Stealth horror Survival horror Horror escape

Dreadhalls

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Escape a dark dungeon in VR with only a lantern and your nerve.

Platforms: PC, VR, PlayStation
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (93% of 354 reviews); 4.5 of 5 from 903 ratings on the Meta Quest Store; 8 of 10 from 6DOF Reviews
Length: about 3 hours
Players: 1
Controls: Played in a VR headset with motion controllers (Steam lists tracked controller support); you move smoothly with the stick.
Made by: White Door Games
Released: 2017

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

No. 18 of the witch horror games · No. 21 of the maze horror games · No. 9 of the lantern horror games · No. 11 of the dungeon horror games

Get it on Steam Meta Quest Store PlayStation Store (PS VR, in the HeroCade bundle)

What frightens In VR you wander a dark, randomly built stone dungeon with a lantern that runs out of oil. A witch, a fleshy goblin and a hellhound are among the creatures in the halls, and positional sound tells you one is close before you see it. You cannot fight back, only hide or run.
Content: jumpscares, blood, dead bodies, violence.

Dreadhalls is a VR horror game set in a maze-like dungeon that changes every time you play. With a lantern and no weapons, you search for oil and the bloody eyeballs that open the way out while creatures hunt you through the dark.

About Dreadhalls

Dreadhalls first appeared at the 2013 Oculus and IndieCade VR Jam and went on sale on Gear VR in 2015, one of the first full games made for virtual reality. It came to PC VR headsets on Steam in March 2017, to PS VR inside Lucid Sight's HeroCade bundle, and to Meta Quest in October 2019. White Door Games makes and publishes it.

You are trapped deep in a stone dungeon and have to find a way out. The layout is built anew each time you play, so you cannot learn a route. Instead of keys you collect bloody eyeballs and set each one in its place to move on, and a map draws the corridors and dead ends in as you explore. Your lantern burns oil, refilled from jars you find. Doors open by jiggling the handle, or faster with a lock pick, and coins buy scraps of lore from strange statues.

The fear is mostly sound and darkness. Positional audio puts a growl or a screech exactly where it comes from, an original soundscape keeps the tension up, and the lantern reaches only a few steps. When a creature finds you, whether the tall witch, the fleshy goblin or the hellhound, you cannot fight it: you run, hide, or put out your light and wait. Just as you think an area is done, the game opens another set of mazes, so a run lasts longer than many expect.

The graphics show their age and the halls repeat, as reviewers point out, but the sound and lighting are still praised. It suits VR players who want helpless tension rather than shooting, and anyone who liked hiding in Amnesia.

How to play Dreadhalls

Start in the dungeon with your lantern lit and look for a way forward.
Pick up jars of oil whenever you find them to keep the lantern burning.
Collect the bloody eyeballs that act as keys and return each to its place to open the way on.
Jiggle door handles to open them, or use a lock pick when you need to be quick.
Listen for growls and footsteps; when a creature is near, hide, run or put out your lantern.
Clear each set of mazes to go deeper and, in the end, escape.

Screenshots

Dreadhalls screenshot: a horned creature comes toward you under a spiked portcullis in a green-lit cellar beside a barrel

Dreadhalls screenshot: two green-skinned creatures with glowing eyes and long claws reach toward you in a dark dungeon hall

Dreadhalls screenshot: a narrow tunnel cut into rock, lit yellow by the lantern, leads to a wooden door

Dreadhalls screenshot: a pillared stone hall in blue light with a glowing pedestal in a sunken chamber and barred gates behind

Dreadhalls screenshot: a lantern-lit stone storeroom with jugs, a bowl and a scroll on a wooden counter

Tips

Play with headphones: positional sound is the best warning you get.
Do not waste oil; a dark lantern leaves you nearly blind.
Check the map often. It fills in as you walk, and the layout changes every game.
Save lock picks for doors you have to get through with something behind you.
If you hear something close, move away from it before you turn to look.