Dreams in the Witch House

About

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 450 reviews

story108 positive mentions

grinding28 negative mentions

The game successfully blends point-and-click adventure with survival and time management elements, enhancing the overall immersiveness of the experience.
It features a captivating story that stays true to Lovecraft's original work while allowing for player-driven choices and multiple endings.
The pixel art style and atmospheric sound design create a rich and engaging environment that draws players into the world of Arkham.

The survival mechanics can feel grindy and tedious, detracting from the enjoyment of the story and gameplay.
Some players may find the difficulty level high, especially in managing resources and maintaining character stats, which can lead to frustration.
The game can be confusing at times due to its reliance on RNG elements, making it difficult to predict outcomes and progress.

story
342 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
67%
1%
The story of "Dreams in the Witch House" is widely praised for its engaging narrative and faithful adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's original short story, enhanced by intriguing gameplay mechanics that allow for multiple endings and player choices. While some players appreciate the depth and replayability, others find the survival elements and time management aspects detract from fully experiencing the story, leading to a sense of unfinished plotlines. Overall, the game successfully captures the essence of Lovecraftian horror while offering a compelling mix of mystery and adventure.
- “I had a lot of fun uncovering the story, how to make it to the end, and then how to not doom the world to some Lovecraftian horror and achieve the best ending.”
- “The developer really nailed the cosmic horror from the short story of the same name, and it really paired well with the survival and time-management mechanics of the game.”
- “What makes this game really stand out are the mechanics which allow you to constantly advance the story and never get stuck, even if you haven't discovered something or solved all the puzzles.”
- “Though in my opinion after playing a while, I feel as though the game relied too heavily on the survival aspects of what the developer wanted, and I started to lose a little interest in continuously trying to grind money and missing out on more storylines because of it.”
- “When the game ended, I was surprised, because it felt like the story was just starting to take off and get interesting, and I was disappointed that I was unable to finish any of the story arcs I had started.”
- “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.”
gameplay
164 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
75%
2%
The gameplay in "Dreams in the Witch House" is a blend of point-and-click adventure and survival mechanics, offering a unique experience that combines exploration, puzzle-solving, and resource management. While many players appreciate the engaging story and atmospheric design, some find the survival elements tedious and disruptive, suggesting that they detract from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the game is praised for its depth and replayability, though it may require multiple playthroughs to fully grasp its mechanics.
- “The gameplay is effective; you have enough things to worry about that managing time and money becomes gripping. The graphics are nice, the music is great, and the characters clearly have their own distinct voices.”
- “The gameplay consists of a perfect mix of classical adventure game fare (solving puzzles by finding and combining items) with light survival elements.”
- “Beyond all that, the gameplay mechanics are very well thought out, addictive, and incredibly immersive.”
- “What it doesn't show are the survival and study mechanics which make up ~80% of the game and which do not add much fun to the game.”
- “There might be a fun game here, but unfortunately it's hamstrung by a tedious survival mechanic.”
- “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.”
graphics
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
47%
3%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming and nostalgic pixel art style that effectively captures the Lovecraftian theme and early 20th-century setting, reminiscent of classic LucasArts titles. While the character designs are crisp and well-defined, some players noted a disconnect with the blurred backgrounds, which can be distracting. Overall, the visuals are praised for their detail and atmosphere, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience.
- “The art style is beautiful, one of the best looking pixel art games I've seen in a long time. The music and ambiance are great companions to this game and will either make you feel like you are in a whimsical world or about to get attacked and violently murdered.”
- “The pixel art style in 'Dreams in the Witch House' is really well done, and as someone who's worked on games with pixel art before, I can appreciate the level of detail that went into each sprite and environment.”
- “Great atmosphere, that has to be the strongest point. The producers managed to capture the dread and the evil lurking, which is not easy in a simple pixel art style.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
- “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.”
atmosphere
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
43%
5%
The atmosphere of "Dreams in the Witch House" is widely praised for its ability to evoke a sense of dread and cosmic horror, effectively capturing the essence of Lovecraft's works through its pixel art style and sound design. Reviewers highlight the game's rich ambiance, which is enhanced by a dynamic soundtrack and masterful use of space and lighting, creating an engaging and immersive experience. While some note that the music can become repetitive over long play sessions, the overall atmosphere remains a standout feature that draws players into its unsettling world.
- “Great atmosphere; that has to be the strongest point. The producers managed to capture the dread and the evil lurking, which is not easy in a simple pixel art style.”
- “The atmosphere is spot on; you can see that the authors understand Lovecraft and his stories.”
- “The devs nailed the atmosphere, and there's a really good balance of 'life sim' and cosmic horror. The feeling of dread—yet occasional hope—while searching for answers is done so well.”
- “The lighting and color choices are also effective and add to the game's overall atmosphere.”
- “The music really fits the atmosphere, and especially the sounds used in certain scenes are high quality and fit perfectly to create a tense, creepy atmosphere at times.”
- “I love Lovecraft, read everything he has 10+ times, and this game really captures the atmosphere.”
music
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
50%
6%
The music in the game is generally praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with a varied soundtrack that includes both eerie and whimsical elements. However, some players noted that the music can become repetitive over long play sessions, and a few found it to be the weakest aspect of the game. Overall, the soundscapes effectively complement the gameplay and contribute to the game's rich ambiance.
- “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, and while initially not having any 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 art-style is beautiful, one of the best looking pixel art games I've seen in a long time, the music and ambiance are great companions to this game and will either make you feel like you are in a whimsical world or about to get attacked and violently murdered.”
- “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.”
replayability
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
36%
7%
The game boasts high replayability due to its hybrid RPG and point-and-click mechanics, multiple endings, and randomized elements that encourage players to explore different paths and strategies in subsequent playthroughs. Players appreciate the emphasis on learning from initial runs to improve in future attempts, as well as the added challenge of higher difficulty modes. Overall, the combination of engaging storytelling, diverse outcomes, and puzzle variety makes it a standout title in terms of replay value.
- “With multiple endings, this game provides hours of entertainment and lots of replayability.”
- “The attention to detail, different paths, RPG elements, randomization, and replay value make this game stand out in the classic point-and-click adventure genre.”
- “It makes for an excellent replayable 'roguelike' adventure game that will have you scratching your head in all the best ways.”
- “It's a really good short (per run) 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.”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the survival mechanics tedious and bloated, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the story. While some appreciate the tension these elements add to gameplay, others feel that the repetitive tasks and lack of clarity regarding time management make the experience frustrating and boring. Overall, the grinding can be seen as a double-edged sword, contributing to the atmosphere but often leading to a sense of monotony.
- “Bloated, redundant, grindy, annoying.”
- “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.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is frequently highlighted as charming and fitting for its time period, with players enjoying the comedic outcomes of their choices, such as unexpected bad endings and absurd situations like getting robbed while broke. The art style complements the humor, enhancing the overall fun experience.
- “The art style is fun and charming, hilarious at times, and fits the time period well!”
- “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 did find the game to be hilarious based on my choices, like getting robbed with no money in my wallet.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game's optimization is praised for its outstanding performance in illustration and engagement; however, the heavy emphasis on survival elements can significantly impact gameplay, making it more suitable for players who enjoy managing multiple tasks under budget constraints.
- “Outstanding performance in illustration and engagement.”
- “The survival elements weigh heavily on your performance and the ability to complete the point-and-click adventuring side of the game, so I would only recommend this to people who enjoy survival elements and managing many different things at once, within a tight budget constraint.”
- “The survival elements weigh so heavily on your performance and the ability to complete the point-and-click adventuring side of the game that I would only recommend this to people who enjoy survival elements and managing lots of different things at once, within a tight budget constraint.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization approach of this game is positively highlighted, with users appreciating its integrity in contrast to the prevalent trend of AAA titles prioritizing profit over player experience. Players feel that this game and its developers deserve support for their fair practices.

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Dreams in the Witch House
$4.39
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13h Median play time

13h Average play time

13-13h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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