Dreams in the Witch House
- February 16, 2023
- Atom Brain Games
- 13h median play time
Get on Steam"Dreams in the Witch House" is a horror adventure game inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's story. As a student of mathematics and occult, you uncover supernatural events and face otherworldly creatures in your apartment complex. Solve puzzles, navigate eerie locations, and survive the nightmares of the witch house.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- A unique blend of point-and-click adventure and survival mechanics that keeps players engaged and invested in the story.
- Faithfully adapts H.P. Lovecraft's work, capturing the atmosphere and themes of cosmic horror while adding depth and replayability.
- Challenging yet rewarding gameplay that encourages exploration and experimentation, with multiple endings based on player choices.
- Resource management can feel tedious and overwhelming, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- Some players may find the randomization of puzzles and item locations frustrating, leading to potential dead ends.
- The game can be punishing for newcomers, with a steep learning curve that may require multiple playthroughs to fully understand the mechanics.
- story98 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is a highly praised adaptation of Lovecraft's work, immersing players in a rich, atmospheric narrative filled with intriguing twists and references to other classic tales. Reviewers appreciate the blend of survival mechanics and non-linear storytelling, which allows for meaningful player choices that impact the outcome, although some express frustration with certain gameplay elements that detract from the narrative experience. Overall, it is regarded as one of the best adaptations of Lovecraft's stories, offering depth and replayability that keeps players engaged.
“There is so much on offer here, so much inspiration and inventiveness in how all aspects of the story, characters, and game work together to build up a survival challenge for the player to overcome.”
“Great atmosphere and story inspired by a classic work, with tons of references to other masterpieces.”
“The game has a rich atmosphere, a captivating story, and a dynamic soundtrack that enhances the mood.”
“I certainly wanted to like this game as I love cosmic horror stories, but this story just felt impenetrable and starting another playthrough when I know how tedious these survival mechanics are greatly dissuaded me.”
“I wrote my master's thesis and assumed that would do something for the plot, but as far as I can tell it did not... and that took up a crazy amount of time.”
“The more mundane character of some of the challenges (not freezing to death) or the repetition of actions that don't actually influence the plot in any way (studying for exams) is also strongly reminiscent of 'Papers, Please'.”
- gameplay44 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dreams in the Witch House" combines survival mechanics with adventure elements, creating an engaging experience that balances challenge and exploration. While the survival aspects can sometimes feel tedious or frustrating, they contribute to a rich, immersive atmosphere and offer significant replayability through randomized elements and RPG mechanics. Overall, players appreciate the depth and variety in gameplay, though some may find the learning curve steep and the mechanics diverging from traditional point-and-click formats.
“The survival mechanics are enough to keep you on your toes without being oppressive, which allows the adventure aspect to really shine.”
“With great pixel art, Dreams in the Witch House is a very well-designed adventure game with survival mechanics where we have to manage health and sanity to survive while trying to solve various mysteries and puzzles.”
“What makes Dreams in the Witch House stand out, beyond the story, is that the game has actual gameplay more than clicking and combining items as most classic adventure games.”
“Apart from the easiest difficulty level, the survival mechanics and RNG can somewhat get in the way of progressing in the game, especially if you don't know what to do and when.”
“I certainly wanted to like this game as I love cosmic horror stories, but this story just felt impenetrable and starting another playthrough when I know how tedious these survival mechanics are greatly dissuaded me.”
“Now, it's okay to add challenge or a different gameplay loop in your adventure game, but I can't stress enough that everyone - and I mean everyone, hates a balancing numbers act for long periods of time.”
- graphics23 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are a blend of crisp pixel art for characters and more blurred backgrounds, which some players found distracting, especially early on. However, many reviewers praised the overall visual style as a nostalgic homage to classic LucasArts games, highlighting the detailed animations and beautiful pixel art that enhance the immersive experience. Despite some inconsistencies, the graphics are considered excellent for the game's price, with a strong presentation that captures the charm of retro adventure games.
“Graphically, this is a clear homage to the LucasArts classic I grew up with.”
“Graphics and especially animations are beautiful and detailed!”
“The art style is really nice and discovering new rooms and areas is very satisfying because there are so many nice details to admire.”
“While the characters are drawn in a crisp pixel art style with flat shading and distinct eyes, the backgrounds and objects around them are drawn in a more blurred style that allows for better shading and detail, but also has the characters looking quite out of place against some backdrops.”
“Over time my eyes adjusted to this, but especially early on I felt this was quite distracting and I wished the game had chosen one style or the other for all of its visuals.”
“The dev is also seemingly quite active on Reddit and instantly helped me out with some unique resolution questions, because I'm playing on a very big screen, which is not doing any favors to the retro art style.”
- music20 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the mood and complementing the rich storytelling. However, some players find the soundtrack repetitive over long play sessions, with a few noting that certain tracks can become obnoxious. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's eerie ambiance, it is considered one of its weaker aspects due to its limited variety and occasional lack of looping.
“The soundscape with its jolly daytime music, brooding nighttime ambience, and the my-heart-skipped-several-beats sound of a shattering lightbulb are absolutely perfect. While initially lacking voice acting felt cheap, it makes a lot of sense considering the number of times an average player is likely to replay parts of the game.”
“The game has a rich atmosphere, a captivating story, and a dynamic soundtrack that enhances the mood.”
“The music really fits the atmosphere, and especially the sounds used in certain scenes are high quality, perfectly creating a tense and creepy atmosphere at times.”
“Though I found the music to be atmospheric in this game, its long playtime can make any soundtrack feel repetitive.”
“There are a few other pieces, but they do repeat a lot and sadly get a little obnoxious, so I would say the music is the weakest part of the game.”
“Music was a bit weak, but I tend to believe that atmosphere shines brightest when the music goes along that path.”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its rich, immersive quality, drawing heavily from Lovecraftian themes and classic literature, which enhances the overall experience. While the soundtrack is noted to be atmospheric, some players find it repetitive over long play sessions; however, the sound design effectively contributes to a tense and eerie ambiance. Overall, the balance of cosmic horror and engaging storytelling creates a captivating and addictive atmosphere that resonates well with fans of the genre.
“The game has a rich atmosphere, a captivating story, and a dynamic soundtrack that enhances the mood.”
“The dev(s) nailed the atmosphere and there's a really good balance of 'life sim' and cosmic horror, and that feeling of dread—yet occasional hope—while searching for any answers to help you is done so well.”
“This game is one of the best Lovecraftian adaptations around with great atmosphere and sound, as well as interesting time management mechanics.”
“Music was a bit weak, but I tend to believe that atmosphere shines brightest when the music goes along that path.”
“The music really fits the atmosphere and especially the sounds used in certain scenes really are high quality and just fit perfectly to create a tenseful, creepy atmosphere at times.”
“I love Lovecraft, read everything he has 10+ times, and this game really catches the atmosphere.”
- replayability16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its randomized elements, multiple endings, and varying difficulty levels, which encourage players to explore different outcomes and challenges. Users appreciate the engaging story and intricate puzzles that enhance the experience, making it stand out in the point-and-click adventure genre. Overall, the combination of these features results in a game that feels infinitely replayable and enjoyable.
“Fun, entertaining, with different outcomes depending on your actions (thus good for replayability).”
“Excellent and so complex that it seems infinitely replayable.”
“It's a really good short point-and-click adventure game with a lot of replayability due to both things that are randomized per run and multiple endings.”
“I should also add that there are puzzles to solve in the traditional sense when it comes to adventure games, and most of these puzzles are randomized from playthrough to playthrough to add to the replay value.”
“Lots of stuff happen all the time (some randomized, so there's replay value here) and setting the difficulty level higher gives you new challenges to overcome.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is a mixed experience; while some players find it tedious and boring, others appreciate its complexity and how it enhances the non-linear storytelling. The survival mechanics can be frustrating, particularly during repeated playthroughs, but they are not universally overwhelming, with some players enjoying the challenge they present.
“It makes the game so incredibly boring and tedious.”
“I certainly wanted to like this game as I love cosmic horror stories, but this story just felt impenetrable and starting another playthrough when I know how tedious these survival mechanics are greatly dissuaded me.”
“As for the life sim aspect of the game, it can be a little tedious at times--especially if you become sick or are just too tired from the never-ending shenanigans of Brown Jenkin--but they never feel overwhelming.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its unexpected and absurd situations, often eliciting laughter through player choices and outcomes. Players find the comedic elements to be both abrupt and entertaining, with moments like getting robbed despite having no money adding to the overall hilarity of the experience.
“I played this once and threw myself into a bad ending the moment it presented itself to me; it was kind of funny, abrupt but funny.”
“At times, I found the game to be hilarious based on my choices, like getting robbed with no money in my wallet. XD”
“I bought something expensive and unnecessary early on, and we were laughing about it the entire time.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is praised for delivering outstanding performance, enhancing both visual quality and player engagement.
“Outstanding performance in illustration and engagement.”
“The optimization features really enhance the gameplay experience.”
“I appreciate how the game runs smoothly even on lower-end devices.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization of this game is viewed positively, as it stands out in an industry often criticized for exploitative practices, with players expressing a desire to support developers who prioritize quality over profit.
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative, prioritizing profit over player experience.”
“It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game fully without spending extra money.”
“The constant push for in-game purchases detracts from the overall enjoyment and immersion of the game.”
