Ludography
34/100
Players33 ratings
40/100
Critics2 reviews

Where to get it

DreadOut cover

2014 · Digital Happiness · Adventure · Horror

DreadOut

Nintendo console exclusive

When twilight fades. Where darkness reigns.

Released
15 May 2014
Platforms
LinuxNintendo SwitchWindowsmacOS
Genres
AdventureHorrorIndiePuzzle
Developers
Digital Happiness
Publishers
Digital Happiness
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Third person
Themes
HorrorSurvival
Engine
Unity

About

DreadOut is a 2014 survival horror video game from independent developer Digital Happiness for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and OS X. A port for PlayStation 4 was announced but never released. The story is about a group of high school students in Indonesia who come across an old abandoned town. There they are confronted with ghosts and paranormal activities, and one of the students, the protagonist Linda, begins to uncover the secrets of the town and its surrounding area.

A sequel, titled DreadOut 2, released for Microsoft Windows in February 2020, was subsequently ported to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in July 2022. A Nintendo Switch port of the sequel was released in January 2024.

›Story

When a group of high school students went astray from a field trip, they came across something totally unexpected. A town long forgotten trapped in a peaceful state of slumber. What they did not realize was what lurks within. And what seemed like an innocent stroll turns into disaster as the secluded town reveals its dark and terrible secrets. The presence of sinister forces from beyond their realm of existence.

It all comes down to Linda. She will experience stirrings of unfamiliar powers, emerging from within herself. These new found abilities might just be the only way she can save her own life and those of her friends.

Keywords

  • ghosts
  • female protagonist
  • religion
  • supernatural
  • camera
  • survival horror
  • steam greenlight
  • islam
  • students
  • voice acting
  • language selection
  • polygonal 3d

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

DreadOut is a third-person horror game that uses mechanics similar to those found in the Fatal Frame series. The player uses modern gadgets, such as her smartphone and a digital camera, to interact with (or fend off) various kinds of Indonesian mythical ghosts and to help her solve various puzzles. When Linda dies in the game, she awakens in Limbo, depicted as darkness surrounded by candles with a bright light in the distance. By running towards the light, Linda will come back to life. However, subsequent deaths will push the light further and further away from Linda, unless she manages to find three mystical items to keep the light closer to her.

The game features both third and first-person control schemes, with the player navigating environments with a standard over-the-shoulder perspective. If the player decides to use their digital camera to photograph something, they enter a first-person perspective to see through Linda's equipped camera. Any ghosts that are photographed or interacted with in any way will be recorded in a "Ghostpedia" in Linda's notebook. Linda can also find articles and journal entries that describe much of the game's backstory. A preview video showed a tablet version of the game, where the player controls Linda via the touch screen.

Story

Linda Meilinda, her senior high school friends Shakira "Ira" Irawati, Doni Maulana, Shelly Angelia, Yayan and their teacher Ms. Siska go astray during a vacation trip in Indonesia. They discover an abandoned town, entering an old school. Linda and her classmates are trapped inside with ghosts.

They kill Doni and possess Ira, Shelly commits suicide, Yayan disappears and Siska is missing. Linda is relentlessly being pursued by the ghosts, including a woman dressed in red.

Development

Indonesian developer Digital Happiness worked on the game using a team of around 20 people. After releasing a demo, they sought a crowd sourcing campaign via Indiegogo. The campaign asked for US$25,000 and ended with US$29,067. They needed crowd sourcing since the game industry in Indonesia is small and focuses mostly on social or mobile games and were unable to find funding. Digital Happiness founder Rachmad Imron stated: "We have a lot of good human resources but most of them went abroad because there's no game industry in Indonesia, but we hope this will change soon."

Reception

DreadOut received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Linux15 May 2014Worldwide
Windows15 May 2014Europe · Worldwide 15 May 2014
macOS15 May 2014Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Included in
DreadOut: Remastered Collection
Standalone expansions
DreadOut: Keepers of The Dark

Games like this

Collections6 collections

Years

Genres

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.