Dead Secret

About

Dead Secret is a first-person horror mystery set in rural Kansas in 1965. A reclusive professor is dead and it’s up to you to crack the case before you become the next victim. Investigate the murder and explore the story Time Magazine called “captivating” and “deeply creepy” .

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 770 reviews

story252 positive mentions

replayability8 negative mentions

Engaging and intriguing story that keeps players invested throughout the game.
Atmospheric and creepy, with effective use of sound design and jump scares.
Simple yet satisfying puzzles that encourage exploration and reading of documents.

Very short game length, typically completed in 2-4 hours, leading to concerns about replay value.
Limited movement mechanics that can feel cumbersome and detract from immersion.
Voice acting is often flat and lacks emotion, which can detract from the overall experience.

story
540 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
50%
4%
The game's story is a compelling mix of mystery and horror, featuring an engaging narrative centered around a reporter investigating a suspicious death. While many players appreciated the depth and twists of the plot, some noted inconsistencies and a reliance on reading documents to fully grasp the story. Overall, the atmosphere and storytelling elements were praised, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven games, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “Properly mind-boggling and nuanced story, with unexpected twists and turns, becomes very unsettling towards the end, as the sun sets and the moon rises.”
- “The deep story creates an unreal sense of immersion.”
- “The story was intriguing, the mystery well-written, and the environment fun to poke around in.”
- “The story could have been a bit better, and my biggest issue was you move so slow it was just comical.”
- “The story didn't make much sense at all, even with the reading, and the puzzles were way too easy.”
- “The story is veeeery weak and the voiceover is laughable.”
atmosphere
148 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
37%
2%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and creepy qualities, effectively utilizing sound, lighting, and minimalist visuals to create a tense and unsettling environment. While some players noted issues with jump scares and gameplay mechanics, the overall ambiance and storytelling were highlighted as strong points that kept players engaged and on edge. Many reviews emphasize that the atmosphere is a key element of the experience, making it a compelling choice for fans of atmospheric horror and mystery games.
- “Great atmosphere through sound, location, and an uncanny storyline.”
- “Hands down the scariest game I have ever played, with the fantastic atmosphere created by the combination of story, ambient sounds and music, and overall graphical design and art style of the setting.”
- “The atmosphere is beautiful, and gradually becomes more and more tense.”
- “Decent story but the only horror is low effort jump-scares that contribute nothing to the atmosphere or gameplay.”
- “Babies first mystery flick, I wouldn't really call it a horror despite almost having the atmosphere for it but utterly squandering it with the whole VR gimmick that hurts the game more than it really adds to it.”
- “This game doesn't even get close to creating the same level of atmosphere.”
graphics
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
56%
12%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are dated, simplistic, and occasionally underwhelming. While some appreciate the art style and atmospheric design, others find the visuals lacking compared to more modern titles, particularly in VR. Overall, the graphics do not significantly detract from the gameplay experience, as many players find the story and immersive elements compensate for the visual shortcomings.
- “The graphics and story are amazing!”
- “Really good game with visuals that will stay with you.”
- “The visuals are simplistic and create a quiet, bleak, and serene atmosphere.”
- “Limited movement (pre-determined points), strange inventory system, simplified visuals with low-res textures.”
- “The graphics are totally underwhelming.”
- “Poor graphics and sound, terrible voice acting, dull and predictable plot and characters, easy puzzles where half the work is done for you, and it's extremely short for the price.”
gameplay
130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
77%
11%
The gameplay is primarily point-and-click, with a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, but many players find it clunky and simplistic, often feeling more suited for VR than traditional PC play. While the atmosphere and story are engaging, the mechanics can become repetitive, with a reliance on pixel-hunting and a frustrating hide-and-seek element that detracts from the experience. Overall, the game offers a short but intriguing narrative, though its execution leaves much to be desired in terms of gameplay depth and complexity.
- “The gameplay/investigation is still based on pixel-hunting, finding various notes, items, and documents, but the story is presented in quite a clever way.”
- “For me, it had just the right amount of spookiness :) graphics great, controls intuitive, gameplay fluid, puzzles solvable, also the reading (you will get to do some of it) is enjoyable (no spelling errors etc) fantastic kind of hint system which absolutely suits and even enhances the spooky atmosphere of the game.”
- “The puzzle mechanics, whilst simple, encourage exploration of the environment and allow the player to immerse themselves in the back story, engaging with the characters and pondering the potential outcome.”
- “First of all, the gameplay is horrible; you can only move to predetermined areas.”
- “The worst part of this experience is the hide-and-seek gameplay that has become popular with horror games lately.”
- “I got completely stuck when entering the basement due to a bug; gameplay was incredibly slow, puzzles were absolutely lame and easily solved, and the only scary thing creeps at you so slowly it's funny.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
64%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the overall immersion and tension, with many reviewers highlighting its eerie and haunting compositions reminiscent of classic soundtracks like those from Silent Hill and Twin Peaks. However, some players noted issues with audio balance, including instances of the music being excessively loud and the lack of options to adjust it, which detracted from the experience for a few. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's chilling ambiance and emotional depth.
- “The combination of music, visual effects, and some sudden elements works really well.”
- “Great music and sound design made it even scarier at times.”
- “The creepy ambiance created by the music and the abandoned feeling of the house really helped enhance the gameplay.”
- “This is also the only way to access any sort of menu, with no option of turning off music.”
- “There were a few audio bugs in the game, and no option for audio change, which was a drag, because the music was way too loud sometimes.”
- “The game has silly scares, bad visuals, stupid music and it's a sham.”
replayability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
54%
33%
The game offers limited replayability, with many players noting that it can be completed in about three hours. While there are multiple endings that may entice completionists to replay, several reviews emphasize a lack of substantial replay value overall, suggesting that the experience may not warrant a full-price purchase.
- “Although you might not find every story element on your first playthrough, there are multiple endings and therefore a decent amount of replayability for completionists.”
- “Multiple endings and a clearer perspective on the game's events give the game some replay value.”
- “There's multiple endings, so there's replay value.”
- “I beat the game in about three hours and there isn't much replay value, so if 15 dollars sounds a little steep for that, get it on sale!”
- “Not much replayability after you finish it.”
- “Great story, but unfortunately no replayability.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd and immersion-breaking moments, such as the ability to "nope out" of situations and the comical contortions of the character's body, particularly when viewed in mirrors. Players find humor in the slow-paced scares and the ridiculousness of certain gameplay mechanics, leading to amusing scenarios like moonwalking past reflective surfaces. However, some players feel that the humor detracts from the overall immersion and quality of the gameplay experience.
- “It is quite funny that you can 'nope the f*ck out' when bad things start to happen, and that is one of the 5 endings.”
- “Which is to say hilarious as you look into a mirror with your head a full 180 degrees from the front of your body.”
- “This leads to some funny moments where you can click someplace to walk past a mirror and see yourself moonwalking if you turn around while you're in motion to a 'hot spot'.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the game avoids tedious grinding and repetitive gameplay, which is appreciated by players who prefer concise, engaging stories over lengthy, monotonous experiences. However, some players still find the game slow-paced and lacking in excitement, likening it to a walking simulator with minimal engagement. Overall, while the absence of grinding is a positive aspect, the game's execution leaves some players wanting more.
- “This game can be summed up as little more than a tedious walking simulator with a few cheap jumpscares and an ultimately uninspiring story.”
- “I don't mind a game being short; I appreciate a game that tells a complete, engaging story in just a few hours over one that tries to waste my time with repetitive gameplay or grinding.”
- “The main character is very slow, and getting around can be a little tedious since you have to click where you want to go.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
10%
10%
The game is generally well-optimized, particularly for VR, allowing users with mid-range hardware to achieve high supersampling settings with minimal performance issues. However, it shows signs of being primarily designed for VR, which may affect the experience on regular PC setups. Overall, while there is room for improvement, players report smooth performance on capable systems.
- “The one nice thing about the game being first made for Gear VR is that it's very well optimized. Even on a GTX 1070, I can crank supersampling all the way up to 2.0x with barely a hint of reprojection (~4% of frames in my playthrough).”
- “I run it with VR supersampling set to 2, and it runs smoothly on my system (GPU 1080 Strix, CPU i5).”
- “Well optimized.”
- “Could be a little better without sacrificing a lot of performance.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally described as having stability issues, with users noting it can be janky and buggy, particularly in VR. While these problems can detract from immersion, many still find the game enjoyable and atmospheric, suggesting that the experience may improve in future installments. Some players have not encountered significant bugs yet, indicating variability in stability across different play sessions.
- “It's a bit janky, a bit buggy, and some moments really do a number on your willing suspension of disbelief, but it's still an enjoyable and deliciously atmospheric detective game with horror elements.”
- “Because of this first game, I am seriously giving the sequel a chance, but so far it's been a buggy mess in VR.”
- “Some gameplay can be buggy (maybe better on VR?) and drag due to how slow movement is from place to place.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the game lacks significant emotional depth or tension, with multiple users noting a deficiency in these aspects.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is noted as decent, contributing positively to the intriguing story and well-crafted setting and mood of the game.
- “An intriguing story with a good setting, mood, and some decent character development.”