I like the detail of Anthony saying for his personalities to quiet down before the crash. It shows his attempts to keep the voices from overwhelming him.
I actually don't think he was, there are a lot of series that suggest that only a few can see beyond the veil: the innocent, the gifted and the impaired... so so drunk they start talking about leprechauns and so crazy they talk about ethereal beings. Imagine that he was really walking with the looping members of his family who couldn't get over their faults which resulted in their deaths, that the town was in fact cursed and that the true end sees him break the curse, rescue his family from their torment and be told by everyone who mattered to him that it wasn't his fault that they died, just shitty luck.
Just a little detail... the faceless characters in the Witch-era hallucinations are based on Anthony walking through the waxworks in the museum in present day- the mannequins are wearing the same clothing and have no faces. Great video 👍
Also, in dreams, faces are often distorted or blank because the human brain can't make up a new face. Any face you see in a dream is one your mind pulls from one you've seen in the waking world
Little Hope is a favorite of mine. Usually I hate the whole "everything was just in your head" twist, but I loved it in here. Anthony was like Josh in Until Dawn in a lot of ways. He was a pour soul, desperately trying to cope with loss. The game may not be as supernatural as some may have wanted, but it explored topics of grief and the willingness to let go and move on beautifully. The idea that instead of demons killing people, it was Anthony needing to stop blaming Megan and himself for the fire, and learning that he has to let go, made for a much better story. His family's flaws and the way each met their demise in every timeline was beautiful. I can't rave enough about how I love this game. Anthony is an amazing character, and Little Hope(while might not be as good as Until Dawn) is one of my favorites
I feel like little hope did the whole “it’s all fake” twist much better than man of Medan. I actually really dig the metaphor of working through Anthony’s trauma via doppelgängers and that it was actually pretty well set up to give you that “oh shit” type of feeling. Plus both the good and bad endings really got to me
I think it's mainly because in Man of Medan the twist is just through a plot device and not connected to the characters as persons, and therefore doesn't resonate, despite changing our and their understanding of past events and the handling of future ones. It's just "Oh it was gas? Alright. Moving on..." While in Little Hope the twist factors into the character's personality and history on a deep personal level so it feels significantly more powerful. It being very tragic only enhances it even further and hits ya right in the feels.
@@Sploberrie I think man of medan had a more rigid structure to work with, being based on an urban legend they needed the ship and the gas. However they still convey a bit of personality with what the characters are hallucinating
Personally I prefer man of medan, because I like that there are bigger consequences on the world at large. The ship is still out there and so is the Manchurian gold, and might have consequences later. I also like the theory that it's made with the same chemicals the vampires use in house of ashes to induce fear in it's pray, and the larger conspiracies that can imply with the government and military. It puts a different look on that chemical weapons facility the team in house of ashes are so desperate to find.
I am so glad I am not the only one who actually liked the ending to Little Hope. I don't understand why people are like "Oh the ending is bad!" just because the twist was that it all took place in Anthony's head instead of it being real monsters and shit. I actually liked it because it doesn't always have to have some alien or monster shit in it all the time. To be honest, this was really the saddest game of the The Dark Pictures series. I felt so bad for Anthony because he lost his whole family in one night. They may have had issues, but he really did care about them and it's why he had a hard time letting go. Also, I don't like how people assume Megan is pure evil when it's pretty clear she was groomed by a man to do his bidding.
@@jimmylittle9393 Man of Medan didn’t have a lazy ending. The twist was the original crew and cast hallucinated everything because of the Manchurian gold. Little Hope was the inner happenings of a schizophrenic who was consumed by guilt due to the death of his family. If you take each story as it is they’re pretty good, but I can definitely see how the “it was never real” ending got boring.
@@DivineSpiritual1989Yeah but, the most infuriating part is that the characters surviving or dying doesn’t really matter as long as 1 survives. Just lazy. Also we literally saw a demon in the beginning of the game and drawings of demons just to make us think she’s evil artificially even though it’s obvious it is the reverend.
It is interesting how all family members have different personalities in the prologue compared to the main part of the game. Daniel is shown as a total asshole who is always angry at everyone in the prologue but in the main game, he becomes friendly, brave and supportive. John is an alcohol addict and a failure with no life achievements who is also about to lose his job but later becomes an educated professor and a leader of the team. Angela is the actual family leader who struggles to save her family but in the main part, she's just some grumpy self-centred lady with an insufferable personality.
I've heard it said that the "modern day" cast was what Anthony wished his family had been like, besides their character flaws that you need you need to counter via the trait system (which I myself am still confused about). So your comments above fit except for Angela lol. Anne (?) the mom was saddled with taking care of a struggling family that didn't seem to listen to her (useless, dismissive husband, troubled kids, etc) but Angela was a headstrong woman going back to school for a degree (they said she was a "mature student") who prided herself on being independent. She was also a bitch yeah but I think that abrasiveness trait was something you could "cure" her of during the game depending on your choices. So maybe Anthony wished his mom had been able to have more control over their family, to keep them together, and not his dad?
@@eriserato4365 i think maybe the mum sacrifised her education when they got married and started adopting kids, so in the version Anthony thought up she was someone who didnt scarifice what she wanted for others and end up in a miserable life she starts to regret. Instead she chose to pursue an education even at an old age, someone who stood up for herself even if sometimes to her detriment.
0:22|9:36 Fun Fact: The accident that made Anthony get redirected to Little Hope is most likely the same accident that made Eric King lose his legs in House of Ashes. He and Rachel was in the same diner Anthony walked out of in a flashback before their car got hit by a truck.
Every game is connected very well to each other. In house of ashes there is a newspaper saying manny Sherman is executed. This is the serial killer munday interrogates in the devil in me. Can’t wait to see how the next one will be connected considering it will be in the future in space.
Hmmm timeline wise i dont thinks so, since the flashback with eric and rachel was in 2002 while little hope happened in very much above 2012 due to their phones
There's a newspaper that Conrad picks up in a room aboard the ghost ship in Man of Medan that talks about the missing archeologists in the backstory of House of Ashes.
Unfortunately not true as time wise theyre separatedby over 10 years. Also the accident in HoA happened right in front of the restaurant while the accident in LH happened down the road, but is a cool connection.
I believe the Witch trial story did happen minus the supernatural/time doppelganger stuff. The name Carver is mentioned in the 1970's story through different background secrets you find in various locations. The Carvers owned the factory and were the ones wanting to sell it. If they weren't going to shut the factory down then Anthony's family wouldn't have been under the stress it was under that was causing arguments and neglecting Megan. Their neglect lead to her being pushed off to the reverand Carson who just made her situation worse. If the events of the Witch Trials were mostly true then it gives a reason for why the Carver family were rich and owned the factory, because the real life Rev Carver had managed to establish a position of power by manipulating Little Hope in the 1690's through his bullshitting with the Witch trials and the Carvers who owned the factory were his descendents. My theory is Anthony blamed himself so much for not being able to save his family that he started looking for ways to blame himself even for the circumstances he had no control over that lead to the fire. Instead of accepting that the Carvers had established power long ago and caused Little Hope's work to die out, something he would have had no way to control, he instead delluded himself into thinking he/Andrew and his "friends" had somehow caused the events of the Witch Trials that lead to the Carvers running the factory. His dellusions made up the connections with doppelgangers and time manipulation but the names and people who died in the trials were likely all real and actually drawn from the history books Anthony was interested in. Anthony knew of the butterfly effect of the Witch Trials and Rev Carver leading to the situation that eventually caused the fire and internalised it as part of his anxiety and PTSD from his guilt, trying to find ways he could have helped or caused the events and depending on player choices determines how he comes to terms with this.
@@kaptain_komrade3708 Honestly, I think it does work in this format because narratively nothing the player/Anthony actually does changes the past and Anthony and the player need to learn this lesson. Yes it can be frustrating as the player to feel like everything you did "didn't matter" but I think that's sort of the point of the story's message. You can't change the past, only who you are now and your actions will impact how Anthony copes with it all in the end regardless of who dies or lives in his delussion. A TV show could straight up tell you one of the main endings and that none of it mattered and it could work okay too but that feeling of hopelessness or "Little Hope" (hurr hurr) about fixing things that happened long ago is emphasized more by having the player actively live through it with Anthony and seeing how he grows based on how they coped with the situations.
@@caldw615 I suppose I can see that however it doesn't exactly give the player any incentive to replay the game and try for a different outcome unlike for instance Detroit become human which little hope is similar to mechanically
@@kaptain_komrade3708 I guess the only reason you would replay it would be to see all the things you missed the first time now that you have hindsight.
I like your theory here, and feel like the creators probably have something similar in mind. I just which they were better at conveying Anthony’s mentality and the connection between these stories in the game.
Probably the best explanation of Little Hope I've had the pleasure of watching. You've taken great effort and thought into making this video and it shows. Thank you!
Very good comprehensive explanation. Did you notice that The Curator says in his dialogue something like “we each have to fight our own Demon’s alone”..giving a huge hint that each character when attacked by their own one mustn’t ask for help from the others or will die?. Will you be doing a Man of Medan synopsis or House of Ashes preview? You’ve got yourself a new subscriber.
Haha I didn’t pick up on it on my first playthrough! Ended up killing everyone except Angela 😂 and thank you! Yeah I’ll be doing o house of ashes preview when more information comes out!
Carsen was a sexually assaulting megan, that's what the drawing symbolizes and that's the "secret" carver is warning mary not to share with anyone symbolizes. Carvers manipulation of mary to accuse people of witchcraft symbolizes Carsens sexual assault on megan the way one would silence a child and mske sure they don't tell anyone, which is why the different family members look alikes are the victims. Marys trial after carver is exposed gives a lot of interesting dialogue with mary. Where she expresses how greatfull she is, explaining how she will never forget you and what you've done for exposing his true nature, which is what his study into the occult is symbolizing. A man no lne could imagine was capable of such, a man of god. As they say, how could a man of god do this. Which he responds that he only checked into it, like he wasn't practicing it on regular basis. The metaphor is also clear as day if you check out during the trial, how the priest is accusing mary of lying and how anyone would believe a child before a servant of god, as mary is defending herself saying that she isn't the evil one and she never did anything wrong, but the priest. There's a whole lot of other subtle hints and indications throughout as well
Honestly that was my first guess too. I mean, a little girl, a very powerful priest, manipulation in order to hide some sort of "secret"... Yeah, no, i don't think that was about dark magic
I actually cried at the end of the game, realising the trauma and that was his way of coping. Vince was a suppoting person unlike what others may have got, which in a way consoled me as well to know, its ok, it happened a long time ago, but we need to move on. It was a very heart felt ending that i wasn't expecting, and I'm not sure why it hit so hard, but it worked so well. Tbh, i think I'd rate the game as meh if it didn't have that psychological twist at the end.
I love how you explained this, it also answered my question of "why was the witch trials a part of this?" I also believe he created these characters in the image and personality of his family so that he had a chance to mend the relationships with them and between them in his mind.
its actually pretty haunting that theres nothing actually infesting the abandoned town. it just......died. theres nothing that can change what happened. thats weirdly kind of more scary than running from demons. its just.....nothing. no life. no sounds. nothing.
Of all the games I’ve played, this is the saddest one. I only feel the sadness and pity for Anthony, while he suffers from depression and schizofrenia due to his survivor’s guilt from the trauma in 1970
Yeah there’s a newspaper in man of Medan that talks about the next game (House of Ashes) as well. And the brand of matches is the same too as you find the same box of matches on the ghost ship
I didn’t play the game but I watched a play through of it and found it so interesting. But, with a game like this where it’s choose your own adventure and has multiple endings I was just confused on a lot of it. This video helped so much and you didn’t miss a beat! Especially the reverend carver part and how Megan was being groomed; I assumed this but you explained it perfectly. Thanks so much.
I feel for Anthony but damn that sucks for Vince. Just trying to have a quiet night and Anthony is roaming around town arguing and yelling at himself bringing up the bad memories of the night he lost his love.
I saw what was going on in MOM right away... no twist there. But, I did think these characters were in some witchcraft induced reincarnation loop so was pleasantly caught off guard by the twist. Also, this game gave me "Silent Hill" type vibes ... someone wondering through fog, battling their own demons manifesting themselves (figuratively or literally)...without the combat of course. Lastly, as I've gotten older, I find there isn't much that scares me. However, tragedy, loss and the breakdown of the human mind? The things that are *real* in life are much scarier at the end of the day than ghosties, ghoulies, goblins, and made up stories. I read that a lot of people were disappointed with this game before I played it, so I wasn't expecting much - but afterwards.. I just thought, wow...I guess I'm just weird. Although this game was still tropish, art-wise I felt it game was way above its predecessor. Great video by the way!
I honestly like how it doesn't show real demons and stuff it makes it more interesting and you have to put the puzzle together to find out what is happening before it's too late
The biggest (also the most subtle) clue to the whole thing not being real is the faceless people in the visions. When people dream, the human brain can't make up faces, so it only uses faces of people we know, or have seen in reality. So sometimes in dreams, we'll see blurred or blank faces. It's a really interesting...
I played the game a few weeks ago, that's why I knew the story already. But I kept watching videos about this game. I love the way this video brings up the general story with details. One of the best I've seen so far. Loved it! I'm gonna subscribe! Keep going! 🙌
Let me just say: *THANK YOU* you understand why the creative choice of a story "all being a dream" is *not* inherently a bad decision. it can be such an incredibly profound narrative choice, as exhibited here! anyone who immediately passes off a whole narrative tool just because it's used poorly in other areas are really *missing out!!!* This is one of my favorite stories lately in a game.
Any time a priest tells a child to «keep our secret» you KNOW who the evil one really is 😑 I loved the twist at the end 🤗 Someone else said «All our efforts in the game are not wasted because we are all trying to help Anthony to finally save the family he could not, one last time» When you walk out with all characters, it feels like, at least in his head, he DID save them from their horrible fated way of death this time.
I think i like the story part the most, out of other dark pictures game. Its about redemption, acceptance and guilt after all. It had me crying the first time i play and saw the ending
Just finished the game for the first time. This video seems to answer all my questions. Thank you for taking the time and making this video for everyone. Strong work!
I like this video and the explaination. I would also go so far that Anthony not just forgive himself and Megan (good ending), but also helps his family to find rest (like the ferryman, which stood on the bus).
It would have been cool if Megan was actually a demon, and caught Anthony in a loop killing his family while he tries to prevent it. Everytime he fails, the go to another time or reality and he’s put through it again. Then we could see him succeed and it would be awesome.
So I know I'm late to the video but here's my theory. I think the events of the witch trial definitely happened and that Reverend Carver also existed along with the other 1692 characters even if they weren't actually the Clarkes and they didn't look like them. This is evidenced by the museum that talks about the events of the witch trials naming various characters in the witch trial. Another piece of evidence is the posters and other references to the Carver family, they were clearly a family of high standing in the town long after reverend Carver. Having said that, my real theory is that the characters other than Andrew/Anthony (Taylor, Daniel, John, and Angela) are the spirits of Tanya, Dennis, John and Anne. Firstly the house fire caused the characters to probably have very traumatic deaths, traumatic deaths (in supernatural folklore) can cause spirits to not move on to the afterlife meaning that it's possible that all of those years later the Clarkes from 1972 we're still hanging around little hope. Secondly, once again according to folklore, spirits sometimes need help moving on from the land of the living to that of the dead. So, when Anthony comes back to little hope, already in a lot of emotional distress this brought his family's spirits out of a sort of limbo and back into semi consciousness. Then throughout the night each of the family members that died faces a version of themselves in the form of their dead self. This is them facing off against their demons. Now, in the game if a character hasn't gotten past their issues they had in life (ie. John was dissmissive and fearful) they don't get to leave the place where they died, their demon "kills" them and they never get to leave. But if they make it past their demons and grow spiritually, they make it to the end of the game and then disappear. I believe this is them leaving the living world and moving on to the afterlife. Sidenote: The bussing company Anthony works for is called Farriman which is like Ferryman or the Greek and Roman mythological character that helps usher spirits from one world to the next. This furthers the idea that the adventure Anthony goes on doesn't only help him move on, it helps his family move on as well. One final thing, you may say that, the "people" Anthony sees being real ghosts is too outlandish, however for a games series whose only connecting character is the embodiment of death I have to say I disagree. To clarify: I don't think the people in 1692 were in anyway the Clarkes I just think the stories they all inevitably grew up with influenced their fears and subsequently the way they moved on. I also don't really think Megan did anything wrong I think it was most likely an accident and I think the only reason we didn't see Megan be a character and move on is because Anthony hadn't forgiven her yet. So in summation: Little Hope is a game about forgiveness and learning to move on, so it only makes sense that it was actually about spirits moving on to the afterlife AND their brother/son moving on from his guilt.
This video is so great! Before i didn't get the story at all, but after hearing you explain it i totally get it! Can't wait for the next story to come out!
They don't make this super obvious but I think the older brother Dennis is technically jealous because of Tanya's relationship and secretly likes her since none of them are actually "related" to each other per se. The fact that in Andrew/Anthony's mind the versions of them who he creates end up together seems to be an indication of this.
Amazing take and interpretations of the game! Just finished it, and watched this immediately. Really loved the game, and your explanations just solidified this as one of my favorite dark pictures games.
A fun Easter egg I noticed- at the beginning when Andrew and Angela first meet Mary, she asks, “would you kindly play with me?” “Would you kindly?” was the trigger phrase in Bioshock! Also (rant), I know this game is polarizing, but I quite enjoyed it. I think for me, it’s more so because of the story itself as opposed to the different endings or how much choices matter or not. Regardless of your choices, the mystery and intrigue of the story is still there (for all of DPAs games not just this one). I really like the grounded aspects of these games. I feel like there’s already enough supernatural video games that it actually becomes a cheap trope for the answer to a mystery to be ghosts (still love those types of games too though, it’s just refreshing for something new). And with replays, it’s fascinating to just explore the story more and piece things together or find things you missed, to further flesh out the story if not shoot for a different ending entirely or try to keep everyone alive. I think DPA games are truly story driven/focused. If someone wants a hearty branching narrative game where things matter more, I’d recommend Detroit: Become Human. DPA games aren’t for everyone and that’s okay, but I really enjoy them! Awesome video too! It really helped tie things up for me on the plot!
This video is amazing! Sometimes I get so focused on not missing every little detail I stress myself out, but now I can watch your videos after my playthrough to be sure and feel "safe" about knowing everything! Thank you!
i also like this little detail in man of medan, which was a news article about a mine collapse in afghanistan. thats a little tease for house of ashes.
I don't think I fully understand what was then actually happening in the scenes without Anthony in them? Like when your group splits up and you play as other characters who are far away from Anthony character...
soooo many links in this video that i never noticed when playing the game! i did think that mary was being abused by rev. carson from the very start though. and my heart dropped when i realised that it was just anthony all along talking to himself and the portrayal of serious psychosis and hallucinating.
It's reasonable to have his imaginary crew haunted and killed by monsters. I see it as reality catching up to his psychotic break breaking through, telling him those characters are dead and belong dead. The indications like Taylor's strangle marks, John's weak lungs/coughs, and etc. make sense. His unconsciousness was hinting at it from the very beginning through these injuries. This had to be my fav episode of season 1 of the dark pictures anthologies. I love psychological horrors! The episode almost feels like a callback to Josh from Until Dawn, like a supernatural-beings-free version of it.
Small problem with the fire at the start, That's tile. Tile wouldn't catch fire. That's like, the reason you have Tiled floors in Kitchens. Unless Megan spread a bunch of a gas on the floor, that fire shouldn't have spread across the tile.
Thank you for the explanation, it is very thorough, and I like that you included evidence for all your conclusions, even for the more obvious ones- I had to keep pausing/rewinding to read all the stuff you found that I didn't lol
Little Hope really surprised me. Man of Medan was honestly mid and wasn’t expecting much. It feels like Anthony is going through what Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Shutter Island went through. It’s really sad how the other characters looks on at him without saying a word when he was in the police car at the end.
Gotta hand it to ya, you actually got me to lessen my distaste towards Little Hope. You put the focus on the story, did a great job of answering most of the loose threads I saw, and even provided speculations I hadn't considered. My main issue with Little Hope mostly comes from the media used to portray the story. It's a captivating story, and a super interesting twist and take on the human mind processing grief. As a *video game* tho, the twist kinda dampens everything. This is a game where your choices and reflexes can determine who lives and who dies. So finding out that none of that mattered, no matter what kind of run you're going for (all live or all die), it kind of ruins the sort of rewarding feeling of accomplishing your goal when you find out the goal didn't matter to the story. So story wise, I found it great, and your video definitely helped highlight it. As a *game*, I can understand the frustration folks have with it. (that and some story points like Taylor seeing a playset in a yard that she had as a kid when Andrew wasn't around? maybe it was to keep the twist under wraps as a red herring but aaaaaa it bothered me so much lol) As I said tho, your video analysis reminded me of what I do like about it and amplified it. So thank you for that. Fastest subscription click of my life lol
Ok so this takes place in Massachusetts, and I think that because Anthony grew up there… Salem Witch Trials were a hot topic for him. I believe that there really WAS Little Hope Witch Trial history (in the fictional game), those weren’t conjured in his imagination. Those really happened, which is why there is a museum, a grave for a famous little girl involved in the Witch Trials, and a few other places. It doesn’t make sense that Anthony would be hallucinating SO MUCH that he was pretending to be in these places that don’t actually exist… It would be easier for Anthony in a different way… hear me out 😂… What WAS Anthony’s imagination, helping him cope, was putting faces and/or names in place of the real people in Little Hope history in an attempt to make it make sense in his brain! Like Tilly for example, who was sort of like a fourth imaginary doppelgänger for his sister Tanya… just because they share a “T” in the name, which is why the bust you find looks like Taylor(Tanya). But “Tilly” isn’t a character in either of the three reality’s in his brain. Tilly is significant only because she’s a famous author who died in her home, so in the town… a few REAL locations are named after her! Also, the name “Carver” is real, but he associates that name negatively because the “Carver” descendants of the Reverend Carver (who was responsible for the REAL Witch Trial events in the game)… owned the factory and were closing down the factory that Anthony’s father was working at, causing the dads drinking as a way to cope. So in Anthony’s mind, “Carver” is easily associated with what caused his family struggles. What’s even more complex… “Carver” is closely related to “Carson” who, as we know, is the Reverend who was grooming Megan, equally to blame for the family struggles regarding Megan’s delinquency. And Anthony knows this, aside from his mental disorders. So, Anthony associates Carson’s face to the historical Reverend Carver because he categorizes the two negative aspects of his family’s demise into the same person/people/doppelgängers… Does makes sense? 😂
I don't understand all the hate this game gets. I was hooked all the way thru I caught on to the priest in the end and saved nearly everyone. The story was amazing and left me thinking and wanting more I immediately went in for a second round now having a whole new perspective to play the game thru. The story has many layers and can get complicated but that doesn't make it bad it just makes it intriguing.
Absolutely brilliant summary and interpretation! Thank you so much! I really underestimated how well thought through the story is. Your explanation makes me appreciate the game a lot more!
I would actually contend that the "Carver" character may not be purely fictional. The campaign poster shown of a mayor Samuel Carver at one point in the game stands out in that it isn't part of the fictional 1692 timeline but part of the 1970s one. Given that the factory workers such as the dad in the family were shown to either be out of work or short on work as well as from other documents in-game, it's clear that Mayor Carver was arranging for the factory to be shut down in order to pursue other interests and investments which may have benefited him personally. "Reverend Carver" is thus probably a composite character Anthony has in his mind that stands for both Reverend Carson and Mayor Carver from the real-life 1970s timeline and the respective roles they played in damaging Anthony's family.
If you play the Curators Cut during the 70's you play as Tanya and go check on Megan. While you look around if you go into the boys room you find a statue of the a witch trial era version of the sheriff and Tanya comments saying "I don't know why he is so fascinated with this stuff" Also Anthony can find the poster of a Witch trial reenactment school play pretty early on in the game which is originally why the characters think what they are seeing isn't real.
I honestly wish it was a cycle in purgatory that needed to be beaten. So they keep getting reincarnated, doomed to live similar events while being able to alter where it all started; The Witch Trials. Why their fates are all the same if it doesn’t work, but alas you’re decisions meant nothing.
Just now noticed that the dude that shows up to Anthony’s house in the beginning right after he runs in is the guy who was the judge back in the Salem days
This was great! The Wiki article on Little Hope really confused me but you helped me understand it perfectly. It was also great to see your positive reaction to this one. A lot of people seem to think it’s terrible but I found the plot made sense and was really moving. I also loved your final point about psychological horrors being as effective as more “typical” horror tropes - it really comes down to how you portray mental horrors
On a different point of view Taylor's demon was depicted as burning at the stake this was in my first play through! Two choices in this can effect her demon by fire or rope! Likely in thr beginning of the game!
I love the video... I'm still surprised people did not like the ending of the game. When I did my playthrough of the game I thought the game's ending was great and had a great conclusion.
Me too! I think everyone just wanted the witches, demons and stuff to be real... As I mentioned, the demons in Man of Medan weren't even real either. I think some people just wanted to pick holes in it. Plenty of horror in the game, and kept me guessing until the last second. Can't wait for the next one!
@@GamingHarryYT You know what that makes sense. When I was doing my Man of Medan playthrough and when it came for the last fatal decision for Alex... I had to take a minute and really think... What helped me out the most was the realization from the beginning, when I shot the child ghost. And when, I knew that the two headed monster wasn't real, well saying that I was relieved with the outcome, would be a understatement.
@@GamingHarryYT I think people complaining about supernatural not being real is not the problem. The problem is the false promises that the beginning of the game gives to the player. Just like with the films. In Man of Medan player see leaking stuff from military crates so it's obvious that game will be about something natural like biological weapon. Characters don't know that but player does. In little hope there is no foreshadowing about natural cause that mental breakdown is. The only thing I can stretch to mean it is that bus from the begining seems empty when there are supposed to be passengers. On the second hand the theme of the entire game is screaming about supernatural, witches, and monsters. That's what makes the players question it. I also don't like it when Im getting not what I was promised. I like supernatural themes so I want to see them and not someone with mental ilness. If game want such supernatural/natural twists it should give players something that make them aware that both options can be real. I watched once a series about people researching supernatural cases that always ended with natural causes. I was still entertained because from the begining they were looking into both ''worlds'', and I was curious how on earth the culprit did such miraculous stuff that looks like supernatural.
Why are you surprised about that? The ending completely makes all your decisions meaningless. It doesnt matter if you save angela or john for example, because they're ALREADY DEAD! It makes all of that pointless, and kills any replayability for most people. It makes it feel like a waste of time.
@@GamingHarryYT I've always liked monster movies over psychological/ghost movies. I find it more entertaining to have a monster that wants to nibble on the protagonist giblets and it's up to the hero to stay off of the menu.
Honestly, I prefer that the horror in this story is more of the psychological horrors of a man losing his whole family, over a hallucination caused by leaking gas in Man of Medan and the Alien-Vampire shit in House of Ashes. I'd like to think that this is more of Anthony/Andrew's "apology" for not being able to save his family, and not being able to help Megan.
While I can settle with the idea Anthony is merely suffering severe mental trauma, this game does take a lot of inspiration from Silent Hill. I believe Anthony was truly being haunted by the spirits of his dead family, particularly Megan, who conjured up the entire scene. They only appeared once he entered the vicinity of Little Hope. Each ending is impacted by whether the family members choose to be selfish or caring for eachother, on top of whether you choose to forgive Megan, or forsake her--cursing her spirit to be cast off the same way she was at the end of her life. Megan remains to keep Anthony from killing himself if you cause all the family members to die, but forgave Megan herself. But if you cause Mary to die, she forces Anthony to end his life. The Witch Trials story-line is conjured up in Anthony's mind as a coping mechanism to explain why all these deaths happened. It is a way for him to justify any of the decisions he makes by the end, whether he chooses to forgive or blame Megan for the death of his family.
Honestly though, the concept of a localised timeloop causing medieval times to loop with modern times is a pretty solid idea for something, a book, a show, a movie..
I don’t mind the twists honestly about it just being psychosis, but if that is the case I think they need to foreshadow it more heavily and it’s kinda of a shame because this in particular could have been really interesting. Like dam it
could be a stretch and i havent watched the whole video yet this already couldve either been confirmed or denied later on in the vid but it sounds like the priest in the 1600 time line (i think is reverend carter?) could also be the demon manipulating megan to start the fire because he does the same thing in both timelines, he manipulates her to go against her family and her own morals and thoughts.
I always thought that for the witch trials, Anthony was superimposing his family onto these stories and tragedies that he had heard as a child. I think that each and every museum object in the game is real. He went there as a child, when life was happy. He heard those stories and always saw it as a grave injustice. He blames the reverend for Megan's behaviour in the 70's so he uses him as a vessel for his anger not only at himself but at Megan as well. I only played it once so far (Definitely gonna play it again very soon, right after this comment, matter of fact) but when I chose to save Mary in the final flashback. I interpreted this as Anthony letting go of his anger towards Megan by symbolically banishing that part of himself from his head. The characters all have different opinions regarding the little girl, It represents Anthony's confusion and torment regarding his opinions and feelings regarding his family. There are so many layers to this story now that I've processed this. John's polite and professional demeanor is Anthony's wish for a more down to earth and stable dad. Angela's feistiness is a representation for Anthony to have a stronger mother. Megan never talks to Anthony (In the playthrough I had), that is his distance from his youngest sister, he wants to help her and condemn her at the same time but can't do either of those things. Mary is his attempt to try and piece together his complicated feelings and try to come up with some sort of explanation that he can never truly understand. As for Taylor and Dennis, not quite sure yet but I can't wait to piece it all together when I tackle this game again. The point is that this psychological thriller is an incredibly thought provoking game and perhaps one of the best games in the Dark Pictures for that very reason.
For Daniel, he is simply more Nice, honest and caring whereas Dennis was Arrogant, mean and rather hot-headed, its simply evident in the ways he treats his little sister and always blaming everybody else. Tanya is a bit more complicated - considering her diary she may seem a bit manipulative and a mean girl on the inside. Anthony reimagined her as Taylor - more frightened and always wants to remove herself from the problems that come her way. Taylor always avoids her problems, Tanya always blamed her problems on someone else. I think taylor/Tanya have a bit more to her though - i cant figure it out. I think Anthony just wanted his siblings to be nicer people in general and reimagined them in that way.
![Behind the Scenes - The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope [Making of]](/img/n.gif)
I like the detail of Anthony saying for his personalities to quiet down before the crash. It shows his attempts to keep the voices from overwhelming him.
Ooh I didn’t think about it like that!
It's actually really sad when u realise Anthony was just wandering around a dark town all by himself and talking and arguing with himself.
Grief. Burden of being the only survivor. Self blame and silent but creeping Schizophrenia.
Little Hope was AMAZING.
true
I actually don't think he was, there are a lot of series that suggest that only a few can see beyond the veil: the innocent, the gifted and the impaired... so so drunk they start talking about leprechauns and so crazy they talk about ethereal beings.
Imagine that he was really walking with the looping members of his family who couldn't get over their faults which resulted in their deaths, that the town was in fact cursed and that the true end sees him break the curse, rescue his family from their torment and be told by everyone who mattered to him that it wasn't his fault that they died, just shitty luck.
Mental health is a must
It's what happens when you love family who hates you.
Just a little detail... the faceless characters in the Witch-era hallucinations are based on Anthony walking through the waxworks in the museum in present day- the mannequins are wearing the same clothing and have no faces. Great video 👍
😮
wow that's makes sense
Also, in dreams, faces are often distorted or blank because the human brain can't make up a new face. Any face you see in a dream is one your mind pulls from one you've seen in the waking world
Little Hope is a favorite of mine. Usually I hate the whole "everything was just in your head" twist, but I loved it in here. Anthony was like Josh in Until Dawn in a lot of ways. He was a pour soul, desperately trying to cope with loss. The game may not be as supernatural as some may have wanted, but it explored topics of grief and the willingness to let go and move on beautifully. The idea that instead of demons killing people, it was Anthony needing to stop blaming Megan and himself for the fire, and learning that he has to let go, made for a much better story. His family's flaws and the way each met their demise in every timeline was beautiful. I can't rave enough about how I love this game. Anthony is an amazing character, and Little Hope(while might not be as good as Until Dawn) is one of my favorites
I feel like little hope did the whole “it’s all fake” twist much better than man of Medan. I actually really dig the metaphor of working through Anthony’s trauma via doppelgängers and that it was actually pretty well set up to give you that “oh shit” type of feeling. Plus both the good and bad endings really got to me
I think it's mainly because in Man of Medan the twist is just through a plot device and not connected to the characters as persons, and therefore doesn't resonate, despite changing our and their understanding of past events and the handling of future ones. It's just "Oh it was gas? Alright. Moving on..." While in Little Hope the twist factors into the character's personality and history on a deep personal level so it feels significantly more powerful. It being very tragic only enhances it even further and hits ya right in the feels.
@@Sploberrie I think man of medan had a more rigid structure to work with, being based on an urban legend they needed the ship and the gas. However they still convey a bit of personality with what the characters are hallucinating
Personally I prefer man of medan, because I like that there are bigger consequences on the world at large. The ship is still out there and so is the Manchurian gold, and might have consequences later. I also like the theory that it's made with the same chemicals the vampires use in house of ashes to induce fear in it's pray, and the larger conspiracies that can imply with the government and military. It puts a different look on that chemical weapons facility the team in house of ashes are so desperate to find.
I am so glad I am not the only one who actually liked the ending to Little Hope. I don't understand why people are like "Oh the ending is bad!" just because the twist was that it all took place in Anthony's head instead of it being real monsters and shit. I actually liked it because it doesn't always have to have some alien or monster shit in it all the time. To be honest, this was really the saddest game of the The Dark Pictures series. I felt so bad for Anthony because he lost his whole family in one night. They may have had issues, but he really did care about them and it's why he had a hard time letting go. Also, I don't like how people assume Megan is pure evil when it's pretty clear she was groomed by a man to do his bidding.
Because it's the same boring, lazy ending they had for the last game.
@@jimmylittle9393 The endings had similarities but still had differences. But agree to disagree.
@@jimmylittle9393 Man of Medan didn’t have a lazy ending. The twist was the original crew and cast hallucinated everything because of the Manchurian gold. Little Hope was the inner happenings of a schizophrenic who was consumed by guilt due to the death of his family. If you take each story as it is they’re pretty good, but I can definitely see how the “it was never real” ending got boring.
@@DivineSpiritual1989Yeah but, the most infuriating part is that the characters surviving or dying doesn’t really matter as long as 1 survives. Just lazy. Also we literally saw a demon in the beginning of the game and drawings of demons just to make us think she’s evil artificially even though it’s obvious it is the reverend.
FR I don’t care what anyone says I LOVED THIS GAME FROM BEGINNING TO END 😭😭
It is interesting how all family members have different personalities in the prologue compared to the main part of the game. Daniel is shown as a total asshole who is always angry at everyone in the prologue but in the main game, he becomes friendly, brave and supportive. John is an alcohol addict and a failure with no life achievements who is also about to lose his job but later becomes an educated professor and a leader of the team. Angela is the actual family leader who struggles to save her family but in the main part, she's just some grumpy self-centred lady with an insufferable personality.
I've heard it said that the "modern day" cast was what Anthony wished his family had been like, besides their character flaws that you need you need to counter via the trait system (which I myself am still confused about). So your comments above fit except for Angela lol. Anne (?) the mom was saddled with taking care of a struggling family that didn't seem to listen to her (useless, dismissive husband, troubled kids, etc) but Angela was a headstrong woman going back to school for a degree (they said she was a "mature student") who prided herself on being independent. She was also a bitch yeah but I think that abrasiveness trait was something you could "cure" her of during the game depending on your choices. So maybe Anthony wished his mom had been able to have more control over their family, to keep them together, and not his dad?
@@eriserato4365 i think maybe the mum sacrifised her education when they got married and started adopting kids, so in the version Anthony thought up she was someone who didnt scarifice what she wanted for others and end up in a miserable life she starts to regret. Instead she chose to pursue an education even at an old age, someone who stood up for herself even if sometimes to her detriment.
Oh that’s such a cool observation!
0:22|9:36
Fun Fact: The accident that made Anthony get redirected to Little Hope is most likely the same accident that made Eric King lose his legs in House of Ashes. He and Rachel was in the same diner Anthony walked out of in a flashback before their car got hit by a truck.
Nice find. A lot of little details in the anthology are really cool.
Every game is connected very well to each other. In house of ashes there is a newspaper saying manny Sherman is executed. This is the serial killer munday interrogates in the devil in me. Can’t wait to see how the next one will be connected considering it will be in the future in space.
Hmmm timeline wise i dont thinks so, since the flashback with eric and rachel was in 2002 while little hope happened in very much above 2012 due to their phones
There's a newspaper that Conrad picks up in a room aboard the ghost ship in Man of Medan that talks about the missing archeologists in the backstory of House of Ashes.
Unfortunately not true as time wise theyre separatedby over 10 years. Also the accident in HoA happened right in front of the restaurant while the accident in LH happened down the road, but is a cool connection.
I believe the Witch trial story did happen minus the supernatural/time doppelganger stuff.
The name Carver is mentioned in the 1970's story through different background secrets you find in various locations. The Carvers owned the factory and were the ones wanting to sell it. If they weren't going to shut the factory down then Anthony's family wouldn't have been under the stress it was under that was causing arguments and neglecting Megan. Their neglect lead to her being pushed off to the reverand Carson who just made her situation worse. If the events of the Witch Trials were mostly true then it gives a reason for why the Carver family were rich and owned the factory, because the real life Rev Carver had managed to establish a position of power by manipulating Little Hope in the 1690's through his bullshitting with the Witch trials and the Carvers who owned the factory were his descendents.
My theory is Anthony blamed himself so much for not being able to save his family that he started looking for ways to blame himself even for the circumstances he had no control over that lead to the fire. Instead of accepting that the Carvers had established power long ago and caused Little Hope's work to die out, something he would have had no way to control, he instead delluded himself into thinking he/Andrew and his "friends" had somehow caused the events of the Witch Trials that lead to the Carvers running the factory. His dellusions made up the connections with doppelgangers and time manipulation but the names and people who died in the trials were likely all real and actually drawn from the history books Anthony was interested in.
Anthony knew of the butterfly effect of the Witch Trials and Rev Carver leading to the situation that eventually caused the fire and internalised it as part of his anxiety and PTSD from his guilt, trying to find ways he could have helped or caused the events and depending on player choices determines how he comes to terms with this.
I think the story is good but doesn't work effectively as a game, if given a better medium to portray the story it'd likely receive more praise
@@kaptain_komrade3708 Honestly, I think it does work in this format because narratively nothing the player/Anthony actually does changes the past and Anthony and the player need to learn this lesson. Yes it can be frustrating as the player to feel like everything you did "didn't matter" but I think that's sort of the point of the story's message. You can't change the past, only who you are now and your actions will impact how Anthony copes with it all in the end regardless of who dies or lives in his delussion. A TV show could straight up tell you one of the main endings and that none of it mattered and it could work okay too but that feeling of hopelessness or "Little Hope" (hurr hurr) about fixing things that happened long ago is emphasized more by having the player actively live through it with Anthony and seeing how he grows based on how they coped with the situations.
@@caldw615 I suppose I can see that however it doesn't exactly give the player any incentive to replay the game and try for a different outcome unlike for instance Detroit become human which little hope is similar to mechanically
@@kaptain_komrade3708 I guess the only reason you would replay it would be to see all the things you missed the first time now that you have hindsight.
I like your theory here, and feel like the creators probably have something similar in mind. I just which they were better at conveying Anthony’s mentality and the connection between these stories in the game.
This was the only story out of all of these games that actually made me feel things. Child death, grief, trauma. Rough, rough stuff.
Probably the best explanation of Little Hope I've had the pleasure of watching. You've taken great effort and thought into making this video and it shows. Thank you!
Thank you for watching! And glad you enjoyed!
Very good comprehensive explanation. Did you notice that The Curator says in his dialogue something like “we each have to fight our own Demon’s alone”..giving a huge hint that each character when attacked by their own one mustn’t ask for help from the others or will die?.
Will you be doing a Man of Medan synopsis or House of Ashes preview? You’ve got yourself a new subscriber.
Haha I didn’t pick up on it on my first playthrough! Ended up killing everyone except Angela 😂 and thank you! Yeah I’ll be doing o house of ashes preview when more information comes out!
This game was already a mindf*ck and you blew my mind even more with this comment. I didn’t even catch that 🤯
Carsen was a sexually assaulting megan, that's what the drawing symbolizes and that's the "secret" carver is warning mary not to share with anyone symbolizes. Carvers manipulation of mary to accuse people of witchcraft symbolizes Carsens sexual assault on megan the way one would silence a child and mske sure they don't tell anyone, which is why the different family members look alikes are the victims. Marys trial after carver is exposed gives a lot of interesting dialogue with mary. Where she expresses how greatfull she is, explaining how she will never forget you and what you've done for exposing his true nature, which is what his study into the occult is symbolizing. A man no lne could imagine was capable of such, a man of god. As they say, how could a man of god do this. Which he responds that he only checked into it, like he wasn't practicing it on regular basis. The metaphor is also clear as day if you check out during the trial, how the priest is accusing mary of lying and how anyone would believe a child before a servant of god, as mary is defending herself saying that she isn't the evil one and she never did anything wrong, but the priest. There's a whole lot of other subtle hints and indications throughout as well
That’s what I got from that as well.
Exactly this. This is why her grades are suffering and the demon manifests for her as it does.
That’s what I got during my first play though like 20 min in
Shroud of Innocence wasn't referencing Megan but Reverend Carson and his shroud of innocence being a man of god, a priest.
Honestly that was my first guess too. I mean, a little girl, a very powerful priest, manipulation in order to hide some sort of "secret"... Yeah, no, i don't think that was about dark magic
The story of Little Hope reminds me of the saying that there's no such thing as a haunted house but haunted people.
I actually cried at the end of the game, realising the trauma and that was his way of coping.
Vince was a suppoting person unlike what others may have got, which in a way consoled me as well to know, its ok, it happened a long time ago, but we need to move on. It was a very heart felt ending that i wasn't expecting, and I'm not sure why it hit so hard, but it worked so well. Tbh, i think I'd rate the game as meh if it didn't have that psychological twist at the end.
I love how you explained this, it also answered my question of "why was the witch trials a part of this?"
I also believe he created these characters in the image and personality of his family so that he had a chance to mend the relationships with them and between them in his mind.
Andrew wanted to change the past thinking it could have saved his family in 1972
I can see the demons being reflective of the dark thoughts Anthony has of his family and if they're killed then he is overcoming them.
Little Hope is one the few pieces of media that does the "It's all fake/in your head" trope in a non-annoying way, which I respect.
its actually pretty haunting that theres nothing actually infesting the abandoned town. it just......died. theres nothing that can change what happened. thats weirdly kind of more scary than running from demons. its just.....nothing. no life. no sounds. nothing.
Of all the games I’ve played, this is the saddest one. I only feel the sadness and pity for Anthony, while he suffers from depression and schizofrenia due to his survivor’s guilt from the trauma in 1970
I completely forgot about the fire in the beginning and was lost when I ended with Anthony at the diner. This explains everything
Glad I could help!
Me too. Suprising "what the hell?".
Conrad (from Man of Medan) wears a Salem Massachusetts shirt. Pretty neat how they Easter egg the games
Yeah there’s a newspaper in man of Medan that talks about the next game (House of Ashes) as well. And the brand of matches is the same too as you find the same box of matches on the ghost ship
I didn’t play the game but I watched a play through of it and found it so interesting. But, with a game like this where it’s choose your own adventure and has multiple endings I was just confused on a lot of it. This video helped so much and you didn’t miss a beat! Especially the reverend carver part and how Megan was being groomed; I assumed this but you explained it perfectly. Thanks so much.
Thanks for checking it out!
I actually loved the twist here. It was subtle, but also a deep dive into a person's persona. The greatest demon a person can face is their own past.
As a very big fan of Silent Hill i was very happy to be confused at the end to find explanations.
Same here!
The main characters couldn’t “find a way out of the town”, because it was all in his head and he couldn’t “get out of his own head”.
I feel for Anthony but damn that sucks for Vince. Just trying to have a quiet night and Anthony is roaming around town arguing and yelling at himself bringing up the bad memories of the night he lost his love.
I saw what was going on in MOM right away... no twist there. But, I did think these characters were in some witchcraft induced reincarnation loop so was pleasantly caught off guard by the twist. Also, this game gave me "Silent Hill" type vibes ... someone wondering through fog, battling their own demons manifesting themselves (figuratively or literally)...without the combat of course. Lastly, as I've gotten older, I find there isn't much that scares me. However, tragedy, loss and the breakdown of the human mind? The things that are *real* in life are much scarier at the end of the day than ghosties, ghoulies, goblins, and made up stories. I read that a lot of people were disappointed with this game before I played it, so I wasn't expecting much - but afterwards.. I just thought, wow...I guess I'm just weird. Although this game was still tropish, art-wise I felt it game was way above its predecessor. Great video by the way!
This is an amazing video! You did so well in explaining the story! Definetly going to have to stick around for more videos!
Thank you mate! Glad you enjoyed!
I honestly like how it doesn't show real demons and stuff it makes it more interesting and you have to put the puzzle together to find out what is happening before it's too late
I loved the twist in the story.
It's an amazing example of what grief and regret can do to people.
His guilt literally drove him insane.
The biggest (also the most subtle) clue to the whole thing not being real is the faceless people in the visions. When people dream, the human brain can't make up faces, so it only uses faces of people we know, or have seen in reality. So sometimes in dreams, we'll see blurred or blank faces. It's a really interesting...
I played the game a few weeks ago, that's why I knew the story already. But I kept watching videos about this game. I love the way this video brings up the general story with details. One of the best I've seen so far.
Loved it! I'm gonna subscribe!
Keep going! 🙌
Thanks! And I’m glad you enjoyed!
I never noticed the names are all similar
Wow lol
Let me just say: *THANK YOU*
you understand why the creative choice of a story "all being a dream" is *not* inherently a bad decision. it can be such an incredibly profound narrative choice, as exhibited here! anyone who immediately passes off a whole narrative tool just because it's used poorly in other areas are really *missing out!!!* This is one of my favorite stories lately in a game.
Any time a priest tells a child to «keep our secret» you KNOW who the evil one really is 😑
I loved the twist at the end 🤗 Someone else said «All our efforts in the game are not wasted because we are all trying to help Anthony to finally save the family he could not, one last time» When you walk out with all characters, it feels like, at least in his head, he DID save them from their horrible fated way of death this time.
I think i like the story part the most, out of other dark pictures game. Its about redemption, acceptance and guilt after all. It had me crying the first time i play and saw the ending
That lo fi playing over the montage of the death of the family at the beginning is just….. *chef’s kiss*
Just finished the game for the first time. This video seems to answer all my questions. Thank you for taking the time and making this video for everyone. Strong work!
Glad I could help, and glad you enjoyed!
I like this video and the explaination. I would also go so far that Anthony not just forgive himself and Megan (good ending), but also helps his family to find rest (like the ferryman, which stood on the bus).
It would have been cool if Megan was actually a demon, and caught Anthony in a loop killing his family while he tries to prevent it. Everytime he fails, the go to another time or reality and he’s put through it again. Then we could see him succeed and it would be awesome.
So I know I'm late to the video but here's my theory.
I think the events of the witch trial definitely happened and that Reverend Carver also existed along with the other 1692 characters even if they weren't actually the Clarkes and they didn't look like them. This is evidenced by the museum that talks about the events of the witch trials naming various characters in the witch trial. Another piece of evidence is the posters and other references to the Carver family, they were clearly a family of high standing in the town long after reverend Carver. Having said that, my real theory is that the characters other than Andrew/Anthony (Taylor, Daniel, John, and Angela) are the spirits of Tanya, Dennis, John and Anne. Firstly the house fire caused the characters to probably have very traumatic deaths, traumatic deaths (in supernatural folklore) can cause spirits to not move on to the afterlife meaning that it's possible that all of those years later the Clarkes from 1972 we're still hanging around little hope. Secondly, once again according to folklore, spirits sometimes need help moving on from the land of the living to that of the dead. So, when Anthony comes back to little hope, already in a lot of emotional distress this brought his family's spirits out of a sort of limbo and back into semi consciousness. Then throughout the night each of the family members that died faces a version of themselves in the form of their dead self. This is them facing off against their demons. Now, in the game if a character hasn't gotten past their issues they had in life (ie. John was dissmissive and fearful) they don't get to leave the place where they died, their demon "kills" them and they never get to leave. But if they make it past their demons and grow spiritually, they make it to the end of the game and then disappear. I believe this is them leaving the living world and moving on to the afterlife. Sidenote: The bussing company Anthony works for is called Farriman which is like Ferryman or the Greek and Roman mythological character that helps usher spirits from one world to the next. This furthers the idea that the adventure Anthony goes on doesn't only help him move on, it helps his family move on as well.
One final thing, you may say that, the "people" Anthony sees being real ghosts is too outlandish, however for a games series whose only connecting character is the embodiment of death I have to say I disagree.
To clarify: I don't think the people in 1692 were in anyway the Clarkes I just think the stories they all inevitably grew up with influenced their fears and subsequently the way they moved on. I also don't really think Megan did anything wrong I think it was most likely an accident and I think the only reason we didn't see Megan be a character and move on is because Anthony hadn't forgiven her yet.
So in summation: Little Hope is a game about forgiveness and learning to move on, so it only makes sense that it was actually about spirits moving on to the afterlife AND their brother/son moving on from his guilt.
This video is so great! Before i didn't get the story at all, but after hearing you explain it i totally get it! Can't wait for the next story to come out!
Thanks for watching. I just released a video on House of Ashes - ua-cam.com/video/tPBl66t3D5s/v-deo.html
They don't make this super obvious but I think the older brother Dennis is technically jealous because of Tanya's relationship and secretly likes her since none of them are actually "related" to each other per se. The fact that in Andrew/Anthony's mind the versions of them who he creates end up together seems to be an indication of this.
Amazing take and interpretations of the game! Just finished it, and watched this immediately. Really loved the game, and your explanations just solidified this as one of my favorite dark pictures games.
Thanks for watching! Yeah I loved Little Hope. Can’t wait for the next one!
A fun Easter egg I noticed- at the beginning when Andrew and Angela first meet Mary, she asks, “would you kindly play with me?”
“Would you kindly?” was the trigger phrase in Bioshock!
Also (rant), I know this game is polarizing, but I quite enjoyed it.
I think for me, it’s more so because of the story itself as opposed to the different endings or how much choices matter or not.
Regardless of your choices, the mystery and intrigue of the story is still there (for all of DPAs games not just this one).
I really like the grounded aspects of these games. I feel like there’s already enough supernatural video games that it actually becomes a cheap trope for the answer to a mystery to be ghosts (still love those types of games too though, it’s just refreshing for something new).
And with replays, it’s fascinating to just explore the story more and piece things together or find things you missed, to further flesh out the story if not shoot for a different ending entirely or try to keep everyone alive.
I think DPA games are truly story driven/focused. If someone wants a hearty branching narrative game where things matter more, I’d recommend Detroit: Become Human.
DPA games aren’t for everyone and that’s okay, but I really enjoy them!
Awesome video too! It really helped tie things up for me on the plot!
I did not feel like the ending cheapened the experience at all. I enjoyed the twist
I played all the games and this one is actually my favorite and the scariest.
This video is amazing! Sometimes I get so focused on not missing every little detail I stress myself out, but now I can watch your videos after my playthrough to be sure and feel "safe" about knowing everything! Thank you!
When you see the photo of vince and Tanya I thought the name scratched out is Tanya and just forgot that’s the name of his sister I feel stupid now
i also like this little detail in man of medan, which was a news article about a mine collapse in afghanistan. thats a little tease for house of ashes.
I like the nice calming music as you describe everybody being killed in a fire
I don't think I fully understand what was then actually happening in the scenes without Anthony in them? Like when your group splits up and you play as other characters who are far away from Anthony character...
i was struggling about the story line while playing game ... thanks for breakdown video man :D
Glad I could help!
soooo many links in this video that i never noticed when playing the game! i did think that mary was being abused by rev. carson from the very start though. and my heart dropped when i realised that it was just anthony all along talking to himself and the portrayal of serious psychosis and hallucinating.
Little Hope was by far my favorite. I haven’t played the very last one yet because it’s not free yet
0:43 That part scared the hell out of me and I will never forget about it
It's reasonable to have his imaginary crew haunted and killed by monsters. I see it as reality catching up to his psychotic break breaking through, telling him those characters are dead and belong dead. The indications like Taylor's strangle marks, John's weak lungs/coughs, and etc. make sense. His unconsciousness was hinting at it from the very beginning through these injuries.
This had to be my fav episode of season 1 of the dark pictures anthologies. I love psychological horrors!
The episode almost feels like a callback to Josh from Until Dawn, like a supernatural-beings-free version of it.
Coming back to this I'm real proud with how far you've come with production and delivery, great work!
Small problem with the fire at the start, That's tile. Tile wouldn't catch fire. That's like, the reason you have Tiled floors in Kitchens. Unless Megan spread a bunch of a gas on the floor, that fire shouldn't have spread across the tile.
Thank you for the explanation, it is very thorough, and I like that you included evidence for all your conclusions, even for the more obvious ones- I had to keep pausing/rewinding to read all the stuff you found that I didn't lol
Little Hope really surprised me. Man of Medan was honestly mid and wasn’t expecting much. It feels like Anthony is going through what Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Shutter Island went through. It’s really sad how the other characters looks on at him without saying a word when he was in the police car at the end.
Gotta hand it to ya, you actually got me to lessen my distaste towards Little Hope. You put the focus on the story, did a great job of answering most of the loose threads I saw, and even provided speculations I hadn't considered.
My main issue with Little Hope mostly comes from the media used to portray the story. It's a captivating story, and a super interesting twist and take on the human mind processing grief. As a *video game* tho, the twist kinda dampens everything. This is a game where your choices and reflexes can determine who lives and who dies. So finding out that none of that mattered, no matter what kind of run you're going for (all live or all die), it kind of ruins the sort of rewarding feeling of accomplishing your goal when you find out the goal didn't matter to the story. So story wise, I found it great, and your video definitely helped highlight it. As a *game*, I can understand the frustration folks have with it. (that and some story points like Taylor seeing a playset in a yard that she had as a kid when Andrew wasn't around? maybe it was to keep the twist under wraps as a red herring but aaaaaa it bothered me so much lol)
As I said tho, your video analysis reminded me of what I do like about it and amplified it. So thank you for that. Fastest subscription click of my life lol
12:11-19:40
best explanation
The way you phrased everything was so beautiful
Ok so this takes place in Massachusetts, and I think that because Anthony grew up there… Salem Witch Trials were a hot topic for him. I believe that there really WAS Little Hope Witch Trial history (in the fictional game), those weren’t conjured in his imagination. Those really happened, which is why there is a museum, a grave for a famous little girl involved in the Witch Trials, and a few other places. It doesn’t make sense that Anthony would be hallucinating SO MUCH that he was pretending to be in these places that don’t actually exist… It would be easier for Anthony in a different way… hear me out 😂… What WAS Anthony’s imagination, helping him cope, was putting faces and/or names in place of the real people in Little Hope history in an attempt to make it make sense in his brain! Like Tilly for example, who was sort of like a fourth imaginary doppelgänger for his sister Tanya… just because they share a “T” in the name, which is why the bust you find looks like Taylor(Tanya). But “Tilly” isn’t a character in either of the three reality’s in his brain. Tilly is significant only because she’s a famous author who died in her home, so in the town… a few REAL locations are named after her! Also, the name “Carver” is real, but he associates that name negatively because the “Carver” descendants of the Reverend Carver (who was responsible for the REAL Witch Trial events in the game)… owned the factory and were closing down the factory that Anthony’s father was working at, causing the dads drinking as a way to cope. So in Anthony’s mind, “Carver” is easily associated with what caused his family struggles. What’s even more complex… “Carver” is closely related to “Carson” who, as we know, is the Reverend who was grooming Megan, equally to blame for the family struggles regarding Megan’s delinquency. And Anthony knows this, aside from his mental disorders. So, Anthony associates Carson’s face to the historical Reverend Carver because he categorizes the two negative aspects of his family’s demise into the same person/people/doppelgängers… Does makes sense? 😂
I don't understand all the hate this game gets. I was hooked all the way thru I caught on to the priest in the end and saved nearly everyone.
The story was amazing and left me thinking and wanting more I immediately went in for a second round now having a whole new perspective to play the game thru.
The story has many layers and can get complicated but that doesn't make it bad it just makes it intriguing.
Absolutely brilliant summary and interpretation! Thank you so much! I really underestimated how well thought through the story is. Your explanation makes me appreciate the game a lot more!
Thanks! And I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I would actually contend that the "Carver" character may not be purely fictional. The campaign poster shown of a mayor Samuel Carver at one point in the game stands out in that it isn't part of the fictional 1692 timeline but part of the 1970s one. Given that the factory workers such as the dad in the family were shown to either be out of work or short on work as well as from other documents in-game, it's clear that Mayor Carver was arranging for the factory to be shut down in order to pursue other interests and investments which may have benefited him personally. "Reverend Carver" is thus probably a composite character Anthony has in his mind that stands for both Reverend Carson and Mayor Carver from the real-life 1970s timeline and the respective roles they played in damaging Anthony's family.
Thanks a lot, this really helped me. I'm doing a school project on this game, great summary!
I hope you get top marks!
If you play the Curators Cut during the 70's you play as Tanya and go check on Megan. While you look around if you go into the boys room you find a statue of the a witch trial era version of the sheriff and Tanya comments saying "I don't know why he is so fascinated with this stuff"
Also Anthony can find the poster of a Witch trial reenactment school play pretty early on in the game which is originally why the characters think what they are seeing isn't real.
This is one of my favorite comfort series... love your channel so much, thanks for all the hard work!
Damn you explain it so well! god you're so underrated I'm subscribing now and I know you'll go so well in the future!
Thanks so much!
I honestly wish it was a cycle in purgatory that needed to be beaten. So they keep getting reincarnated, doomed to live similar events while being able to alter where it all started; The Witch Trials. Why their fates are all the same if it doesn’t work, but alas you’re decisions meant nothing.
VINCE is this arc MVP, change my mind
I didn't even notice all their names had the same letter as their past lives.
This is the Chanel I’m looking for for years
Welcome!
I was looking for a video that could explained the story and I’m glad I finally find it ! Great job and great video !!
I hope we gets a season 2 of this game series soon
Just now noticed that the dude that shows up to Anthony’s house in the beginning right after he runs in is the guy who was the judge back in the Salem days
This was great! The Wiki article
on Little Hope really confused me but you helped me understand it perfectly. It was also great to see your positive reaction to this one. A lot of people seem to think it’s terrible but I found the plot made sense and was really moving. I also loved your final point about psychological horrors being as effective as more “typical” horror tropes - it really comes down to how you portray mental horrors
This was the best episode or chapter for me, because this is the only one i find that is very possible to happen to anyone.
On a different point of view Taylor's demon was depicted as burning at the stake this was in my first play through! Two choices in this can effect her demon by fire or rope! Likely in thr beginning of the game!
True, mine had Taylor hanging as her demon
When I just finished the game right now the ending hit me like a bag of bricks
I love the video... I'm still surprised people did not like the ending of the game. When I did my playthrough of the game I thought the game's ending was great and had a great conclusion.
Me too! I think everyone just wanted the witches, demons and stuff to be real... As I mentioned, the demons in Man of Medan weren't even real either. I think some people just wanted to pick holes in it. Plenty of horror in the game, and kept me guessing until the last second. Can't wait for the next one!
@@GamingHarryYT You know what that makes sense. When I was doing my Man of Medan playthrough and when it came for the last fatal decision for Alex... I had to take a minute and really think... What helped me out the most was the realization from the beginning, when I shot the child ghost. And when, I knew that the two headed monster wasn't real, well saying that I was relieved with the outcome, would be a understatement.
@@GamingHarryYT I think people complaining about supernatural not being real is not the problem. The problem is the false promises that the beginning of the game gives to the player. Just like with the films. In Man of Medan player see leaking stuff from military crates so it's obvious that game will be about something natural like biological weapon. Characters don't know that but player does. In little hope there is no foreshadowing about natural cause that mental breakdown is. The only thing I can stretch to mean it is that bus from the begining seems empty when there are supposed to be passengers. On the second hand the theme of the entire game is screaming about supernatural, witches, and monsters. That's what makes the players question it. I also don't like it when Im getting not what I was promised. I like supernatural themes so I want to see them and not someone with mental ilness. If game want such supernatural/natural twists it should give players something that make them aware that both options can be real. I watched once a series about people researching supernatural cases that always ended with natural causes. I was still entertained because from the begining they were looking into both ''worlds'', and I was curious how on earth the culprit did such miraculous stuff that looks like supernatural.
@@GamingHarryYT the wendigos were real though
Why are you surprised about that? The ending completely makes all your decisions meaningless. It doesnt matter if you save angela or john for example, because they're ALREADY DEAD! It makes all of that pointless, and kills any replayability for most people. It makes it feel like a waste of time.
At the end of the day, I respect the creation of this game.
It's a great game. I didn't get every clue so I missed some things but everyone survived and the ending was a twist I was actually blown away by.
(20:10) Personally, I prefer stories with physical monsters as the problem. That's why until dawn is still my favorite out of the three.🤔
It’s the only one I haven’t played haha
@@GamingHarryYT I've always liked monster movies over psychological/ghost movies. I find it more entertaining to have a monster that wants to nibble on the protagonist giblets and it's up to the hero to stay off of the menu.
Hahaha love it! Well here’s to hoping for a real threat in House of Ashes!
So... What you think about The Evil Within? It's wierdly compromis between Silent Hill and Resident Evil/Alone in the Dark plot kinds.
it's also my favorite
Honestly, I prefer that the horror in this story is more of the psychological horrors of a man losing his whole family, over a hallucination caused by leaking gas in Man of Medan and the Alien-Vampire shit in House of Ashes. I'd like to think that this is more of Anthony/Andrew's "apology" for not being able to save his family, and not being able to help Megan.
. So many things I'd like to say. Blown away by the story
Amazing story. Best so far!
I knew something was up immediately when the bus driver went to the diner alone and had a book with him
While I can settle with the idea Anthony is merely suffering severe mental trauma, this game does take a lot of inspiration from Silent Hill. I believe Anthony was truly being haunted by the spirits of his dead family, particularly Megan, who conjured up the entire scene. They only appeared once he entered the vicinity of Little Hope.
Each ending is impacted by whether the family members choose to be selfish or caring for eachother, on top of whether you choose to forgive Megan, or forsake her--cursing her spirit to be cast off the same way she was at the end of her life.
Megan remains to keep Anthony from killing himself if you cause all the family members to die, but forgave Megan herself. But if you cause Mary to die, she forces Anthony to end his life.
The Witch Trials story-line is conjured up in Anthony's mind as a coping mechanism to explain why all these deaths happened. It is a way for him to justify any of the decisions he makes by the end, whether he chooses to forgive or blame Megan for the death of his family.
Honestly though, the concept of a localised timeloop causing medieval times to loop with modern times is a pretty solid idea for something, a book, a show, a movie..
I don’t mind the twists honestly about it just being psychosis, but if that is the case I think they need to foreshadow it more heavily and it’s kinda of a shame because this in particular could have been really interesting. Like dam it
Actually the mother died from inhalation injury, so she is basically drowning in her own lungs.
17:34
as carver manipulated mary in 1692, i think he manipulated megan into setting the house on fire
could be a stretch and i havent watched the whole video yet this already couldve either been confirmed or denied later on in the vid but it sounds like the priest in the 1600 time line (i think is reverend carter?) could also be the demon manipulating megan to start the fire because he does the same thing in both timelines, he manipulates her to go against her family and her own morals and thoughts.
Basically yeah. You’ve got it! 😀
dang. The ending almost got me tearing up... that is so sad. 😞
Yeah i feel ya. Proper sad!
Now, I understand the 'demon' seemingly dictating Megan to do some menace. I was confused and now it makes sense :)
I always thought that for the witch trials, Anthony was superimposing his family onto these stories and tragedies that he had heard as a child. I think that each and every museum object in the game is real. He went there as a child, when life was happy. He heard those stories and always saw it as a grave injustice. He blames the reverend for Megan's behaviour in the 70's so he uses him as a vessel for his anger not only at himself but at Megan as well. I only played it once so far (Definitely gonna play it again very soon, right after this comment, matter of fact) but when I chose to save Mary in the final flashback. I interpreted this as Anthony letting go of his anger towards Megan by symbolically banishing that part of himself from his head.
The characters all have different opinions regarding the little girl, It represents Anthony's confusion and torment regarding his opinions and feelings regarding his family. There are so many layers to this story now that I've processed this. John's polite and professional demeanor is Anthony's wish for a more down to earth and stable dad. Angela's feistiness is a representation for Anthony to have a stronger mother. Megan never talks to Anthony (In the playthrough I had), that is his distance from his youngest sister, he wants to help her and condemn her at the same time but can't do either of those things. Mary is his attempt to try and piece together his complicated feelings and try to come up with some sort of explanation that he can never truly understand. As for Taylor and Dennis, not quite sure yet but I can't wait to piece it all together when I tackle this game again.
The point is that this psychological thriller is an incredibly thought provoking game and perhaps one of the best games in the Dark Pictures for that very reason.
For Daniel, he is simply more Nice, honest and caring whereas Dennis was Arrogant, mean and rather hot-headed, its simply evident in the ways he treats his little sister and always blaming everybody else. Tanya is a bit more complicated - considering her diary she may seem a bit manipulative and a mean girl on the inside. Anthony reimagined her as Taylor - more frightened and always wants to remove herself from the problems that come her way. Taylor always avoids her problems, Tanya always blamed her problems on someone else. I think taylor/Tanya have a bit more to her though - i cant figure it out. I think Anthony just wanted his siblings to be nicer people in general and reimagined them in that way.