Bite-sized Review
Dreams in the Witch House

By Chris Picone, 17 February 2023

My first tip for anyone looking to play this is: Make sure you know what you're getting in for.  Dreams in the Witch House may look like any other retro point and click - but it plays like a survival game. 

Aesthetics

Absolutely gorgeous retro pixels, reminiscent of the Lucas Arts classics but with a grander colour scheme and far more detail than the old systems could ever have managed.  Quality aside, the devs have paid tons of attention to detail.  Also features a standard point and click inventory interface with a character sheet built in.  Probably my only complaint with this game is that I'd have liked the day and time to have been clearly visible on every screen because it's profoundly important.

Gameplay

Instead of trying to tell the story of Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch House, the developers have thrust you into the story as the protagonist.  Life starts normally - you've just moved to Arkham, enrolled at Miskatonic University, and must begin studying for your exams.  But while you're here, why not avail yourself of the university's special collection of occult material in order to write your own theories?  Your aunt sends you a stipend each week, but you'll quickly find it's not quite enough to cover all of your food expenses so you'll also have to take up odd work.  Especially when it either gets cold or starts raining, forcing you to purchase cold or wet weather gear or else risk getting sick, which makes study difficult.  Initially your focus is to try to juggle your time between study and work while trying to stay healthy and fed, but as you begin studying and living in the house, you begin to have strange dreams that affect your sanity and health.  You eventually find yourself sucked into the terrifying and strange world of the elders.  

Verdict

If you're into Lovecraft and enjoy survival games, this title's a must.  It's also worth mentioning here that the devs have implemented elemented of random generation very effectively, so no two playthroughs are ever the same!  And there are multiple possible endings, so it's plenty replayable.

Links:  

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1902850/Dreams_in_the_Witch_House/