DreadOut: Keepers of The Dark
DreadOut: Keepers of The Dark
Game
Game2014
DreadOut
Developer Digital Happiness
DreadOut is a 2014 survival horror video game from independent developer Digital Happiness for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and OS X. A port for PlayStation 4 was announced but never released. The story is about a group of high school students in Indonesia who come across an old abandoned town. There they are confronted with ghosts and paranormal activities, and one of the students, the protagonist Linda, begins to… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
247 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
72
Fresh
117 positive · 46 negative
95% range 64–78%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 117 | 46 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 17 | 4 | 49 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
1,839 of 2,391 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
72% recommend · 122 yes, 47 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 169 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (4,403 of 5,732 positive).
Players compare DreadOut to Fatal Frame, praising its Indonesian folklore setting. [1][2][3] Some find the game scary with jump scares, while others criticize its puzzles and lack of hints. [4][5][6] Several reviewers note technical issues like bugs and janky controls. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [16]
I have very mixed feelings about this game. I really want to recommend it, but I honestly can't think of any real reason to (other than Linda's body - hot damn!). The scares are decent, the story isn't particularly good, the gameplay mechanic gets very repetitive, and the worst part about this game is that it just does not tell you what to do. If you try to beat this game without a walkthrough you will be running …
- [7]
As the second game made by Digital Happiness it is really acceptable and good and I really liked the idea of this game. The Dread franchise has the potential for a great horror game. If you think you are very brave but you are really scared, don't come to these games just to say I am brave (like someone told me to install this game and sit next to me in a dark room at night and play) But if you have experience …
- [2]
"A lost PS2 horror game" is the definition that has always fit DreadOut best, in my opinion. It's basically "Fatal Frame / Project Zero in Indonesia", and janky for sure, but there's also a lot of heart put into it. For all the production troubles that caused it to be published as only a partial product at first before being completed, there's also more content than it seems, even if ultimately its duration isn't …
- [5]
Very scary. Too scary for me with the massive amount of jumpscares, had to stop playing. Can make it through Fatal Frame etc, but this is too extreme. Still looks well made - give it a spin and see if you like the jump scares!
- [1]
Fatal Frame but Indonesian Folklore instead of Japanese Onryos. Really underrated.
Summarised from 34 of the 246 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
72% of the 169 Steam reviewers we collected recommend DreadOut. The complaint that keeps coming up: puzzles are vague and require walkthroughs. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
DreadOut received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 247 · most liked firstSteam Deck / Gaming News #9. This week’s interesting bits and pieces in Steam Deck / Linux and general gaming that I have found is a *lighter* version. Just a small handful of things I found and wanted to share here. So don't judge me too harshly! As is now tradition (signed in blood) each time I swear this will become a weekly event, it is only a handful of days between it and the next! So as always, this is just the bits and pieces of news I’ve spotted that made me smile, or made me…
neutral · AI labelView post →Steam Deck / Gaming News #9. This week’s interesting bits and pieces in Steam Deck / Linux and general gaming that I have found is a *lighter* version. Just a small handful of things I found and wanted to share here. So don't judge me too harshly! As is now tradition (signed in blood) each time I swear this will become a weekly event, it is only a handful of days between it and the next! So as always, this is just the bits and pieces of news I’ve spotted that made me smile, or made me…
neutral · AI labelView post →Import Game Restock! 👉 tinyurl.com/2wzw6asf - Arms (NSW) - Ender Magnolia (NSW) - Dreadout (NSW,PS5) - Atelier Marie (NSW,PS5) - World of Final Fantasy (NSW) - Romancing Saga 3 (NSW) - Everafter Falls (NSW) - Saga Emerald Beyond (NSW, PS5) Enjoy Free Shipping when you spend $80 / 60 USD
neutral · AI labelView post →As the second game made by Digital Happiness it is really acceptable and good and I really liked the idea of this game. The Dread franchise has the potential for a great horror game. If you think you are very brave but you are really scared, don't come to these games just to say I am brave (like someone told me to install this game and sit next to me in a dark room at night and play) But if you have experience before, this game will only scare you the first time Most of the bugs and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoyed playing Dreadout and I like Signalis and Disco Elysium and I think having a wider range of experiences is really good in gaming. I think it'd be really good to see a lot more African game companies and creators. Is there somewhere I could start looking to see what's coming up?
positive · AI labelView post →A GAMER’S JOURNAL: DREADOUT: DAY 1 Location: Haunted Indonesian town. Objective: Survive. Gear: School uniform, one haunted (possibly Nokia) smartphone, zero common sense. Entry 1: We came on a school trip. Everyone else could be dead, they are certainly missing. So that's cool. We arrived at this abandoned town and Linda our fearless protagonist, apparently decided to walk into a cursed school like it was a candy store. No adults, no phone signal, and now there are literal ghosts trying to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have very mixed feelings about this game. I really want to recommend it, but I honestly can't think of any real reason to (other than Linda's body - hot damn!). The scares are decent, the story isn't particularly good, the gameplay mechanic gets very repetitive, and the worst part about this game is that it just does not tell you what to do. If you try to beat this game without a walkthrough you will be running around taking pictures of literally everything for hours. This is a shame because…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fatal Frame but Indonesian Folklore instead of Japanese Onryos. Really underrated.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ghosts are afraid of social media The game is very scary. Lady in red true face in mirror is the most terrifying of all. The plot twist at the end of the story is brilliant. Some of the 'boss ghosts' were really frightening. The best thing is, the game won't give you any sorts of hints. You have to figure out the puzzles by yourself. All in all I enjoyed it and recommend it to play late at night to get real feel haha the environment was very scary! I like this game :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OMFG THEY DID IT. New DreadOut game AHHHH 😱🔥
neutral · AI labelView post →NEW VIDEO!! We return to the DreaDout series to see if the 2nd game improves on what came before... Special thanks to both @thehorrordiner.bsky.social and @pimscrypt.bsky.social for lending their voices to the video! ❤️ youtu.be/pZEnw08TjZo
neutral · AI labelView post →It's a reallyy good game. I played it because I want to start playing Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly, but I didn't know if I'd like that type of game. So I started with this one — it's not the same, but they have similarities. I also wanted to introduce myself to this kind of game. And I liked it a lot, so now I can start Fatal Frame
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my best friend was possessed
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LEUCANTHEMUM EYES IS OUT It's a short horror point and click game inspired by DreadOut and Silent Hill Download now: kuraishimi.itch.io/leucanthemum... #indiedev #indiegame #gamedevbr #renpy #horror
neutral · AI labelView post →We got past Act 1 in DreadOut and I suspect that the game itself is not really that long. Personally I'm pretty interested and invested but I think we probably have maybe another week in us with it. To give people a break from the horror I might do Hyper Light Drifter, Transistor, or GRIS after.
positive · AI labelView post →I was really looking forward to playing this survival horror game, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a very frustrating experience. On a positive note, the visual setting is truly atmospheric. The darkness and the eerie moments give a very classic horror feeling. The music is also decent, and the voice actors did a great job with their lines. Even the ghosts and character designs look interesting and well-made. The story is about a teacher and high school students who get lost on a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boring game. Like, REALLY boring. But it was made by a very small indie dev team with a dream, so I can't give it a thumbs down. Cool creature design and sound design, though. Lots of attention to detail for the main character.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Starts off seeming decently spooky in the vein of the Fatal Frame games, but ends up being an absolutely miserable experience. None of the puzzles have any kind of logic to them, it's just run around haphazardly and try random things until something works. Most of the enemies are extremely annoying to deal with, and the whole thing is just a disappointing waste of a decent idea. Horrible. Don't play it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game make me poop pant
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We picked the game we're playing this session - the DreadOut DLC looks like it's mostly just a boss rush mode, so we'll do Resident Evil (and finish up the RE games for now!) and move on to DreadOut 2 after!
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is horrendously bad. I forgot that I played it like 10 years ago and recently got swept up in the charm of its 2 best known cut scenes on Youtube. Funnily enough, I quit the game in the same spot I did all those years ago, even with my newfound patience. I thought that the rough looking graphics and jank would be worth the charm and a new approach to horror games using Indonesian mythology. Boy was I wrong! The game is ugly AF, in regards to artistic style and graphical fidelity.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Prime] *DreadOut 2*, fantasy horror indie. > DreadOut 2 is a unique take on the third-person action adventure survival game genre with aspects of Indonesian supernatural lore and incorporates mixed gameplay of city exploring, “DreadOut” style smartphone ghost hunting, and new action-packed battles within the DreadOut supernatural world. > Explore a sleepy lil' town at both night and day to solve the ghastly urban legends that haunt within. Interact with various unique NPCs and tons of…
neutral · AI labelView post →🇮🇩 Indonesia-based @digitalhappiness.bsky.social announced the next chapter in their 3rd person horror series - DreadOut 3. Slated for 2026, the game is inspired by Asian-Indonesian urban legends where you play as Linda traversing between the world of the living & the unseen.
neutral · AI labelView post →60. DreadOut A genuinely great Indonesian horror game that brings some legitimate scares into an adventure that is just engrossing. With plenty to see in this slice of an abandoned Indonesian town and school, and a story that keeps you guessing, I have a hard time not recommending this one.
positive · AI labelView post →My full playthrough of #DreadOut: Keepers of the Dark is now uploaded over on the VOD channel! There's a total of 49 of mine and @sheiky.bsky.social 's casual playthroughs uploaded over there now :) #horror #gaming #streamvods www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LX7...
neutral · AI labelView post →DreadOut 3 - Official Trailer | Horror Game Awards 2025 gamingheartscollection.net/2025/12/27/d... #gaming #videogames #indiegames
neutral · AI labelView post →Interesting lore. Gameplay sucks.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"A lost PS2 horror game" is the definition that has always fit DreadOut best, in my opinion. It's basically "Fatal Frame / Project Zero in Indonesia", and janky for sure, but there's also a lot of heart put into it. For all the production troubles that caused it to be published as only a partial product at first before being completed, there's also more content than it seems, even if ultimately its duration isn't more than 5-6 hours. For example, the large area of the initial abandoned town is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My character mode GENUINELY is missing. I paid 14 WHOLE DOLLARS FOR THIS GAME, and my character model just gone
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is mostly a walking simulator with little of horror and mowtly darkness
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Screenshot from DreadOut: Keepers of the Dark. I played this game a while back and I really enjoyed it. I really like the DreadOut series and I'm excited for the upcoming third game. Anyone else play this awesome game?
positive · AI labelView post →All in all it is not a bad game. Just need a lot of polishing. I tried to like it. I tried till the end. But... Many places flickering. Mouse control randomly changes direction. Some enemies catches you in the corner with no possibility to escape. Story is not good. Voice acting is bad. Fights are clumsy, Length is adequate. It is adequate game knowing it is small companies product, but I think much more effort is required to make this game good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →www.twitch.tv/null_convent... Okay! We're gonna get back on the DreadOut. Motorcycle? Or something. The ghost motorcycle. Anyway don't worry about it, let's just play the game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Has anyone played DreadOut?. I just finished DreadOut: Keepers of the Dark after playing the first one. I was pretty impressed with both games seeing as they were the first "serious" games to come out of Indonesia. I really enjoy learning about Indonesian folklore as well. I'm playing DreadOut 2 now so I'll probably be posting about that. For anyone who hasn't heard of DreadOut, it's an Indonesian survival horror game that often gets compared to Fatal Frame. You use a phone camera to banish…
positive · AI labelView post →Cool horror game with different working mechanics and a well crafted storyline.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had a great time w/ @pagecartoons.bsky.social in My Friendly Neighborhood, and in DreadOut w/ @kiistarr.bsky.social , but oh man DreadOut was... it sure was a game. Anywho, double stream day done~! Y'all showed me so much love in many ways 💚 Raids went to TotsGerblin & Stroobly ~!
neutral · AI labelView post →constantly crashes and various other technical issues not to mention the unintuitive puzzle design. just play fatal frame
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →goated game reminds me of fatal frame would highly recommend if you love the fatal frame series :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm just going to share my opinions about the game which you may agree or disagree with and can be used to help you who is sitting on the fence trying to decide whether you want to get this game or not. --Positives:-- + There are lots of ghosts and not all of them are aggressive, and those who are aggressive have different mechanics how they fight, such as one being invinsible, or one flies around you, or the other one that is too close to you so you need to reach a mirror and capture it on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ badass game The game isn’t for everyone. It can be exhausting with its puzzles and it is easy to get confused, but the visual style is unique and the characters are cute I especially want to mention the music and ambient sound. It is very pleasant and comforting Mocca ♡ It’s a shame that the developers are really fumbling with the continuation, and the new games come out without the same charm or cult feel It looks plastic and poorly made
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The camera barely works, you're given no direction on what to do or where to go, this entire game is just a trial and error sim that's sometimes creepy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Actually, not going to get a game. Just going to focus on OW and some DLC's until RE9 (Especially since Dreadout comes Sunday)
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a janky indie game with plenty of rough edges in terms of game design. The game does have some interesting gameplay ideas, but they were poorly executed, making the game longer and more boring than it really should have been. The plot was fairly straightforward but had more dark moments than I expected. The first area of the game was the weakest since it was really confusing to navigate with no map, and I ended up circling the same building repeatedly while trying to find hidden…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →amazing game such a shame its so short :(
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meh. The folklore is interesting but the gameplay sucks. Easy to get lost and the camera shake is annoying.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tricky one. Theres some interesting things in here. The Indonesian setting is a breath of fresh air, in a world so dominated by the American POV its great when you stumble upon something depicting another culture. The atmosphere is well done and scary. And being the first game from a new studio, I think its unfair to give them a negative score. From what I saw, the sequel seems like a good step up and the 3rd game looks to be even better. So this game was important for them and should be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is probably our last night for streaming DreadOut 2! It's been a blast honestly and I can tell I haven't found all the stuff that's in the game yet, but we're close to the end so I think it's full speed ahead! Come hang out and talk about what's next with me! : D
positive · AI labelView post →Here's this week's schedule - Dreadout 2 - the game about photography and meeting dead people! Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 PM Central Time at twitch.tv/null_convention!
neutral · AI labelView post →Very scary. Too scary for me with the massive amount of jumpscares, had to stop playing. Can make it through Fatal Frame etc, but this is too extreme. Still looks well made - give it a spin and see if you like the jump scares!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →NO SPOILERS!!! Dreadout is a captivating and spine-chilling horror game that masterfully blends traditional Indonesian folklore with survival horror elements. The game throws you into an eerie and immersive world. (Or threw, game came out in 2014.) PROS Unique Setting and Atmosphere: That Indonesian town setting and folklore-based horror elements create an immersive and fresh experience for its time. Innovative Gameplay Mechanics: Using a smartphone camera to slay ghosts and solve…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game overall is just frustrating. I really tried to like it, and got a good amount into Act 2 before getting soft locked over and over again, and gave up. I can't bring myself to repeat the act. The game is too big at times for it's own good and you'll be wondering around trying to find where you're supposed to go to progress finally. The puzzles are minimalistic with very little context clues, if any, and require being at very precise locations and angles when you use the camera. "Boss"…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ok lets cut through the BS and get to brass tacks here. You will be playing this one of two ways: 1. You will use a guide to get through it and get through it fast. 2. You won't have a clue what to do unless you get an E to pick up an item. So you will probably quit mid act 1. This is a one and done game. You aren't going to play through it, and then right after think, "OMG I need to play DreadOut from the beginning to end again". But at the same time the puzzles (?, or whatever you want to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was probably the actually scariest moment in the game, just a little thing but it really worked. DreadOut starts with a spike, solid intro, then the school environment was a little slow but not bad, just not tight. After that it really picks up into the story Digital Happiness wanted to tell.
positive · AI labelView post →Since it's Halloween what's the scariest game you've played? For me it's DreadOut Keepers of the Dark. This series is pretty spooky on it's own but KotD specifically is crazy spooky at parts. I actually refused to play this game again for several years because there's a few areas that got me so bad.
positive · AI labelView post →A sort of clumsy Fatal Frame wannabe from Indonesia that is released in two very distinct episodes. The opening episode is atmospheric entering an expansive abandoned town and dilapidated school, but the areas are large and thematically lacking which makes wandering through the environment quite dull. The second episode has much more exciting QTEs stringing together spooky vignettes at the expense of the atmosphere the first episode managed. You'll be playing the game for some time before you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a certain jumpscare nearly turned me into a ghost
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'd like to share my opinion on this game. I think it's a very successful blend of SILENT HILL and RESIDENT EVIL, so if you like these types of games, you'll definitely enjoy it :>
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We finished the game. Definitely planning to play DreadOut 2 soon. Will plan it out. Thank you raiders @theeternalnyx.bsky.social @lilimvixen.bsky.social @sporesan.bsky.social We raided @azeriaeveexe.bsky.social who was playing RV There Yet with friends!
positive · AI labelView post →fatal frame: indonesia on a real note i think liked this more than fatal frame 5
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not quite Fatal Frame in terms of gameplay, but the setting and atmosphere were still interesting enough to keep me engaged. Also got me into Fatal Frame after finishing lol.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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