The Dire
- December 8, 2023
- Piesuprawny
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"The Dire" is a psychological horror game where you play as a popular Urbex vlogger, Dean Holt, exploring a decaying mansion with a dark and tragic past. The game features found footage-style graphics and a thrilling atmosphere, with elements of exploration and interacting with the environment. Experience multiple endings and voice activation for a more immersive experience.
Reviews
- Great atmosphere and sound design, effectively building tension and providing genuine scares.
- The game offers a captivating story with multiple endings, encouraging exploration and engagement.
- Impressive visuals and a well-crafted environment that enhances the horror experience.
- Unintuitive level design and clunky mechanics, including issues with interaction prompts and lack of basic settings.
- The opening narrative is overly long, unskippable, and lacks engaging visuals or voice acting.
- Head bob and motion sickness issues can detract from the gameplay experience for sensitive players.
- atmosphere15 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its depth and ability to create genuine scares without relying heavily on jump scares. Reviewers highlight the effective sound design and attention to detail, which contribute to a mysterious and immersive experience. While some noted minor issues with camera work and pacing in the latter part of the game, the overall ambiance is considered a strong point that enhances the storytelling and exploration.
“Great atmosphere and genuine scares.”
“The atmospheric design and attention to detail create a world that feels both mysterious and dangerous, setting the perfect stage for an unforgettable journey.”
“The elements blended in of in-depth deep atmosphere, story lore built up as you explore is a refreshing motivation to indulge and seek out the story.”
“The Dire is another abandoned building horror exploration game that's main selling point is that it is fully content to rest on its atmosphere instead of throwing a bunch of jumpscares at you.”
“Pretty decent game and the atmosphere is solid; however, the camera was giving me a headache.”
“The atmosphere is very well done, as are a few of the scares.”
- story13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the lengthy and unengaging narrative delivery that lacks visual support, leading to early disengagement. Conversely, others appreciate the immersive atmosphere and lore that unfolds through exploration, highlighting a captivating plot and well-developed character backgrounds that enhance the overall experience. While some find the story confusing, many agree that it effectively contributes to a creepy and engaging atmosphere.
“The elements blended in of in-depth deep atmosphere, story lore built up as you explore is a refreshing motivation to indulge and seek out the story.”
“The dire is a masterfully crafted game that seamlessly blends captivating storytelling with intense gameplay, delivering an immersive experience that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.”
“Great background story on all the characters through the letters placed around the mansion.”
“If you're going to do a long-winded opening narrative info dump on the player, you need to have visuals with interesting editing and good voice acting to help sell the story and draw you in. Instead, it's just rambling off fake radio stories in the most bland, sleep-inducing voiceovers on a black screen with just subtitles that go on way too long and are unskippable.”
“So boring I decided that if this is how the creators try to tell a story, the gameplay can't be any better, and I requested a refund within 5 minutes of starting.”
“If you walk straight from the front door to the code pieces of paper/trigger for the clock ticking event and then walk straight back upstairs and trigger the phone, you basically overlap a lot of monologue and triggers. A quick-moving player might just miss out on some of the story.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players criticizing the short length and awkward mechanics, including a disorienting head bob effect. However, others praise the game's immersive atmosphere and effective mix of storytelling and intense moments, highlighting its ability to deliver genuine scares and keep players engaged throughout.
“The sound design and atmosphere were very well put together, and I loved the mix-up of gameplay in certain sections that caused me quite a good jumpscare.”
“The game is a masterfully crafted experience that seamlessly blends captivating storytelling with intense gameplay, delivering an immersive experience that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.”
“Way too short with wonky mechanics, head bob that makes you nauseous, and enough spelling and grammatical mistakes to make your English teacher quit.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their quality and design, contributing positively to the overall experience. However, the presentation of the narrative through bland visuals and unengaging voiceovers detracts from the immersion, particularly during lengthy, unskippable segments. While the visuals are appealing, the reliance on sound for scares is noted as a more effective approach than traditional jump scares.
“I really enjoyed this game; I loved the graphics and the design.”
“The visuals are nice, and the scares rely more on sounds than jumpscares (for the most part).”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Overall, users report minor bugs related to layering, but these issues are not significant enough to disrupt gameplay.
“There were a few buggy moments with layering, but nothing game-breaking that I encountered.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
“I experienced several glitches that disrupted gameplay, which was quite frustrating.”
