Is this game dread-ful?

I must confess to not have hearing about DreadOut before this remaster, so I didn’t know what to expect going in. It’s essentially a horror title where you can use an SLR camera and phone to battle ghosts and solve puzzles.

If you’ve ever played a game like Fatal Frame, then you’ll know what kind of experience to expect from the DreadOut games. Camera angles are fixed so it’s pretty old-school in its design as a horror game, I was impressed with the puzzles but found the controls to feel clunky at times and the combat system did become repetitive over time.

I did also encounter a few bugs during my playthrough which did hinder me at times, but luckily they were easily resolved with a reload of the game. The second game is more of a standalone expansion and is the better of the two in terms of being more polished.

You can tell that the original game was built with a much smaller budget than the likes of bigger horror franchises like Silent Hill or Resident Evil, but it’s impressive nonetheless. It’s based off Indonesian culture, which I know very little of so it was a nice learning experience too.

The visuals have an old-school feel about them, alongside the fixed camera angle. It can look a little grainy, but is decent overall. The framerate seems consistent and the voice-acting isn’t too bad overall. The soundtrack is pretty decent as well.

The Verdict

The DreadOut Remastered Collection has some pretty good moments and has nicely designed puzzles. From a much smaller budget than most horror games, it’s impressive what was pulled off and while it has its issues with combat repetitiveness, bugs and clunky controls, it does provide a decent experience and an insight into Indonesian culture. Definitely worth a look.

Score: 7.5