A half hour of free horror is getting a fantastic reception in user reviews on Steam right now.
While your colleagues are munching on sandwiches during their lunch break, would you rather treat yourself to a serving of Lovecraft-inspired horror to relax? Then the short and free Dagon could be just the thing for you. The game – well, actually an interactive narrative – is generating a lot of buzz among users on Steam right now.
Out of more than 1,200 reviews, an impressive 98 per cent recommend it, Steam calls it “extremely positive”. We introduce you to the compact horror experience. What makes the horror in Lovecraft games in general and in Dagon in particular so special, we tell you in the video special:
What Dagon is all about
The basis is the short story of the same name by the well-known horror author H.P. Lovecraft, published in 1919. It is about a man addicted to morphine who gets stranded on a mysterious island. We’d rather not tell you any more than that, as both the story and the game are quite short, with the developers stating that it will take about half an hour to play.
You explore the island from the first-person perspective. You shouldn’t expect much interaction, however, as Dagon rightly describes itself as a visual novel. It’s best to think of it as an audiobook with pretty, creepy visuals. The soundtrack is only available in English, but there are German menus and subtitles.
By the way: On the shop page there is a note that Dagon can only be played with a controller. This is not true, it also works without problems with mouse and keyboard. The developers are currently working on removing the warning. A VR version is already in the works and will be delivered as a free update in October. So just in time for Halloween!
What players praise about Dagon
The dense Lovecraft atmosphere: Many users find that the implementation of the original is excellently done and triggers the same, queasy feeling. The images apparently help many to become even more deeply involved in the story.
The payment model: Dagon is completely free and will remain so according to the developer. If you still want to support the project financially, you can buy a DLC on Steam that includes eBooks, an audio book-only edition of Dagon and official artwork.
Trivia: In addition to the story itself, there is also information about the author and his work, which many players praise as enrichment.
