Though Supermassive first became a household name with their smash-hit 2015 horror title,Until Dawn, some may be surprised to hear that they have actually been developing games for a long time before that title was even released. Supermassive’s games have always stood out for being bold, experimental, and ultimately, just very different from anything else that’s on the market.
In recent years, they’ve gone all-in with theirmulti-choice horror gamesthrough theDark Pictures Anthology, but they’ve also tapped into a plethora of different genres over the years to see what sorts of new experiences they can conjure up for players to dig into. Actually completing each of these games is much easier said than done though, since many of them can be quite brutal in how they’re designed, but then again, that only adds to the palpable tension which makes so many of their games immersive, engaging and fun to play.
6The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 2.25
In all honesty, players will be able to keep the main group of characters inLittle Hopealive until the end fairly easily if they pay attention to what’s going on around them, but there are still a few areas which can quickly lead to an untimely death when proper care isn’t taken.Little Hopeis packed full ofQTE segmentswhich often involve someone running away from a demonic entity. These sections are incredibly intense, and as a result, it can be easy to press the wrong button or miss out on the timing-window, resulting in an injury, or in some cases, the death of a character.
Because there are 5 playable characters who all find themselves getting caught up in plenty of horrific scenarios, it’s up to the player to try and lead them to safety by making smart decisions and obtaining knowledge from hints which are dropped through each level. Overall,Little Hopeis far from the hardest game Supermassive has ever put out, but this shouldn’t suggest it can’t still be pretty tricky at times, because it certainly can.
5Until Dawn
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 2.61
For the first few hours ofUntil Dawn, players will be making small choices which won’t really end up making too much of an impact, but this quickly changes once the Wendigos show up. These terrifying long-limbed creatures are incredibly fast on their feet, and more than capable of hunting down a human if they catch their scent. Because they can only detect people when they are moving, there are multiple sections inUntil Dawnwhere players must attempt to keep the controller as still as possible, which can be incredibly difficult when a Wendigo is creeping around the next corner.
The game can also be quite merciless with its choices, witheven the smallest of mistakes leading to a major death. For example, if players decide to take the safer route while playing as Michael near the beginning of the game, it means Jessica will be dead because they took too long, and that’s just in the first chapter of the game. To add to this, the Wendigo are even capable of mimicking human voices, which makes it all so easy for them to lure a character in before killing them and feasting on their body soon after.
4The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.13
When developingThe Devil In Meas the final installment of theDark Picturesseries of games, Supermassive decided to lean much more heavily into the survival horror genre. As a result, the game borrows a lot of classic mechanics from the genre, such as an inventory system, key items which are required for puzzles, and weapons which can be used for defensive purposes.
This means if players don’t search every inch of the World’s Fair Hotel where the game takes place, they can easily miss out on essential resources which are needed to keep them alive, making for a difficult experience overall. Of course, the game still primarily revolves around its decision-making, but like withUntil Dawn, even a small hiccup can prove to be costly in the long run. Pair this with a few tricky fusebox puzzles and some brutal boss encounters, and it’s not hard to see why so many fans consider this to be the hardest out of the entireDark Pictures Anthologyof games.
3Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.16
After the enormous success ofUntil Dawn, Supermassive would spend the next two years creating games for the PlayStation 4’s brand-new VR headset. Though these games vary in their overall quality,Until Dawn: Rush Of Bloodwas well received upon its release for itsimmersive on-rails gameplayand creepy imagery, which many felt made it the perfect fit for the VR experience. Upon booting up the game, players will be buckled up into a roller coaster seat where they will then venture across a plethora of different areas, all of which are full of enemies and environmental hazards.
Players will need to fire off their weapons at the exact right moments to ensure they don’t crash into anything, especially considering how agonizingly long the reload times for each weapon can be. In order to add to the scare factor,Rush of Bloodis also very dark, which can make it hard to see what’s about to pop out from the shadows, and while this does add an extra layer of tension, it also ramps up the difficulty quite a bit.
2Tumble VR
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.18
Tumble VRis a PlayStation Move and VR game released in 2010 which essentially plays like one big game of Jenga. Each level will start with a small basket of bricks, tools and materials that the player must try to stack up as high as possible. To the left is a big board which can give some subtle hints, such as explaining which blocks are the heaviest or the longest, but this doesn’t do much to alleviate the game’s unforgiving difficulty which lasts from the beginning, all the way to the end.
Part of the reason for this is simply the fact that the game is designed to be hard so players don’t end up completing it too easily, since it is quite linear and straightforward to understand after all. Another factor which makes it such a challenge though is the clunky nature of the cubes themselves.It’s not uncommon for a block to glitch through a table or completely disappearwhile trying to place it down, and when mixed with the Move controllers, which can also sometimes be unresponsive, it doesn’t help to make the game any easier.
1Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock
Game FAQ Difficulty Rating: 3.37
In stark contrast to every other Supermassive game,Doctor Who: The Eternity Clockis a2D side-scrollerwhere players take control of either the Eleventh Doctor, or his companion, River Song. Both characters are hounded by enemies throughout the entire game, which forces players to always be on their A-game at all times to avoid getting zapped by a Cyberman or annihilated by The Silence.
During the 5-10 hour playthrough, there will be plenty of puzzles and rather demanding platforming sections which keep the levels from ever becoming boring or bland, while also ensuring each stage is as challenging as possible. As the game goes on, it gradually starts becoming much more relentless, especially when it begins throwing hordes of enemies at the player, or when the environmental puzzles become much more complex and harder to solve. It’s still well worth a playthrough for any fans of the source material, butDoctor Who: The Eternity Clockis definitely not a game for the faint of heart.
