I love indie games. It’s no secret that some of the best gaming experiences have been shot out of the indie cannon onto consoles and PCs everywhere, and it’s only getting stronger with each release. This is exactly what the developers at Lovely Hellplace were trying to build on with their Early Access title, Dread Delusion. A title pulled from the depths of PS1-era graphics with the polish you’d expect from a game released in the 2020s, and it’s not delusional.
Like a lost PS1 Elder Scrolls title, there are many forces at work beneath the surface in Dread Delusion that the player can choose to discover or not. This is no delusion, Dread Delusion is focused on delivering a narrative that gives the player plenty of choices. But first, you are a character written off as prisoner scum, and the High Confessor sets you free to track down the big bad of the realm, Vela Callose.
Lovely Hellplace has done a great job of building the mythos of this character, as just mentioning her to anyone makes them wince as if she has done them wrong (think Voldemort), everyone is connected to Vela Callose, and not in a good way. Your mission (to stay free) is to track down Vela and bring her to justice. The first stop on this quest is to visit a tavern called the Wobbly Noggin and ask your contact questions about what to do.
In true PS1 fashion, Dread Delusion does not give the player a map; instead, it gives the player barebones directions without a way of knowing which direction you are facing. Capcom’s recent release of Dragon’s Dogma 2 also doesn’t hold your hand when tossing you into the fires of the world either, but Dread Delusion takes this a diabolical step further by not even showing the player which way they are facing.
“In true PS1 fashion, Dread Delusion does not give the player a map, instead, it gives the player barebones directions without a way of knowing which direction you are facing.”
While this sounds like a complaint, it is not. This is superb game design, allowing the player to figure out a way on how to move forward instead of ‘leading the horse to water’. Lovely Hellplace figures the player is smart and can use the clues given to move forward; this works wonderfully.
The graphical component of Dread Delusion is comparable to the PS1 title Nightmare Creatures. The enemy designs feel pulled from that game (without the dismemberment), and the atmosphere and character faces are also pulled from that era. Dread Delusion acts as a time capsule back to the late 90s or early 2000s era of gaming without asking you to break out the RCA cables.
After meeting the gruff contact, you are given a Legend of Zelda-like mission to convince four former mercenaries (instead of Sages) who used to work alongside Vela Callose to bring her to justice. This is where the deep world of Dread Delusion fully opens its gates as an open world title with many choices and solutions.
I quickly got lost and stumbled upon the docks while searching for shops and noticed a shifty figure, so of course, I approached and said “Hi!,” It’s what you do in these games – approach strangers. I was offered a simple quest of delivering silks across town to another character in the Tavern I just left. I thought no big deal until an officer of the Inquisition (the police of the Oneric Isles) stopped me and asked what was in my parcel.
“Dread Delusion gives just enough to the player to mess with its many mechanics and side quests or just ignore it completely, a game of true choice.”
I built my character as charismatic as possible as passing speech checks in-game (looking at you, Bioware) always helps avoid further quest legs in RPGs. I told the Inquisition officer exactly what I was told, “it’s just silks.” He believed me, and I was able to complete my delivery. The parcel had an octopus-like creature inside, and the shady figure mentioned something nefarious he was planning with the small Kraken. I asked what the creature was, and he returned defensive, almost offended that I would ask such a thing. This starts a larger overarching questline that spans all of Oneric.
The writing and questlines often throw you for a loop in Dread Delusion, and it’s the title’s best feature. Numerous side quests litter the Oneric Isles, which are loaded with charm and excellent character writing. I travelled down a road until I stumbled upon a castle. This whole area has its own lore and storyline featuring a cursed Duke who agreed to a contract with one of the Gods of the realm (this world’s version of Daedric Prince or Greek God) to save his son and his subjects from certain doom.
The Duke agreed to constant pain for the rest of his days to ensure his kingdom’s and son’s safety. But he didn’t read the fine print. Don’t make deals with the tricksters of the realm because there are always weird caveats to the detriment of humanity (I mean, come on, obviously!). Sure enough, a god worshipper on the Duke’s property is responsible for the suffering.
This is where the choice system mechanic of Dread Delusion comes into play. The player has choices to make in order to complete this quest and ultimately change the course of the Oneric Isles. If the Duke dies, the god’s grip on the surrounding land will be weakened forever, but you can also come to new terms with the god and have the son take the place of the father.
The Oneric Isles are loaded with quests like this, and it’s up to the player to find them. Or don’t. Dread Delusion gives just enough to the player to mess with its many mechanics and side quests or just ignore it completely, a game of true choice. A crafting system, an alchemy system, and a levelling system drive the narrative forward, while you can equip weapons and armour to destroy adversaries.
While there is much wonder in Dread Delusion, and exploring is fun, there are some pitfalls that stop it from reaching its true potential. I’m all for innovation, but Dread Delusion’s focus on choice hinders its combat system. Almost every encounter can be avoided, and due to this, experience points aren’t gained from defeating enemies (or a VERY small amount is). Skulls are littered throughout the landscape, which offers ‘Delusion exp’, and when a full one is made, you can level up a base stat.
These skulls feel limited and stuck behind stat checks, and without increasing your level, certain skulls are inaccessible. In a game with choice, the player can lock themselves out of helpful equipment and interesting story elements by neglecting stats, stats that can’t be ground for. A good example is the lockpicking system based on the Guile stat, and there are MANY lockpick doors throughout the realm. Clicking on the door gives the player a literal dice roll, determining whether the pick is successful or not.
This system can add artificial lengthening to the title; if the character runs out of lockpicks, they’ll need to retrieve more to return and try again. This is a hindrance to a game based on exploration, and instead of feeling Metroidvania in nature (return later when you have what you need), it feels like a test of tedium, patience and luck.
“Dread Delusion’s sound constantly made me confused during gameplay instead of adding to it.”
There are a few stat-based checks like this that can detract from the overall experience of Dread Delusion. The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series of games have adapted the lockpicking mechanic accordingly with mini-games that take some of the burden off the player. While this game has an iron grip on the PS1 aesthetic, it will not be fully released until 2024, so quality-of-life changes like this could have been included.
The sound choices in Dread Delusion are incredibly questionable. There were constant sound effects in the overworld, houses, and dungeons that made me jump, but nothing was there. Confusingly, blocking attacks makes a weapon swing sound and random sounds litter the landscape instead of soothing overworld music. The sound of Dread Delusion constantly confused me during gameplay instead of adding to it.
I love Dread Delusion. Lovely Hellplace’s focus on ‘not every RPG needs to be combat-centric’ is a breath of fresh air, and having to use my own thinking to literally do everything is an awesome experience. Character writing has been given great care, and the lore of the world is immense and satisfying to learn. But, shortcomings like no quality of life in the beginning stages of the game and poor sound design hold Dread Delusion from reaching its true potential. Still, for the price and the Steam Deck Verification, this is a Delusion worth having.
