Dreams in the Witch House
Whether the dreams brought on the fever or the fever brought on the dreams Walter Gilman
did not know. – H.P. Lovecraft, The Dreams in the Witch House
Arkham, Massachusetts 1929. Walter Gilman, a promising math student, has just moved to the city and is starting his studies at Miskatonic University. The Dombrowski’s boarding house where he resides has a bad reputation, but Walter doesn’t mind the old rumors… Until the dreams start. A hideous scheme is underway, and if Walter is not careful, it could cost him more than his life. It could cost him his soul.
Dreams in the Witch House is a unique mix of classic point and click adventure and open world RPG. The gameplay is nonlinear and many of the elements are generated randomly, making each playthrough different.
You have two months to prepare Walter for the dreaded May-Eve. How you spend the time is completely up to you: concentrate on studies, get friends and stay in good physical and mental state. Or explore the old rumours, read the forbidden books at Miskatonic University, and work on your occult thesis. Or just stay in bed, and hope that it all goes away!
Based on the short story "The Dreams in the Witch House" by H.P. Lovecraft.
- Open world sandbox meets point and click adventure game
- RPG elements: money, health, sanity, and many character stats
- Day / evening / night – cycles and changing weather
- Several endings depending on player’s actions
- 10 – 20 hours of playtime
- Original soundtrack by genre favourite Troy Sterling Nies (The Call of Cthulhu, The Whisperer in the Darkness)
- Creeping tension: otherwordly threats intensify gradually
- 320 x 180 pixel graphics
- Plenty of detailed animation and visual effects
Steam User 22
I struggled to afford anything because I had spent all my money on expensive food in cafes at the start of the month, I did badly in my exams because of lack of sleep, I hallucinated, had a nervous breakdown, and was chased by muggers and unspeakable horrors at night.
An accurate simulation of university life. 10/10.
Steam User 17
Lot of randomized elements, and deep gameplay mechanics, that make it a lot more than your typical point and click. They did a nice job with the lovecraft lore. It uses all the best elements of the original story, and the setting is super creepy. Played on the Steam Deck with the Deck Dock and a wireless mouse.
Steam User 5
This is less of a point and click adventure game, as much as it's a point and click survival horror / resource and time management game.
In a similar vein to games like Hero-U (sans combat), you have a limited time in the day to study for college, work on your thesis, working for extra pay, or spending a day recovering from sickness, injury, fatigue, or physical injury. All of this while trying to eke out a possible social life and uncovering an eldritch mystery plaguing your existence.
While some methods remain the same, subsequent playthroughs will vary (E.G on Day 2 you will get a package, but it's contents will change, possibly affecting priorities). Good weather is never guaranteed either, so make sure you are prepared both for comfort and to literally weather out financial strains when making your weekly allowance stretch for the week.
And make sure to pay attention to your studies and lectures... they will be on the exam!
Steam User 5
A gem of a game. With great pixel art, Dreams in the Witch House is a very well designed adventure game with survival mechanics where we have to manage health and sanity to survive while trying to solve various mysteries and puzzles, and/or just be an A student.
I was quite amazed by the quality of the gameplay and the numerous possibilities offered by the game. Every choice we take has an impact on how the game story progress. And many items, events and encounters in the game are randomized, so every playthrough will be different. Also, higher difficulty gameplay modes offer a good challenge for the more experience survivalist, all this giving a very good replayability to the game.
For my first playthrough, I played on easy which I recommend to new players. Even if we are given access to plenty of money on easy mode, the first few in-game weeks were kind of difficult as I was learning the survival mechanics of the game. But after understanding how things worked, I could fully concentrate on uncovering as many secrets in the game as I could without worrying much about surviving.
This is a wonderful and really fun game. I highly recommend it!
Steam User 6
I hope the devs keep making Lovecraftian games likes this because I will keep buying them!!!!
Steam User 4
Reminded me of the best games I grew up playing. Loved everything about this game, and only wished it was longer! Bonus points for immediately making me want to read the short story again.
Steam User 5
One of the best Lovecraftian games I ever played. Don't let the cute point & click visual style fool you, this game can get scary besides fun. Lots of puzzles, lore and HPL eastern eggs. 1000% recommended for any fan of the elder ones on classic quest games