Traum

About Traum

Traum is a free psychological horror adventure by Ruskatuli, a small team who released it on Steam and itch.io in 2018. It was built in RPG Maker, with its own character portraits and music, and the makers suggest playing it with the lights off.

You are Mike, a man who had it all planned: a loving wife, a house and a steady income. He is stuck in a dull office job under a terrible boss, and the tension from work follows him home, but his dreams for the future are still intact until one day's news threatens all of it. The game starts close to everyday life and lets the strangeness creep in.

You explore top-down maps of his office, his home and the city, and examining objects is how the story opens up. Many things can be looked at more than once, some set off flashbacks to earlier days, and choices along the way change later events. There is no combat; the game leans on suspense, atmosphere and its story, and the endings depend on what you have done and learned.

The store warns that it deals with real-life issues in a mature tone and is not meant for children. Players praise its atmosphere, music and surreal sequences and compare its themes to Silent Hill 2, while some find the twist easy to see coming. It suits players who like story-first horror in the RPG Maker tradition and want something free to finish in an evening.

How to play Traum

1. Download it free from Steam or itch.io and play on a Windows PC.
2. Walk Mike through his office, home and the city in top-down view.
3. Examine objects, more than once where you can, to uncover memories and flashbacks.
4. Make the choices the story offers; they change later events.
5. Reach the end and choose based on what you have learned to see one of its endings.

Tips

• Play with the lights off, as the makers suggest.
• Check objects again after story beats; many have new things to say.
• Pay attention to the flashbacks, since the ending choice relies on them.
• Play through again for the other endings and achievements.

Questions