Cosmic and Lovecraftian horror Horror Horror puzzle 2D horror

Dreams in the Witch House

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Two months in Arkham to prepare a student for May-Eve.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (91% of 470 reviews)
Length: 10 to 20 hours
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse (point and click)
Made by: Atom Brain Games (published by Bonus Stage Publishing)
Released: 2023

On PC: one of the PC horror games.

What frightens In Arkham in 1929, a mathematics student in a boarding house with a bad reputation starts having dreams; a hideous scheme is under way that could cost him his soul, otherworldly threats grow little by little, and you must keep his health and sanity up until May-Eve.
Content: violence, gore, suicide, human sacrifice, occult themes.

Dreams in the Witch House is a pixel-art point-and-click adventure and open-world RPG based on H.P. Lovecraft's story. As Miskatonic student Walter Gilman in 1929 Arkham, you have two months before May-Eve to study, investigate the occult and keep your sanity while the dreams get worse.

About Dreams in the Witch House

Dreams in the Witch House is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's short story by Atom Brain Games, published by Bonus Stage Publishing in February 2023. It mixes a classic point-and-click adventure with an open-world RPG.

It is 1929. Walter Gilman, a promising mathematics student, has just moved to Arkham to study at Miskatonic University and has taken a room in the Dombrowski boarding house. The house has a bad reputation, and Walter does not mind the old rumours, until the dreams start. A hideous scheme is under way, and if he is not careful it could cost him more than his life.

You have two months to prepare Walter for May-Eve, and how you spend them is up to you. You can focus on your studies, make friends and stay in good physical and mental shape; or chase the rumours, read the forbidden books at the university library and work on an occult thesis; or stay in bed and hope it all goes away. Money, health, sanity and other stats rise and fall, days turn to night, the weather changes, and the otherworldly threats grow slowly. Many elements are random, so each playthrough differs, and there are several endings. The store gives 10 to 20 hours of play, with music by Troy Sterling Nies.

It suits players who like slow, literary cosmic horror and adventure games such as The Last Door and The Dark Rites of Arkham, and who enjoy managing their time as much as solving puzzles.

How to play Dreams in the Witch House

Explore Arkham from the city map: the university, shops, streets and your boarding house.
Plan each day: classes, work, friends, research or rest.
Watch Walter's money, health and sanity, and look after them.
Investigate the rumours and the forbidden books to understand the dreams.
Prepare for May-Eve; what you did in the two months decides the ending.

Screenshots

Dreams in the Witch House: an old woman creeps toward Walter asleep in bed in a green and pink lit attic room

Dreams in the Witch House: Walter faces a robed figure in a room covered in occult symbols

Dreams in the Witch House: the map of Arkham, Massachusetts, with Miskatonic University marked

Dreams in the Witch House: Walter talks to a man sitting in a narrow alley under washing lines

Dreams in the Witch House: Walter on a balcony under strange suns, saying now I know I must be dreaming

Tips

Do not neglect sleep and food; a sick or broke Walter has fewer choices.
Buy warm clothes early; the store sells thermal underwear for cold spring nights.
Each playthrough is partly random, so a second run can go very differently.