The Cameron Files: The Secret at Loch Ness
The Cameron Files: The Secret at Loch Ness
Game
Game2014
Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness
Developer Cryo Interactive
Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness, also known as Necronomicon: The Gateway to Beyond and Necronomicon : L'Aube des ténèbres in French, is a 2000 video game developed by Wanadoo Edition and released for Windows and the PlayStation video game console. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
167 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 6, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
29
Rotten
25 positive · 61 negative
95% range 21–39%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 25 | 61 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 9 | 0 | 66 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Negative
27 of 90 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
At a glance
Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness is a 2014 adventure casual video game, from Cryo Interactive.
- 156 people have posted about this game on Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon
- posts span Jul 12, 2014 to Nov 5, 2026
- 29% of 86 Steam reviewers recommend it (their own thumbs)
- Steam reviewers had played a median of 4 h when they wrote
Assembled from TMDB, Wikidata and Steam fields and our own counts, nothing written by a model. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness sits at 29% positive across 86 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 167 · most liked firstThis game cannot not be finished, because of a bug that was not in the original disc version. The publisher doesn't care for fixing it, instead they just gave out a save game for download that puts you at some place behind the broken part so you miss an important part of the story. They show on the shop page screenshots of the HD iOS version, while the PC version they actually sell here still looks exactly like the original game from 2001. Also I didn't see anything about this alleged "Updates…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →UPDATE: I've gotten this link from Meridian4 support team http://support.anuman.net/necronomicon there is a save file you can download that fixes the "brief case" bug at the last part of the game where you cannot access your alchemy kit. that said, a great portion of my review below is still relevant!. =================================================== I have never written a review before. Thats how strongly I feel about this. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FINISH IT. It…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Necronomicon 📖 For "All Under Control" by @mrjimmydafloof.bsky.social Play the game here (18+): hyenanoises.itch.io/all-under-co...
neutral · AI labelView post →[ScummVM], the best tool for playing obscure old PC games now supports the sublime FMV cheese of Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars and [Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness], a Lovecraftian adventure one You. [ScummVM Blog - ScummVM 2026.2.0 "Railmonicon" sees the light](https://www.scummvm.org/news/20260328/) [Crime Patrol (1993) Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeT9yJCTzc) [Crime Patrol 2 Drug Wars (1994) Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEdcnpO9Lx4)
neutral · AI labelView post →Totally Borked! This version seems to be missing cutscenes and some puzzles from back when it was on PS1 And I have encountered a game-breaking bug that will not let me continue! Not impressed!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am genuinely baffled by my conflicting feelings over this "Lovecraftian" adventure game. Okay, Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness is nothing miraculous. It's old, it's clunky, full of bugs with irritable animations... yet still manages to set an eerie enough atmosphere to drive your perception skills to its limits. For that account only, it is not possible to recommend this game to anyone. Even if one is to set aside the fact that the game is raddled with bugs, it would still be an…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PROS: + Based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft + Good atmosphere CONS: - Buggish - Not configurable at all - Bad interface - Bad graphics - Bad animations - Meaningless puzzles
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What could have been a fun, notalgic release on steam is unfortunately hampered by some serious issues. This port is poorly done and sections of the story are missing. The best cutscene in the game is cut out and you are thrust ahead in the story with no idea what just happened. A game breaking bug makes the game impossible to complete a little later on when you can't access an important part of your inventory. As of yet there has been no word on a potential patch of fix for these issues…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ominous double doors at the start of the trailer were loosely modeled after a set of ancient Nepalese doors posted on r/Carpentry in 2024! The engravings were inspired by the intermission art from Doom II and the Necronomicon from the Evil Dead films. The in-game version was drawn by ffive.
neutral · AI labelView post →There's very few times in my life I actually feel the need to write a review, I generally let things speak for themselves. However, this game is the biggest brain suck I have ever come across and I felt the dying need to alert people to the waste of time and pennies they will experience if they buy this game. I could forgive the tired animations if it weren't for the dreadfully boring gameplay. As someone who is a big fan of adventure gaming, I am generally quite a patient person. However, this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Your posting about this game has the vibes of someone periodically skimming through the Necronomicon wondering if anything changed and every time the answer is "Yup. Still evil."
neutral · AI labelView post →First thing to do if you have any desire to play this game is to download the .exe file from the link below that fixes the missing cutsecene and the game breaking bug of not being able to access your inventory items. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=341051983 All set? Great, now we can talk about the game itself. William H. Stanton, aka you, find yourself face to face with an old childhood friend Edgar, who seems very scared and gives you an item to take care of and keep…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Features two MAJOR bugs that prevent actually playing this properly, or at all. One of the largest curscenes is missing, and close to the end a menu is disabled that you need to access to get a key and progress with the game. Contacted the developers several times, but it appears they don't want to know. DO NOT BUY.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and Necronomicon. It would be a bit like Forrest Gump for modernity, but it'd look like Game of Thrones. I'd sex it up a bit.
neutral · AI labelView post →Necronomicon Pinball (saturn) one of the best soundtracks to a pinball game by John Petrucci of Dream Theater #scanlinesunday
neutral · AI labelView post →Keeper Bob Geis of YouTooCanCthulhu's Call of Cthulhu game at #NecronomiCon Providence featured in the newspaper of record! bit.ly/4x8jzK4
neutral · AI labelView post →Full house of cultists for our live game of Call of Cthulhu at #NecronomiCon in Providence RI on Saturday night! Mike Mason was Keeper; his investigators were Brian Courtemanche, Paul Fricker, Ed Fuqua, and Matt Ryan.
neutral · AI labelView post →Snoop Dog has utilized the Digital Necronomicon™️ to invoke Tupac into his fuck ass video game.
neutral · AI labelView post →A buggy and broken waste of space on Steam. Terrible game with terrible issues. :-(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Edit: I have isolated the files containing the missing cutscenes, from when you complete the puzzle to "waking up in a room with edgar" they are contained at the end of my playthrough here: http://youtu.be/zYzzKiaMocU?t=31m (it will already skip to where the cutscene is in the video, you don't have to go through the playthrough to find it) ------ I am sad to be writing a negative review for this game, but first I will give it the praise that it is due. It is a very enjoyable game to play,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good old point-and-click adventure mystery type game with Lovecraftian themes. I don't know how long it is but it's been fun so far. The only problem I have is with the dialogue... there are no subtitles and because of the accents some of the people are seriously hard to understand if you're hard of hearing or bad at slurred American accents so it is advised that if you are about to talk to anybody SAVE your game. You might be able to figure some things out by logic or just clicking around…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →People would also recommend not releasing demons from the nether realm, but if you give them the Necronomicon suddenly it's _klaatu this, nicto that_. Some knowledge is just cursed.
neutral · AI labelView post →Important to note that this was the last game developed by KAZe of Digital Pinball Necronomicon/Last Gladitors fame
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is boring and poorly executed. Don't buy it. Rather read the novel "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by H.P. Lovecraft, on which it is based. Overall rating: 5/10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO YOU LIKE LOVECRAFTIAN GAMES? Well then... wishlist ESCAPE FROM 8-BIT HIGH! *wink wink* store.steampowered.com/app/2761220/... #lovecraft #lovecraftian #game #cthulhu #necronomicon
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a hard game to recommend to some people. I actually liked the animation, though it is admittedly clunky. I also enjoyed the music plus I am a huge fan of Lovecraft and anything (well almost anything) based on his writing. That said this game has some very cool 'Lovecraft" moments and is based upon the story "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". The game play issues with the game are the problems towards the end where you cannot get an important piece from an alchemist set you find earlier…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is bad. graphics horrid it is old style point and move next screen. also has a few bugs. But i enjoyed my time. It is a Myst type of game still pic that you look around in, plenty of puzzels. storie line was not to bad. Thought the end was crap. but that to could have been a cut sceen missing. for the couple $$ if you like the myst or sybiria type games . 6/10 Price is good for a few hours entertainment.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37276396/]For The Love of Lovecraft Curator The Darkness of Darkness Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness is an old school point and click adventure game. There are some that have nostalgia tinted glasses going into this game but even those find it a bit too hard of a game to get behind and wholly enjoy. The game does a few things right but unfortunately it just does a lot more wrong. The environment is pretty well done as far as what you see and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is made from Lovecraft's story and still not good as novel but that's not mean this game is bad. The atmosphere of this game is powerful. It making me feel nervous and scary at all time. But if you expect this game will have scaring jump scenes like Thai movies, well, it's not have kind of that. Graphic is acceptable for PS1 standard like Resident Evil 1. The camera and cursor is terrible, you have to look carefully when you want to find something to progress your game. Thanks…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Setting up to play this 1994 Japanese PC98 adventure, Necronomicon, a hybrid of Giger, Lovecraft, and Anime. Seems to work fine, even without DeepL. Still, having had experience with Fairytale's work before, streaming it on Twitch might be quite risky. Maybe if there's enough interest I'll try?
neutral · AI labelView post →I played this game back when it was on PS1, had a blast always getting decked by the angry house keeper after 20 mins of gameplay and forgetting to save... This game is a proper classic point a click puzzler like Myst but base on the works of HP Lovecraft. The game it's self offers classic puzzles and traditional point and click adventuring so the game it's self is not the reason why i'm not recommending this game to you. The reason why I wont recommend this game to you is because it has some…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →56) MYSTERY OF THE NECRONOMICON (黒の断章, 1999) - Our first anime on the list! This OAV is a sexually-explicit adaptation of the video game. There's a lot of Lovecraftian influence in Japanese animation and comics in general, but this is a fun 90s adult horror romp.
neutral · AI labelView post →Article on the D20 Madison Square Garden Show and Historical Live Plays. ## [Dimension 20’s sold-out show at MSG shines a light on decades of TTRPG performance](https://www.polygon.com/actual-play/512133/dnd-actual-play-history-critical-role-dimension-20-acquisitions-inc-hickman-gen-con) ### A brief history of role-playing games played in front of live audiences. *by [Dr Emily Friedman](https://www.polygon.com/authors/em-friedman)* > If you’re drawn to the vibe of sitting among hundreds,…
neutral · AI labelView post →The game itself is very good. It has gloomy, gooey atmosphere of the famous lovecraftian horror. Despite a few dubious riddles, it's still worth to be played. But as always steam version sucks so deep, that you'd better not even think bout buying it there. It misses a few cutscenes and has various bugs which break the game completely. Better buy it on GOG. These guys know how to sell good old games.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME! I REPEAT: DON'T PLAY IT! This is THE SINGLE WORST game I have ever played! The sequence in the cellar in COMPLETE darkness is the biggest impertinence I have ever experience in my whole life. To even charge for this disgrace of a game is an act of pure sassiness. You should be paid to play this useless amalgamation of senselessness. Whoever developed this is a disgrace to all honest and hard working game developers out there. Some of us don't have the time to fiddle…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Be afraid! Be very afraid... Why? Well, certainly not because of any links to the master of horror; HP Lovecraft. This game IS a horror story, but only in the vain that you will use REAL CASH to inflict it upon yourself, and then you shall inevitably therefore waste REAL TIME in a masochistic attempt to justify the purchase. Yes I felt 'The Dawning of Darkness' when I began this game. Take heed now.... Save yourselves, for pity's sake people! ...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game's a buggy mess, impossible to complete due to a lack of an incredibly important cutscene near endgame, and the fact that you completely lose your briefcase after the cutscene as well, depriving you of a key that you need to solve one of the next puzzles. but that's not all my friends. Oh no, the game is also filled with some of the worst puzzles I've seen in my life, such as a puzzle wherein you had to search an entire storage room of urns for the ashes of someone that was not hinted…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have discovered Power Rangers Pinball it is bad but it has led me to quite possibly the most cool virtual pinball game ever Necronomicon
positive · AI labelView post →I'm still playing this as of right now and I played the CD version so I'm familiar with the story. I would recommend the game but if this is unfinished as other people say I would definitely get on that. This game is too great to have that kind of flaw. Other than that I give the game itself a high mark. This is the Steam version and I would definitely make that move so it matches the CD version. For hardcore gamers I wouldn't recommend this one however. Little action happens and you're just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've only played a few minutes, it's just that after downloading and before playing I looked up the hardware requirements and low and behold I need a 200 GHz processor! My I-7 Sandy Bridge at 3.8 GHz has been sufficient to date with demanding games but this is remarkable. I'm thinking along the lines of setting up massively parallel RISC chips as yet not designed, running an OS not yet writen, creating a virtual X86 Win7 machine running at 200+ GHz; an unfortunate side-effect of the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Counting and folding books and making bundles for 5 shows in 6 weekends! Jul 10-12: Ironweld Jul 17-19: OGC Jul 25-26: SaGaCon Aug 8: Wolf Crest Game Con Aug 13-16: Necronomicon Come play some games! Meet some new friends! Make a few enemies! #osr #ttrpg #zine
neutral · AI labelView post →As a huge fan of both, Lovecraft and Evil Dead, I did want my own "Klaatu-Verata-N-n--estor" moment. So this is it! And yes, there's a hidden #Necronomicon weapon somewhere in the game. #IndieGameDev #IndieGame #Gamedev #GothicHorror #GamingCommunity
neutral · AI labelView post →You cannot have Lovecraftian game without most iconic book in fiction: Necronomicon is coming to Halls of Nyarlathotep! 📖 It's a powerful weapon to wield against the nightmares, but using it comes with a cost... Stay tuned for more info 👀 #necronomicon #render #3dart #horror #lovecraft #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Since I already included an unspeakable tentacle monster... I figured, WHAT THE HELL, why not just add the actual #Necronomicon. Yes. The game now has a Necronomicon. No, you can't easily find it. #Indiegamedev #FPSgames #IndieGame #UnrealEngine #SoloGameDev
neutral · AI labelView post →As much as I want to say nice things, being charitable to the game and the state it is in, is quite difficult. I do want to note that I used [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=341051983]this fix from the forums to help with some of the most common glitches and add some of the missing content back. Without that, playing Necronomicon through its more frustrating sequences would have been even worse. I also freely admit I used a walkthrough on more than one occasion as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Big disappointment. Early on I was enjoying the hokey old-fashioned ghosty atmosphere, but towards the end the game became all puzzles that were without any enjoyment value at all. One long part of the game actually has you looking through a library for books. Seriously, what could be more boring than looking through a library for books... on a computer game? Who in the world thought that would be a good idea? Then right at the end there was a flaw in my inventory that prevented me from going…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →had a really enjoyable Spire run yesterday on Ironclad where the game never gave me any exhaust synergies besides a single copy of Feel No Pain and no strength but I got over the line and killed the Heart entirely with Necronomicon and Bash+/Uppercut+. God I love this game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness was originally released for the PC and Playstation in 2000/2001. Based on H.P Lovecraft's short story “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”. Both being set in the 1920s Providence, Rhode Island. There’s numerous characters that appear in their respective stories including a character who becomes obsessed with their distant ancestor and the occult. There’s mention of Yog-Sothoth and contains alchemical experimentation as well as the resurrection of dead…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was enjoying the game, even though it was very dated in almost every aspect. However, I was very surprised to discover, almost at the end of the game, that a bug people had been complaining about in 2014 was still there! This made the game unplayable - thank goodness for walkthroughs on the web so at least I know what happened.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OMG! Al Capone! Demons! The Necronomicon! The synopsis for this game is wild as hell! Animation by Madhouse! Sakuraba on the OST! I will definitely be getting this! 😃 #EarnestEvansCollection www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1By...
neutral · AI labelView post →I don't like giving this a bad review but the Steam release is a pretty big disappointment. There are a lot of bugs, the chief of which is game-breaking towards the end of the game. To my knowledge, there is no fix and it happens to pretty much any players. If you really want to play this one, find a way to run it on original hardware. The developers are long defunct and the current "publisher" has shown no sign of fixing the issue, which has been a known problem since 2014. The game that you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game I cannot recommend. The developers released this as an unfinished port to steam. It is unbeatable. The game removed inventory items and the alchemy kit you need to complete the game. The developers answer to everyones cries? To use a save file that skips an important piece of the game that explains the story and to finish it missing a huge chunk of the game. Do yourself a favor and skip this. If you want to play this game without the developers not caring about finishing this port to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Post a random game in your collection Saturday Digital Pinball: Necronomicon The beasts are coming! Run. RUUUN! From the developers of Zombie Nation and Digital Pinball: Last Gladiators. They went all out on this one, especially the music. For those pinball likers out there, don't MISS this one1
positive · AI labelView post →I want to recommend this as a little point and click piece of history, especially has a Microids fan, but there's a bug that looks to never get a fix that cuts out a major cutscene AND locks you out of the final part of the game because it causes an important menu (the alchemy kit) to be grayed out. Without the key in that menu, you can't finish the game. There is a save file out that lets you fix the later issue, but the former issue remains unaddressed. Best find other ways to play this one.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Despite the mostly negative reviews, I decided to give this game a try. I should of listened to everyone. The screen shots above look better then the game. The interface is better then most point and click games that came out even later in the decade, but the game lost me during the Edgar house finding scene. Made me go crazy jhsjibhsjil,sjildbnhsbksnkj, enough said.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't buy this game. There is a bug that will prevent you from finish it. Read the other reviews for details.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An older title and while it lacks some more modern features (also given this is a older title) and I hear a few of the FMV's are missing from the PC version the game got me wanting more! Video(ish) review below: Note: Its more a montage than anything with come voice over as the game does not like being recorded http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=285911444
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Huh!!! This is really cool. Necronomicon next? Akira psychoball??? THE FORGOTTEN SMT PINBALL PHONE GAME MY HOLE GRAIL OF PINBALL PLEASE
neutral · AI labelView post →lmao the Magic opened a portal to hell during the second half of Game 6, and now they're tortured by Tobias Harris in Game 7, as foretold in the Necronomicon.
neutral · AI labelView post →The easiest fix to this issue is to level up Necronomicon of Fate to x200, but that requires either playing the game a lot or paying some money to speed up the leveling up massively.
neutral · AI labelView post →
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