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Dahlia View

What would you do if you knew your neighbours had done something terrible? Would you sit back, and let important evidence go unnoticed, or would you take matters into your own hands?
Dahlia View Game Cover
78%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, grinding
85% User Score Based on 210 reviews
Critic Score 65%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Playstation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
Dahlia View Game Cover

About Dahlia View

Dahlia View is a single player puzzle game with drama, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by White Paper Games and was released on November 2, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

When 8-year-old Charlotte May is reported missing from Dahlia View, retired detective Robert Conway launches his own investigation into her disappearance. Lead the investigation and uncover dark secrets in a story-driven observational thriller from the creators of The Occupation and Ether One.

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Reviews

85%Audience ScoreBased on 210 reviews
story82 positive mentions
stability21 negative mentions

  • Engaging detective narrative with a suspenseful and atmospheric 1950s setting reminiscent of Hitchcock's Rear Window.
  • Excellent voice acting and character development that enhance immersion and emotional investment.
  • Unique gameplay mechanics incorporating wheelchair-bound protagonist movement, evidence gathering, photography, and a well-designed evidence board.
  • Clunky and frustrating controls combined with frequently changing or fixed camera angles that hinder navigation and exploration.
  • Numerous bugs and glitches including crashes, stuck characters, missing prompts, and physics issues that sometimes block progression.
  • Linear and on-rails gameplay with limited player choice, unskippable and repetitive puzzles (notably lockpicking), and a final story twist that felt abrupt or disconnected from the investigation.
  • story

    205 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 55% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The story in this game is widely praised for its intriguing, suspenseful, and well-crafted mystery that keeps players engaged from start to finish, often drawing comparisons to classic detective stories like Hitchcock's "Rear Window." It features strong voice acting, rich characters, and a well-paced narrative, though some find the protagonist unlikable or the plot predictable, especially with an abrupt or underdeveloped ending. While the linear, on-rails structure limits player agency and some plot twists feel unforeshadowed or contrived, the story remains the highlight, appealing mainly to those who prioritize narrative over gameplay complexity.

    • “The story is incredibly well written and if I could wipe my memory and play it again, I absolutely would!”
    • “Highly recommend this game, the story was super thrilling and unexpected (and usually I know how shows, movies, etc. end from fairly early on) and I was hooked from the beginning and didn't notice time passing as I was sucked into the story.”
    • “Conway disappearance at Dahlia View is a well-crafted adventure mystery, thriller investigation game that allows the player to feel like an investigator with the synergy of its different gameplay mechanics while interweaving these same mechanics with a story full of intrigue that keeps you engaged and immersed from beginning to end.”
    • “Eliminating suspects was good, and not gonna lie, the first suspect I had was the actual criminal, but that's only because that's how it usually works in real life — there was no single thing until the revelation at the end of "I am an assistant dentist" that remotely hinted at them, and that's just a bad story.”
    • “You don't do plot twists with no leads to them for detectives.”
    • “Little of what Conway uncovered linked with that twist; all the ideas I had in mind before that segment of the story were made wrong because most of the clues were made irrelevant by a single plot twist that was not set up by any hints beforehand.”
  • gameplay

    78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    29% positive mentions, 63% neutral mentions, 8% negative mentions

    The gameplay of "Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View" is generally praised for its unique mechanics, such as the lockpicking system, wheelchair movement, and investigative photography, which enhance immersion and detective feel. However, controls, camera angles, and puzzle cues can be clunky or frustrating, and the pacing is slow and linear, which may detract from player engagement. While the gameplay is well-crafted and supports the story, some find it tedious or limited in depth, with a lack of interactive dialogue or replay value, making it more appealing to narrative-focused players than those seeking dynamic gameplay.

    • “One thing I have to mention is the lockpicking mechanic: it's one of the best I've ever seen in a game.”
    • “Conway disappearance at Dahlia View is a well-crafted adventure mystery, thriller investigation game that allows the player to feel like an investigator with the synergy of its different gameplay mechanics while interweaving these same mechanics with a story full of intrigue that keeps you engaged and immersed from beginning to end.”
    • “The gameplay itself is simple: you're one wheelchair-bound man on a mission to solve a mystery, something you would think is impossible to do so, but great thought and clever design has been implemented in order to allow you to solve the case.”
    • “It feels cheap and disappointing - as if nothing you did for the whole ten hours of gameplay mattered at all.”
    • “We also have this useless mechanic of picking up unimportant objects, which you may be familiar with from other titles, but this game takes it to the extreme - with whole sections of tables and shelves that offer absolutely nothing.”
    • “Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View falls short of its inspiration, with poor mechanics, annoying characters, and atrocious detective work.”
  • graphics

    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    55% positive mentions, 38% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their beautiful, stylistic art style that blends realism with graphic novel and comic-like aesthetics, creating a compelling and atmospheric experience. While not the most advanced technically, the visuals are detailed, consistent, and enhance the mood, complemented by strong voice acting and sound design. Minor technical quirks exist but do not detract significantly from the overall pleasing presentation.

    • “Great graphics, great story, great characters, and overall amazing.”
    • “A great mystery game with a beautiful art style, excellent voice acting, and dark atmosphere.”
    • “They went for realism with just a touch of comic book / watercolor style (think Borderlands art style but a lot more refined) and it definitely was a nice looking game.”
    • “The graphics were stylistic, but the 3D models had a problem I have seen before where the tongues and the teeth are over lit so when they talked the bright white teeth and pink tongue looked odd.”
    • “I am really liking the story, the graphics are so-so but people buy these types of games for story and not graphics.”
    • “Not the best I've ever seen graphics-wise but certainly far from the worst.”
  • stability

    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    5% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 95% negative mentions

    The game's stability has improved over time with patches, resulting in generally solid performance and no major crashes. However, some players still encounter occasional bugs such as camera glitches, character getting stuck, and minor control issues that may require reloading checkpoints or restarting the game to resolve. Despite these issues, most glitches are not severe enough to significantly disrupt gameplay.

    • “Performance was rock solid, no FPS dips, no crashes and aside from the wonky physics, no glitches or bugs, nothing that inhibits progress or gameplay.”
    • “It's 2025 and I can confirm this game is still buggy as hell.”
    • “The problem is the camera glitches into stuck positions where you cannot actually see your character, and you cannot fix this unless you are able to finagle your way out of one room and into another to "reset" the camera.”
    • “Occasional glitches with game mechanics (character stuck where movement is impossible) - requiring a "reload last (auto)save".”
  • atmosphere

    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    61% positive mentions, 39% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game excels in creating a strong, gripping, and chilling atmosphere through its beautiful art style, immersive sound design, and well-executed voice acting. Its slow pacing and atmospheric setting effectively build tension and enhance the mystery, making it an enjoyable experience for fans of narrative-driven, atmospheric games.

    • “The story unfolds slowly through exploration, conversations, and careful observation, with a strong focus on atmosphere and character.”
    • “The atmosphere is gripping and chilling, and the style is haunting.”
    • “Wonderful game, the atmosphere and the soundtrack really build tension and get you to question everyone's motives and who the perpetrator might have been.”
  • music

    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    45% positive mentions, 28% neutral mentions, 27% negative mentions

    The music in the game is highly praised for its atmospheric and suspenseful qualities, effectively enhancing the mood and complementing the action without being distracting. The soundtrack and ambient noise are noted for their high production quality, contributing significantly to the immersive experience and tension-building throughout the game.

    • “The music fits wonderfully and always accompanies the action appropriately.”
    • “The background ambiance is spot on and the music plays gently, creating a mood without being distracting.”
    • “Wonderful game, the atmosphere and the soundtrack really build tension and get you to question everyone's motives and who the perpetrator might have been.”
    • “The soundtracks are more on the suspense side, which adds layers to the game, but the overall sound needs some adjustment.”
    • “- soundtrack”
    • “”
  • grinding

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is often described as tedious and frustrating, largely due to slow, clunky controls and unskippable dialogue. Mini-games like lockpicking add to the monotony, and navigating cluttered environments can feel painfully slow. While some aspects are understandable given the character's wheelchair, the overall experience detracts from the gameplay's enjoyment.

    • “Can't skip dialogue, getting all the achievements can be tedious (I decided not to try to get all of them).”
    • “It's tedious at best, needlessly frustrating at worst.”
    • “The lockpicking minigame is tedious as well.”
  • optimization

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game demonstrates solid optimization with stable performance, a 60 fps cap, and no major bugs or crashes, ensuring smooth gameplay. Minor issues like wonky physics do not impact progression. Overall, the experience is polished and engaging.

    • “I didn't have any gamebreaking bugs, and performance was good, the game is capped at 60 fps I think.”
    • “Performance was rock solid, no fps dips, no crashes and aside from the wonky physics, no glitches/bugs, nothing that inhibits progress or gameplay.”
    • “I didn't experience any crashes or bugs that affected gameplay, and the frame rate remained stable throughout.”
  • replayability

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 60% negative mentions

    The game generally offers a relatively short playtime of around 10 to 11.5 hours and lacks substantial replay value, leading some players to view it as overpriced at full price. However, a few players note that it provides some replayability within its genre, contributing to its overall polished experience.

    • “The game has a fairly lengthy play time and even after the mystery has been solved and the game beaten it is one of the few games of this genre with replay value in my mind.”
    • “Even if it only provides around 10 hours of gameplay and no real replay value I'd say it's still worth getting, and hopefully we'll see more games from the same developers in the future.”
    • “It's painfully short; my gameplay time was 11.5 hours to finish the story, which has no replayability. I'm glad I bought the game on discount because I cannot, in good faith, recommend it at full price.”
    • “Overall, a good polished game but short with no replayability.”
    • “The short length and lack of replayability mean I think it's a tad overpriced at full price.”
  • character development

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Character development is praised for its captivating voice acting and impressive character design, which features a distinctive and appealing style that resonates more deeply over time.

    • “The voice acting is satisfying and gripping, as well as the character design.”
    • “The character design is fantastic and has a wonderful style.”
    • “The character designs grew on me as well.”
  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users found the humor to be quirky and self-aware, with some appreciating characters like Harold Levy for their amusing personality. However, the comedic elements received mixed reactions, blending irony with a sense of mediocrity.

    • “Which is funny because the Steam achievements also don't work, so we can all feel less than adequately mediocre.”
    • “Unpopular opinion - I found Harold Levy to be quite a funny personality.”
  • emotional

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Players find the game emotionally engaging, appreciating its balanced puzzle difficulty that keeps them interested without causing frustration. The intriguing setup effectively draws players in and fosters investment in the investigation.

    • “On paper, this sounds like a very interesting setup that should get players excited from the beginning and emotionally invested in the investigation.”
  • monetization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game's monetization does not heavily impact gameplay, focusing more on delivering a story-driven experience rather than emphasizing deduction mechanics or aggressive in-app purchases.

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Play Times

11h Median play time
9h Average play time
10-13h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Dahlia View is a puzzle game with drama, mystery and thriller themes. Common tags for Dahlia View include indie, exploration, emotional, third person, 3D and others.

Dahlia View is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 9 hours playing Dahlia View.

Dahlia View was released on November 2, 2021.

Dahlia View was developed by White Paper Games.

Dahlia View has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked Dahlia View for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Dahlia View is a single player game.

Similar games include The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Blacksad: Under the Skin, Call of the Sea, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders, Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo and others.