The Dread X Collection (Videogame Review)

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

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CONCEPT: THE DREAD X COLLECTION is an assortment of ten horror-themed minigames (or "teasers"), each with wildly differing gameplay styles.

REVIEW: When Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro announced that they were working together on a SILENT HILL reboot called SILENT HILLS, people were ecstatic. They got even more ecstatic when they released a full-fledged playable “teaser” for the game called PT (which wasn't even originally promoted as a SILENT HILLS teaser). Though that game ultimately didn’t come to fruition, PT itself remained popular, and the idea of a short horror gaming experience that could last for a few hours with a simple – but nonetheless innovative – premise and gameplay mechanic inspired the horror “teasers” of THE DREAD X COLLECTION.

What’s great, though, is that rather than simply being a collection of rehashed PT clones (which were rampant after the release, including multiple recreations in PS4’s DREAMS and even one made out of Mac HyperCard software), THE DREAD X COLLECTION instead harnesses the talents of its many indie developers to use their imagination and create different types of games, utilizing varying unique gameplay styles and graphical aesthetics. For instance, there’s DON’T GO OUTSIDE by developer Secret Cow Level, which apes the style of a 16-bit SNES jrpg; HAND OF DOOM by Torple Dook which mimics 90s crpgs like HEXEN and the original ELDER SCROLLS; and SUMMER NIGHT by Airdorf which literally plays like a Tiger Electronics handheld game (complete with a border display that shows off the fake device’s panel art).

Even better, these games are just outright fun to play! For example, DON’T GO OUTSIDE has you moving your 16-bit characters (which evoke 80s teen horror movie standbys, like “nerd”, “douchey jock”, and “final girl”) around a grid in a turn-based system against encroaching monsters, using a robust “card” system that grants power-ups and special moves to your players (such as a “flare card” that lights up darkened grids, or a “quick reflex card” that grants you more free actions in a round). Then there’s the nightmarish and scary – but still responsive and fun – FPS shooter THE PONY FACTORY by David Szymanski, where you traverse a creepy industrial warehouse in stark black-and-white, fighting off some of the most frightening creatures I’ve ever seen in a videogame…or anywhere, for that matter. 

Now, to be fair, some games in the collection are much more indebted to the style of PT than others (where players walked around a creepy house in a first-person view, interacting with the environment to solve obtuse puzzles and avoid a deadly spirit). This includes OUTSIDERS by Mahelyk/The Classified X, which is probably the closest to PT aesthetically, as it also has you rummaging around a dark house, looking for clues, and trying to escape some vengeful force. However, despite that, it’s probably the most tense and scary of the bunch (with great graphics and sound design), and I honestly dreaded going back to it each time (in a good way), since it’s a run-based/rougelike game. There’s also the beautifully-crafted CARTHANC by Scythe Dev Team, which is very PT-like in terms of having you exploring and solving puzzles as well, but places you inside of an ancient alien tomb instead of a creepy house (and even has a nifty film filter that evokes the various B-movie ALIEN knock-offs from the 80s, which was a nice, welcome touch). And, finally, MR. BUCKET TOLD ME TO by Strange Scaffold, which begins disarmingly on a beach with colorful graphics and jaunty music, but then turns dark and sinister at night as you confront an evil haunted bucket (it’s honestly much more effective than that sounds, even though its tongue is most definitely stuck firmly in cheek the whole time).

Unfortunately, despite my praises, THE DREAD X COLLECTION is far from perfect. Though I can see myself giving the collection some slack for its lack of polish due to its relatively low-budget and quick turnaround – as well as being an indie project not backed by a big AAA studio – some glitches were still nonetheless quite glaring and game-breaking. For instance, in the PS1-styled cyberpunk alien invasion game SHATTER by Lovely Hellplace, I encountered a glitch where I fell inside of a polygonal rock asset, and couldn’t get out – meaning I had to load back to an older save (however, it must also be noted you cannot save in most games, so if SHATTER didn’t have that feature, I would have had to start the whole game over again). Don’t get me wrong, I still overall enjoyed SHATTER (and other than that glitch I think it’s actually one of the more robust and expansive teasers). However, I also encountered another game-breaking bug in DON’T GO OUTSIDE where after I died the game completely stalled (save for the music and sound effects) instead of going to the main menu as usual, and made me have to quit the game manually myself. It must be noted neither of these glitches completely deterred me from those respective games (and there’s a possibility that I played an early build and these glitches have been cleaned up in a recent patch), but it’s something to possibly be aware of, regardless.

The games are also really short. While I understand these are just “teasers”, some of these games still end abruptly in a way that feels like the developers ran out of time rather than coming to any sort of satisfying conclusion. THE PAY IS NICE by Oddbreeze Games is a good example of that, as it is an overall very atmospheric and moody game, with a great mystery at the core of its story (“what is your job at this creepy research facility?”). It even had some fun nods to the classic Gamecube game ETERNAL DARKNESS with its use of glitches as a way to visualize your character’s descent into madness. But then it just…ends. Same with MR. BUCKET TOLD ME TO. Now, this is something I won’t harp on too much, as the fact that these are indeed “teasers” means that being short experiences is inherent in the description. But at least games like HAND OF DOOM had a complete story it told, even if it was short. There's no excuse that other games couldn't do the same. 

Finally, while I found most games enjoyable in some way, I really didn’t enjoy Showrunner Production’s ROTGUT at all. Because, unlike the other games in the collection, which either had puzzles, enemies – or at the very least fail states – this game literally had you walking down a tunnel and back…and that was it. No danger, mystery, or challenge whatsoever. Now, I will say the graphics were decent for the most part, and there were even some fleeting moments of atmospheric tension, but those moments were too few and far between to really register. It’s not terrible by any stretch, but it’s definitely lacking in comparison to the other teasers in the collection.

Overall I think this is ultimately a really good bargain. Not only is the whole collection pretty cheap ($7 in total, with the profits going to a worthy cause vis-a-vis the Doctors Without Borders charity), but you’re also getting a lot of games – as well as variety of games – for that price. Furthermore, most of them are actually pretty fun to play as well, with some I’d argue as being legitimately great (I didn't get into how special I thought SUMMER TIME was, because I don't want to spoil it)! Hell, even the worst games on here have at least some merit! So I’d definitely give it a light recommendation, as long as you know what you’re getting into.