So I picked up the new horror game from Bit Golem games, “Dagon”. As the title would suggest, it is indeed based upon the classic story from H.P. Lovecraft.
What drew me to this game, if it indeed can be called such (I’ll get to that in a minute}, were two points in particular: First, it is free on Steam (although there is some minor, optional DLC which is reasonably priced). Second, and more importantly, the title promises to be a 100% faithful rendition of the story. This was something I had to see to believe.
Okay, so I will say this, after my first playthrough: The game does not disappoint. It is exactly what Bit Golem promised, being 100% faithful to Lovecraft’s classic tale, which was itself the birthplace of the Cthulhu Mythos. On top of that, the visuals are absolutely perfect – Visceral, creepy, and detailed. The controls are simple and make it quite easy to enjoy the story, while the near-complete lack of a user interface really helps build immersion. All in all, I can see why it is getting “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam!
That all said, this is not a game, not really. It is an interactive story, with some hidden trivia to be found along the way, for those with eagle eyes. You cannot explore your surroundings, you cannot interact with anything that is not designated as Trivia or items which move the Story forward. You can free look around to some degree in each scene, though, which is helpful in spotting Trivia bits.
The Game is also quite short, about 30 minutes long, unless you really take your time in each scene, looking for Trivia. This is to be expected, though, as “Dagon” was one of Lovecraft’s many short stories. I would be very interested to see what Bit Golem could do with turning HPL’s “Call of Cthulhu”, or even the more ambitious “At The Mountains of Madness” into a similar interactive story-game… But that’s another topic, entirely.
Anyway, you get what you pay for here, a cool, interactive ramble through one of Lovecraft’s great Cthulhu Mythos tales. This is a really unique way to enjoy the story, as it is very immersive, and really brings it to life. Plus, it’s free, so what have you got to lose?