Don't Get Your Hopes Up

About

Don't Get Your Hopes Up is a single player action game with a horror theme. It was developed by Krish Raghav and was released on September 16, 2025. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up is a short interactive comic about housing shortage and horror in architecture. Based on desperate apartment searches undertaken in 2022 and 2024, and drawing from a half decade of conversations about Amsterdam's housing crisis, the game moves between fiction, documentary, and social commentary. With disquiet and creeping unease, it dismantles the consoling fictions of …

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96%

Audience ScoreBased on 45 reviews

music5 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

Highly relatable and realistic portrayal of the housing market struggles, especially in major European cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, and Barcelona.
Creative storytelling blending surreal horror and humor to humanize and engage with a difficult social issue.
Well-crafted visual novel with excellent writing, appealing art style, and fitting music that enhances the atmosphere.

Some gameplay elements, such as clicker mechanics, feel repetitive, unnecessary, or poorly implemented.
Lack of ambient sound design and abrupt music transitions can be distracting and reduce immersion.
The story's surreal and sometimes abstract approach may not appeal to all players and can feel confusing or disengaging to some.

music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
33%
25%
The game's music is generally well-regarded, complementing its comic-style storytelling and social themes with excellent and thoughtfully chosen tracks. However, some users noted issues with abrupt starts and stops in the music and that it can be distracting when listening to vocals while reading. Overall, the music enhances the emotional experience and atmosphere, adding to the game's praised writing and visuals.
- “By the end of the game, I was left with the long-lost feeling of 'reading my favorite short novel on a sunny Saturday afternoon.' Brilliant writing, outstanding visual expression, and excellent music choices.”
- “Great story, art and music.”
- “Some really nice touches and great music for a project like this.”
- “When no music is playing, the game is completely silent, except for a single moment in the story where you can hear what seems to be a stock restaurant ambience loop.”
- “On top of that, the music sometimes starts very abruptly, stops just as suddenly, and occasionally cuts off right in the middle, only to start again briefly and fade out after a few seconds.”
- “For example, when I’m reading something, I can’t comfortably listen to music with vocals at the same time, because I tend to focus on everything at once including the music and start analyzing it, which can be quite exhausting.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The story is praised for its surreal horror elements and relatable, humanizing themes, often blending humor and realism in a concise, impactful way. While some find it compelling and relevant, others note that it can feel disjointed or underdeveloped, reflecting room for improvement. Overall, it's considered a short but memorable narrative experience, especially appealing to fans of story-driven games.
- “The story really goes there with the surreal horror and very effectively uses it to create an incredibly humanizing experience.”
- “An excellent story that many of us can relate to around the world.”
- “In some ways this could be a story in any major urban metro in the world right now, and in another it is very specific to Amsterdam right now.”
- “The story was decent overall and shows a certain amount of potential, but also reveals that there is still room for improvement.”
- “The story is simply too surreal, and doesn't make sense.”
- “Okay, let’s have a final summary: don’t get your hopes up. It deals with a relevant and interesting topic in a mostly comic-style way, with a fictional story and some music.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is notably witty and relatable, blending subtle satire with surreal and spooky elements that often provoke genuine laughter. It effectively balances realism with comedic exaggeration, enhancing the overall experience without overwhelming the player.
- “It could be hilarious if it weren't so close to the truth (it's still very funny!).”
- “The subtle touch of humor prevents the player from lingering in that helplessness for too long.”
- “Also made me laugh out loud in its biting satire.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The gameplay is minimal and primarily serves as a visual novel experience with occasional clicker elements that some find tedious. While each apartment offers a unique setting, the gameplay lacks depth and is more of a scenic backdrop than engaging interaction.
- “I found the occasional clicker mechanics terrible; in such situations, I would much rather have a small, well-designed minigame or nothing at all.”
- “The draw of this game isn't particularly the gameplay or narrative; it's a scenic window to see from a prospective unusual.”
- “Each apartment is unique, and the 'gameplay' (big word considering it never stops being a visual novel) reflects it nicely.”
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The graphics are praised for their artistic and surreal style, effectively complementing the game's social commentary. They feature charming visual elements that enhance the narrative, including thoughtful nods to expat Dutch life. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the immersive and impactful experience.
- “Wonderful graphics and narration, cute nods to expat Dutch life.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a highly atmospheric experience, creating a strong mood despite its brief duration.
- “Very atmospheric, short experience.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a brief but powerful emotional experience, effectively capturing a specific sense of anxiety and distress tied to contemporary economic struggles. Its exceptional writing elevates it above most free visual novels, making it a standout piece deserving more recognition.
- “Short, free, panic-attack-inducing piece of art you can get through in an hour with the benefit of immensely better writing than most free visual novels on Steam, and absolutely deserving and in need of more attention for how effectively it elicits a very hyper-specific emotional response to a contemporary economic hellscape.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Don't Get Your Hopes Up is a action game with horror theme.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up was released on September 16, 2025.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up was developed by Krish Raghav.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its story.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up is a single player game.

Similar games include No Longer Home, Missed Messages, The Beginner's Guide, Refind Self: The Personality Test Game, NORCO and others.

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