DreadOut Remastered Collection Review: A Cult Classic Returns
A fascinating piece of Indonesian horror gaming history makes its way to modern consoles, bringing both its charms and flaws along for the ride.
A Ghost Story from the Archipelago
DreadOut has always stood out in the survival horror genre for its distinctive Indonesian flavour. As Linda, a high school student armed with only her smartphone and SLR camera, players must navigate an abandoned town teeming with spirits drawn from Indonesian mythology. The collection bundles the original game with its standalone expansion, Keepers of the Dark, which sends Linda into the Mirror Realm to confront eight domains worth of supernatural entities.
Technical Improvements and Lingering Issues
The upgrade to Unity 2024 brings welcome optimizations: loading times are shorter, frame rates are more stable, and the lighting system has received a notable upgrade. However, these improvements can’t fully mask the game’s dated origins. Blurry textures and stiff animations remain, serving as constant reminders of DreadOut’s indie roots.
Fatal Frame’s Southeast Asian Cousin
The core gameplay loop will feel familiar to Fatal Frame veterans: use your camera to combat supernatural threats while solving environmental puzzles. The modern twist of using smartphones adds a contemporary feel, though the console control schemes, while redesigned, still occasionally feel awkward. The “Ghostpedia” feature adds welcome depth to the game’s mythology, encouraging players to document their spectral encounters.
Modern Conveniences, Ancient Frustrations
While the remaster smooths out some technical rough edges, it leaves several fundamental issues untouched. The user interface remains poorly scaled for large displays, and subtitle placement in the lower-left corner is an unusual choice that can impact accessibility. The lack of clear player guidance leads to frequent backtracking, and while the ghost designs draw effectively from Indonesian folklore, the boss encounters feel mechanically uninspired.
The Verdict
DreadOut Remastered Collection is the definitive way to experience this unique entry in the survival horror genre. Its blend of Indonesian mythology with familiar gaming mechanics creates an atmosphere unlike anything else in the genre. However, this remaster for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch plays it safe, offering technical improvements while leaving the core experience: both its strengths and weaknesses, largely untouched.
For horror fans seeking something off the beaten path, there’s still plenty to appreciate here. Just be prepared to look past some dated elements to find the haunting heart of this cult classic.
