Fausts Alptraum

About

Fausts Alptraum is a single player role playing game with horror, mystery and anime themes. It was developed by LaboRatStudio and was released on April 8, 2017. It received very positive reviews from players.

Fausts Alptraum is an single player, puzzle game created by LabORat Studio, an indie game team from Taiwan. The story based on Goethe's Faust. Players will play as a troubled girl wandering around in a crayon-drawn world. Players will have to find the relevance between dreams and reality by collecting clues.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 496 reviews

story135 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Beautiful and unique gothic art style with well-done hand-drawn cutscenes.
Atmospheric and fitting classical soundtrack that enhances the eerie and mysterious mood.
Challenging and engaging puzzles that encourage note-taking and critical thinking, appealing to fans of RPG Maker horror games.

Puzzles can be obtuse, confusing, or poorly hinted, requiring guides for many players.
Game suffers from technical issues like missing or buggy fonts causing blank text boxes and occasional glitches.
Frequent backtracking and unclear directions can lead to frustration and disrupt game flow.

story
283 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
48%
4%
The story is widely praised for its intriguing, atmospheric, and creatively woven narrative inspired by Goethe's Faust and classic fairy tales, offering deep lore revealed through diaries and environmental clues. While many find it captivating and thought-provoking with multiple interpretations and emotional depth, others note it can be confusing, fragmented, or overly reliant on heavy reading and puzzle-solving to piece together. Overall, it is a compelling, richly artistic tale that rewards patient players who enjoy unraveling complex, subtle storytelling.
- “The plot of the story is discovered while you're playing, little by little, through the diaries and stories you find as you proceed in the game, and I loved this because it gives the player a reason not to skip the dialogues and descriptions and makes you think and create your own theories on the whole story as you get more hints of it.”
- “The story, much like the rest of the game, is kept as something of a mystery in and of itself until the very end when things start to piece themselves together; some things are left up for interpretation. If you're a fan of unconventional stories told in unconventional ways, then I think you'll enjoy this.”
- “It's free, it's got a really engaging story (ostensibly a loose adaptation of Goethe's Faust, with unique twists), clever puzzles, fantastic art style, and even if you try it and it's not your thing, you literally have nothing to lose.”
- “But the story is a scattered mess, and learning about it through reading notes, diaries, and books around the mansion is not a great choice.”
- “I played for around 3–4 hours, and I had to take a break every hour because I got tired of reading scattered story bits and struggling through bad puzzle segments.”
- “My only possible complaint would be that my head hurts after trying to piece the story together!”
music
117 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
38%
6%
The game's music, primarily composed of classical piano pieces and vintage songs, is widely praised for perfectly complementing its eerie, gothic atmosphere and enhancing the storytelling. Many players find the soundtrack beautiful, haunting, and memorable, with some tracks becoming particularly iconic. While a few users noted occasional licensing issues or minor repetitiveness, the music is generally regarded as a standout feature that deeply enriches the overall experience.
- “Beautiful classical soundtrack selection, dark unique gothic art, and lovely style of writing.”
- “The creators of this game did an amazing job of choosing the best music pieces for every part of the game - doing an incredible job at amplifying the atmosphere in each part of the story.”
- “The music is mostly drawn from the classical repertoire (Satie's Gnossiennes, Gounod's Faust to name a few), so it's perfectly on theme.”
- “Annoying music literally gave me a headache.”
- “When I try to load up the game it's just a blank screen with the music box on loop.”
- “I booted up the game and got a slightly bone-chilling, staticy intro (which I do believe is supposed to happen) then a loop of this music-box esque music and a black screen.”
graphics
115 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
24%
3%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their beautiful, unique, gothic-inspired art style, with hand-drawn elements and atmospheric visuals that effectively enhance the eerie and haunting mood. While some note limitations due to the RPG Maker engine, the overall artistic design, including character illustrations and cutscenes, is regarded as stunning and emotionally engaging. This distinctive aesthetic, complemented by fitting sound design and music, significantly contributes to the game's immersive and memorable experience.
- “The art style is simply beautiful and the story is equally amazing; it also gave me Undertale vibes (control-wise and some visuals), which is a big plus since I absolutely love that game.”
- “The game mixes RPG Maker tiles (with well-done extra lighting effects) and hand-drawn graphics brilliantly.”
- “Truly dedicated production team, severely atmospheric and graphically captivating.”
- “As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
- “I love the graphics, but it disappoints me that the text doesn't appear.”
- “The gameplay graphics are the normal RPG Maker style, yet they still evoke a creepy mystery by adding subtle changes within the rooms as different actions are completed, leaving an eerie haunted feeling early on in the game.”
atmosphere
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
31%
6%
The game excels in creating a deeply eerie and memorable atmosphere through its unique gothic art style, haunting music, and atmospheric storytelling. Its slow-burn, subtle horror approach combined with well-crafted visuals and sound design immerses players in a somber, unsettling world that enhances the mystery and emotional impact. Overall, the atmosphere is widely praised as a standout feature that significantly elevates the horror and narrative experience.
- “Visually, musically, artistically, and atmospherically it is eerie, stunning, and beautiful. Even though I barely had any clue what was going on at any given point, I was sucked in and wanted to know more, see more, spend more time in this setting, and see what spooky thing would happen next.”
- “The creators of this game did an amazing job of choosing the best music pieces for every part of the game, doing an incredible job at amplifying the atmosphere in each part of the story.”
- “This game is a work of art and despite its RPG Maker limitations, it sets the mood and atmosphere before you even start the game. Just by navigating the menu, piano keys play, and when you press start, several piano keys slam down foreshadowing the chaos that lies ahead, followed by a funeral and a foggy creepy mansion; you soon meet a demon girl and the rest is history!”
- “The atmosphere is somber and horrid, the puzzles are really well thought out and fun/challenging to solve, and the characters and story are very interesting as well.”
- “It might be a little long to some people's tastes, and the writing might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found the mysterious atmosphere and plot structure were reminiscent of classic RPG Maker games, such as Ib or Witch's House.”
- “The story was very intense and interesting, the atmosphere slowly started to turn from creepy that gives you chills to a more scary approach which I think is part of what makes a good horror game.”
gameplay
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
63%
7%
The gameplay is primarily puzzle-focused, offering a mix of clever, challenging, and sometimes obtuse puzzles that tie well into the story and atmosphere. While some mechanics are innovative and engaging, frequent backtracking, occasional unclear clues, and slow movement can cause frustration for some players. Overall, the gameplay successfully blends mystery and horror elements, delivering a satisfying experience despite minor annoyances.
- “Every single game mechanic lends itself so brilliantly to the story.”
- “The puzzles were actually pleasantly challenging and very clever, and I admire the game not having any real health mechanics or game overs—you can’t die in this horror game, because you’re not supposed to be punished for exploring or be taken out of the experience.”
- “As for gameplay, it really is a puzzle game above all else—and a great one at that.”
- “Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low quality copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art, looks awful, and has even worse gameplay.”
- “There are movement speed and light mechanics intended to add some tension to the horror elements, but they are horribly tuned.”
- “It gives the pretty same feeling, but getting extremely worse with every 10 minutes of gameplay.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect is marked by frequent backtracking and some tedious, obtuse puzzles that disrupt gameplay flow. While certain mechanics and puzzles can feel frustrating and slow-paced, others remain enjoyable, though the overall experience may feel tedious for players not keen on extensive reading and repeated inspection.
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game features stunning and highly detailed character designs that contribute significantly to its eerie atmosphere, enhanced by well-crafted in-game visuals and a fitting soundtrack. The characters are charming and memorable, with creative costuming that adds depth to the overall experience. This thoughtful character development effectively supports the game's creepy and immersive themes.
- “The character design is stunning and so are the graphics; the map is huge, there is a variety of beautiful soundtracks, and the game did a pretty good job implementing creepy elements using classic topics such as fairytales and childish games.”
- “Other strong points of this game are its characters, and especially the character designs are charming.”
- “The character designs and overworld are great, and the in-game CGs are well done too.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game offers a heartfelt and gothic tone that resonates with players, striking a balance between originality and familiarity. While it may not evoke strong fear or tension, its writing style is engaging and enjoyable, creating a sincere and touching experience.
- “The writing style was really fun, a bit overly wordy but understandable, making me feel fancy even.”
- “Faust's Alptraum isn't as visually creative and striking as Hello Charlotte or Off, but it also isn't as trite as Coffin of Ashes. It strikes a neat balance, offering a familiar but heartfelt gothic spin on Goethe's magnum opus.”
- “Much impressive and touching!”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Users generally found the game to be stable and free of major glitches, with only minor issues such as a buggy font in the English translation reported by a few. Overall, stability was praised and contributed to an enjoyable experience.
- “It's free... it was bug-free for me... very enjoyable!”
- “There were a few glitches during my playthrough.”
- “Buggy font in the English translation.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted as occasional but effective, complementing its strong storytelling and well-developed characters. While not consistently hilarious, the witty dialogue adds charm and contributes to the overall enjoyable experience.
- “I've been playing RPG Maker games for years and this is such a cut above, it's not even funny. I can't believe this game isn't more well known in the community.”
- “The game features great and sometimes funny dialogue, adding charm to its incredibly good storytelling and wonderful cast of characters.”
- “The humor is subtle but effective, complementing the beautiful stylized art and engaging narrative.”