Don't Die Alone

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Halloween night, 2006: a spam message, a friend count and a monster for whoever is alone.

Platforms: PC
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.7 of 5 from 104 itch.io ratings; 7th overall of the Spooktober Visual Novel Jam 2022 (53 ratings), 4th for Halloweeny and 5th for Scariness
Length: about 30 minutes
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse only: click to advance and to choose.
Made by: StephenW313
Released: 2022

What frightens On Halloween night, an outcast teenager alone at her computer gets what looks like an ordinary spam message. Soon her friend count on a social site is the difference between living and dying, and something with a unique, monstrous shape is coming for anyone who ends up alone.
Content: mentions of bullying, light gore, death, swearing, loud sound effects.

Don't Die Alone is a short horror visual novel by StephenW313, made for the Spooktober Visual Novel Jam 2022. On Halloween night an outcast teenager receives an unremarkable spam message, and her friend count on an old social site suddenly decides whether she lives or dies. It takes about half an hour and is free or pay what you want on itch.io for Windows.

About Don't Die Alone

Don't Die Alone is a horror visual novel written, drawn, scored and programmed by StephenW313 for the Spooktober Visual Novel Jam 2022, where it placed 7th overall out of the ranked entries and 4th for how Halloween it felt. It is a free, pay-what-you-want download for Windows on itch.io.

It is set on Halloween night in 2006. Petra, a teenager with few friends at school, is at home with her grandma, staying up late at her laptop while the rest of the world is out. Her chat window and a social site called Best-E are open, the clock in the corner reads 10 PM on 31/10/2006, and then a spam message arrives that turns out to be anything but ordinary: from now on, how many friends she has is the difference between life and death.

The game is read and clicked through with the mouse alone. Much of it plays out on a recreated mid-2000s desktop, with an in-universe social network of more than fifty fictional accounts, instant messages and friend lists, between illustrated scenes of Petra's house. It has twelve illustrated CGs with several variations, a monster designed for the game, and a heavy use of sound effects, so the maker asks you to play with sound on.

The fear is built from loneliness, bullying and a chain message that turns out to be real, with a monster designed for the game. Content warnings from the maker cover mentions of bullying, light gore, death and occasional swearing. It suits players who like short Halloween visual novels and early-internet horror in one sitting.

How to play Don't Die Alone

Download Don't Die Alone from its itch.io page for Windows (free or pay what you want).
Start the game with sound on, as the maker recommends.
Click to read through the story and the chat messages on Petra's screen.
Use the in-game social site and messenger when the story asks you to.
Follow the night through to its end.

Screenshots

Close-up of Petra's hand turning a door knob, with her line about mean teenagers

Don't Die Alone cover art: Petra on a phone, looking worried, with chat messages behind her and the green pixel title

Tips

Play with headphones or speakers on; sound effects carry much of the scare.
Read the profiles and messages on the Best-E site; they fill in who everyone is.
Set aside about half an hour to play it in one sitting.