The Dark Pictures Anthology: 5 Best Characters So Far

Now, before we go diving into The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes which, may I remind you, just released today — I think it's only right that we do a little spring cleaning. You know, gloss over the previous games and syphon out a few bits and pieces before casting them aside for good. Say, the characters that made a genuine impact on our play time, and those that basically failed to land so much as a single hit.

Excusing Until Dawn, mainly due to it being before The Dark Pictures Anthology timeline, we'll take a look at the five best characters from the series. From Man of Medan to Little Hope, here are the select few who we actually didn't want to watch die from a series of grizzly deaths.

5. Conrad (Man of Medan)

As much as we've grown tired of that same old formula of having the class clown nested within your everyday high school cliché clique, Man of Medan does actually manage to build on such a novel role, with Conrad being on the brink of something much greater. Okay, so it doesn't exactly seem like it at first, what with the dire one-liners and frat boy mindset — but those poor traits eventually spiral into something fairly noteworthy and original, leaving us to actually feel for the guy.

As much as I didn't want to round back to Until Dawn, I do have to put Mike and Conrad up on a pedestal together. Both having those alpha personalities and being fueled by self-confidence and cockiness, it was only natural for us to want them both discarded the second the opportunity arose. But, as both stories progressed, we came to enjoy their flaws — and even used them to aid others in their efforts for survival. And, in certain situations, Conrad actually proved to be a pretty worthy asset to the team.

4. Fliss (Man of Medan)

One could quite easily argue that Man of Medan is mainly about Alex, along with his relationship with Julia and his underlying issues surrounding commitment. And yet, even with Alex taking the lead for the duration of the story, one can't help but spot Fliss in the peripheral vision, trailing along with a series of just as intriguing issues that, if examined properly, actually overshadow the bulk of the tale altogether.

After spending a great deal of time trying to rescue cliché female leads from Until Dawn, it was actually sort of nice to be able to sink into Fliss's shoes, who ended up carrying the group over the majority of the obstacles and encounters that blocked their paths to survival. All in all, Fliss was a strong lead that we couldn't help but feel drawn to, to the extent of wanting her to be one of the few survivors on the boat leading home.

3. The Curator (Man of Medan & Little Hope)

While not technically a playable character as such, The Curator is still very much a huge part of the overall structure of The Dark Pictures Anthology, and can even be a worthy asset to your game by pointing you in all the right directions and offering up advice on the sly should you wish to accept it.

Of course, in a nutshell, The Curator is nothing more than a glorified script writer that simply leans on your choices and play style to help bulk out his book collection. But then, he's also the backbone to the brand and, of course, a familiar face that we're always glad to see whenever booting up a new journey with an ensemble of fresh meat.

2. Daniel (Little Hope)

Rounding back to the frat boy mentality that shrouded our dear Conrad in Man of Medan — that particular apple didn't exactly fall too far from the tree with Little Hope's personal knock-off Daniel, the equally as stubborn and boystrous lead. With a few matching traits that we're almost immediately inclined to hate, the athletic teen runs up quite the rap sheet of things we'd rather dispose of than at least try and tolerate.

But then the story progresses — and the tale takes a sharp turn for the worse. The group is divided after stumbling across the ghost-riddled town of Little Hope, and Daniel soon finds himself acting as the sole life raft for the few remaining survivors. Following of from that, we get to see some pretty epic scenes with Daniel going toe-to-toe with a series of death-defying obstacles and paranormal encounters. But unlike most of the group, namely John who prefers cowering from the problem as opposed to confronting it — Daniel takes the bull by the horns and lives up to that alpha status incredibly well, giving us a slight change of heart on his outcome.

1. Andrew (Little Hope)

Although you could argue that neither chapters in The Dark Pictures Anthology have a main character as such, you could agree that Little Hope's Andrew was perhaps a little more, say — spotlighted. And it's because of the amount of screen time we shared with the teen that we just couldn't help but establish a much stronger bond with him, regardless of his few personalities traits.

Andrew certainly isn't the decision-maker in the pack, nor is he the biggest problem-solver either. But he is, however, a loyal friend and an incredibly rational student, with a genuine interest in his peers and their problems. And so, for that reason, I'd happily say Andrew was a character worth saving. But then, when next to the likes of John, the decision wasn't really all that hard when you think about it.

Had enough of The Dark Pictures Anthology? Looking for more content? You could always take a look at one of these lists:

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