Cosmic and Lovecraftian horror Short horror Psychological horror Horror walking simulators

Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft

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Walk through Lovecraft's Dagon, from a morphine addict's room to the sea floor.

Platforms: PC, VR, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Free
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (95% of 12,410 reviews); 4.2/5 on GOG (323 ratings); 4.5/5 on the PlayStation Store (168 ratings)
Length: about 30 minutes
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse and keyboard, a controller, or a VR headset with motion controllers.
Made by: Bit Golem
Released: 2021

No. 13 of the dream horror games · No. 3 of the boat and ship horror games · No. 2 of the horror games set in ruins · No. 1 of the ocean horror games · No. 6 of the island horror games · No. 4 of the moon horror games

Get it on Steam GOG (free)PlayStation Store (Complete Edition, PS5 and PS4)Xbox (Complete Edition)Nintendo eShop (Complete Edition)

What frightens You relive a sailor's account of being cast adrift onto a black, stinking plain of rotting fish risen from the ocean floor, where he finds an ancient monolith and sees a colossal creature rise from the water; the narration and the sea make the dread of something vast and inhuman feel close.
Content: drug use, suicidal themes, mild violence.

Dagon is a free, fully voiced 3D adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's 1917 short story. In about half an hour you follow a former ship officer's confession from his lamp-lit room to a slimy island risen from the deep, and to what he saw there. A second free story, What the Moon Brings, was added in 2026.

About Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft

Dagon was made by the studio Bit Golem and released free on Steam in September 2021. It faithfully adapts Lovecraft's early short story, one of his first published works and the tale that first hinted at the deep-sea beings of the Cthulhu Mythos. You can play it on a screen or in a VR headset; VR support for SteamVR headsets came in an update a month after launch.

You move through scenes in first person while the narrator reads the story aloud: a cheap room with a syringe on the desk, a ship taken by a German raider in the war, a lifeboat adrift, and then the strange, endless mud flat where the sea floor has heaved up into the light. You walk, look and pick things up; there are no puzzles and nothing to fight.

The horror is cosmic in the true sense: the sense of a world far older and larger than people, glimpsed for a moment and never forgotten. The game builds it with the reek of the black mud, the ruined carvings, the moonlit water and the shape that rises from it. Hidden objects along the way add notes about the story, its author and its time.

In October 2026 a final update added a second free story, What the Moon Brings, a short adaptation of a Lovecraft tale based on one of his nightmares, set in a moonlit dreamscape of mist, meadows and a stone bridge. Three optional paid DLCs, including an audiobook and an e-book, raise money for charity, and the studio says the game has passed two million downloads.

On consoles it is sold as Dagon: Complete Edition, published by Feardemic in October 2024 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Switch. That version costs money and includes the base game with the extra stories. On PC the base game stays free on Steam and GOG.

It is a good, short door into Lovecraft for newcomers and a faithful one for readers.

How to play Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft

Download it free from Steam or GOG, or buy the Complete Edition on a console, and start the story.
Walk through each scene while the narrator reads; look around to take it in.
Pick up and examine objects to hear more of the story and learn about Lovecraft.
Move on when the path opens; the story carries you to the island and the sea.
Finish in about 30 minutes, then try the short extra story What the Moon Brings.

Screenshots

Dagon screenshot: an oil lamp, morphine bottles and a syringe on a desk against peeling wallpaper, captioned with the narrator's words about morphine

Dagon screenshot: tentacles, shells and a dead flatfish on the black mud flat beside a stranded ship hull

Dagon screenshot: a rotting creature on the black mud plain at sunset, with a caption about the smell of the fish

Dagon screenshot: clawed limbs rise from moonlit water under a huge full moon, near a small boat

Dagon screenshot: a scaly creature with a yellow eye bursts from dark water

Dagon screenshot: a moonlit city skyline and the Statue of Liberty across the water, with a caption about the ocean floor rising

What the Moon Brings screenshot: a stone arch bridge over a stream in purple mist, with a caption from the story

Tips

Play with headphones and the lights low; the narration and sound carry most of the dread.
Take your time looking at objects, many have notes about the original story.
Try it in VR if you have a headset; motion controllers are supported.

Questions

Is Dagon free?

Yes on PC. The game is free on Steam and GOG; optional paid DLCs add extras such as an audiobook and an e-book, and their money goes to charity. On consoles it is sold as the paid Complete Edition.

How long is Dagon?

About 30 minutes, according to the store. The extra story What the Moon Brings is shorter still.

Do I need to know Lovecraft to enjoy it?

No. It tells the whole story itself and includes notes on its background.

Can I play Dagon in VR?

Yes, on PC. The store says it can be played on a screen or with a VR headset, and motion controllers are supported.

Is Dagon on PS5, Xbox or Switch?

Yes. Dagon: Complete Edition came out in October 2024 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, published by Feardemic. It includes the base game and the extra stories.