“House of QTEs”

I went in expecting The Mummy (1999), but got Scooby-Doo in Iraq. You play as a bunch of U.S. soldiers who wander into a cursed temple, argue for 3 hours, then get eaten by demon-things because you missed a single Quick Time Event.

Game can be summarized into:

40% movie, 30% arguing, 20% falling into holes, 10% me yelling “DON’T SPLIT UP!”

10/10. Accidentally sacrificed my squad, but at least the monsters were well-fed.

Hi.
Take a look at my Dark Pictures - House of Ashes Walkthrough at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL957yPFpIoy_tkvKlw65Ot3BShI1aWtlE&si=LKCe0ANlhdRWUR2H

Summary:
House of Ashes is the third entry in The Dark Pictures Anthology by Supermassive Games. It is a cinematic survival-horror adventure set in Iraq in 2003, during the closing days of the Iraq War.

The story follows two groups—U.S. Special Forces and Iraqi soldiers—who are forced together when a military operation uncovers a buried Sumerian temple after an earthquake. Trapped underground, the soldiers discover that the ruins are not abandoned but inhabited by terrifying, bat-like vampiric creatures that hunt in the dark.

The main playable characters include:

Rachel King, a CIA officer caught between duty and personal relationships.

Eric King, her estranged husband and a colonel leading the operation.

Jason Kolchek and Nick Kay, U.S. Marines with their own moral struggles.

Salim Othman, an Iraqi soldier and father who becomes an unlikely ally.

As tensions rise, the characters must navigate distrust, cultural divides, and old grudges while working together to survive. The temple itself holds ancient secrets, tied to Mesopotamian history and an alien parasite that created the monsters.

Gameplay focuses on player choices, quick-time events, and exploration. Decisions determine who lives, who dies, and how relationships develop. The themes revolve around cooperation in the face of shared danger, the futility of war, and the horror of ancient evils buried beneath human conflicts.

Depending on the player’s actions, the group can either escape together, die one by one, or uncover hidden truths about the creatures’ origins.

lack of jumpscares
too much cutscenes
not really a horror game