed Steam/critical reception reflects real flaws |
What holds it back
- The Murder Castle goes underused. Moving walls mostly exist to shuffle the killer between scenes; the elaborate death-traps the premise promises are present but simpler than they should be.
- Technically uneven: jarring fade-to-black transitions, texture pop-in, and animation/lighting hitches interrupt the filmic presentation the series is built on.
- Pacing: the slow middle act, padded with box-pushing, tests players who came for a horror movie night.
- The honest scores: Metacritic 69 (PC/PS5) and Steam "Mixed" (~56% of ~3,800 reviews) put it roughly level with Little Hope — below House of Ashes for most players.
After the finale: Directive 8020 is out now
The post-credits teaser at the end of The Devil in Me promised the anthology's next chapter, and it has arrived: Directive 8020 launched on 12 May 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. It moves the series into sci-fi body horror, and it's now published by Supermassive themselves (Bandai Namco published season one; the studio has since dropped the formal "season" structure for standalone entries).
If you're playing the anthology in order, The Devil in Me closes one arc and hands off to a fully playable next chapter — finishing season one in 2026 finally has a payoff.
PC system requirements
Official Steam specs (the listed GPU is a floor; integrated graphics will not cut it):
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit (Windows 11 runs it fine) | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-4690K / AMD FX-8350 | Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 12 GB |
| GPU | GTX 960 4 GB / R9 380 4 GB | RTX 2060 6 GB / RX Vega 56 8 GB |
| DirectX | Version 11 | |
| Storage | 65 GB available space | |
Buying advice for 2026
- Price: $39.99 standard on Steam, PlayStation Store and Xbox Store. Bandai Namco discounts it aggressively — Steam's historical low was $3.99 (90% off) in February 2026, and 60–80% sales are common.
- Bundles: The Dark Pictures season one bundles (Triple Pack / season collection) are often cheaper per game if you want Man of Medan, Little Hope and House of Ashes too.
- Collector's items: a special Animatronic Collector's Edition with an 11 cm Du'Met bust was sold via the Bandai Namco store at launch — secondary market only now.
- Skip the piracy sites: the game regularly costs less than a coffee on sale, and online co-op requires a legitimate copy anyway.
Safe official links
Only download from official stores. The old version of this post linked a 16-part pirated ElAmigos repack on MediaFire — repacked horror games are a classic malware disguise, and this title is routinely $4–$12 legally.
- Steam: The Devil in Me on Steam
- PlayStation Store: The Devil in Me (PS4 & PS5)
- Also on the Xbox Store — search "Dark Pictures Devil in Me" on your console.
More from IGGG
The Devil in Me FAQ
Do I need to play the other Dark Pictures games first?
No. Every anthology entry is a standalone story with a new cast — The Devil in Me connects to the wider series only through the Curator framing and a post-credits teaser for the next game.
How long is The Devil in Me?
About 5–7 hours per playthrough depending on your choices and exploration. It's the longest entry in season one, and branching paths invite multiple runs.
Does it have multiplayer?
Yes — Movie Night supports 2–5 players on one couch (pass the controller), and Shared Story offers full 2-player online co-op on all platforms.
What is different from earlier Dark Pictures games?
Each character has unique tools (pencil shading, directional mic, camera flash, lock pick), plus new climbing, crawling, shimmying, hiding and light puzzle mechanics alongside the usual choices, QTEs and perma-death.
Is the game connected to H.H. Holmes?
The story is fiction — a copycat killer named Granthem Du'Met rebuilds Holmes' real "Murder Castle" in the present day. Holmes' real history inspired the setting, but the game is a slasher story, not a documentary.
Where does the sequel, Directive 8020, fit?
Directive 8020 (out May 12, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC) continues the anthology as a sci-fi horror story. Supermassive has since dropped the formal "season" structure, so treat it as the next standalone entry.
Is The Devil in Me worth it in 2026?
For horror fans and co-op groups, yes at sale prices — the Murder Castle premise and multiplayer options are strong, and finishing season one now leads straight into Directive 8020. Solo players intolerant of slow pacing should wait for a deep discount.
Final verdict
The Devil in Me closes the Dark Pictures' first season with the anthology's best location and its most evolved moment-to-moment gameplay — and never quite becomes the Saw-meets-true-crime masterpiece its premise promises. The castle deserved a meaner labyrinth, but the branching story, ensemble cast and co-op make it an easy recommendation on sale, especially now that the next chapter is out.
Best for: Dark Pictures fans, couch co-op groups, interactive-drama players, true-crime curiosity.
Skip if: you need tight pacing, hold a grudge over technical jank, or want scares over story.