Explore haunted Indonesian locations as Linda, battling ghosts with your smartphone in DreadOut: Remastered Collection, a horror adventure. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Review Overview
What is DreadOut: Remastered Collection?
The DreadOut: Remastered Collection is an indie survival horror game rooted in Indonesian folklore. Originally developed by Digital Happiness, this collection includes the remastered version of the main DreadOut game alongside its standalone companion, Keepers of the Dark. As Linda Melinda, a high school student with supernatural abilities, players face ghostly encounters using a smartphone as their primary weapon. The narrative intertwines the mundane with the eerie, thrusting players into a world of haunted locales, chilling myths, and puzzling mysteries.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection features:
⚫︎ Unique Horror Premise Centered on Indonesian Folklore
⚫︎ Smartphone Mechanic to Detect and Defeat Ghosts
⚫︎ Nostalgic, Old-School Horror Vibe
⚫︎ Journal to Log All Ghosts Encountered
⚫︎ Visual Cues To Indicate Nearby Ghosts
⚫︎ Puzzle-Based Progression
| Platform | Price |
|---|---|
 PlayStation |
$29.99 |
 Nintendo |
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Unique Indonesian Folklore Setting Atmospheric Storytelling Memorable Ghost Designs and Lore |
Clunky Controls and Lack of Polish Repetitive Exploration and Puzzles Outdated Animations |
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Overall Score - 58/100
Despite its flaws, DreadOut: Remastered Collection provides an engaging experience for fans of supernatural horror. The blend of folklore, innovative mechanics, and atmospheric storytelling makes it a standout title in the indie horror genre. However, its rough edges, such as unpolished combat and repetitive exploration, hold it back from greatness. With its unique narrative and clever mechanics, this collection manages to offer an enjoyable, albeit imperfect, horror experience.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Story - 7/10
The game follows Linda and her classmates as their road trip takes a sinister turn, leading them to a cursed, abandoned town. What starts as an ordinary trip quickly spirals into supernatural terror, with Linda discovering her ability to combat ghosts. The plot is rich in Indonesian folklore, introducing players to myths and spirits unique to the culture. While the narrative is compelling, it falters slightly with a lack of depth in character development for most supporting cast members. However, Linda’s journey and her connection to the Red Lady keep the story engaging.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Gameplay - 6/10
The core gameplay revolves around using Linda’s smartphone and DSLR camera to detect and defeat ghosts. The red and blue indicators add depth to exploration, while the journal logs encountered spirits, providing valuable lore. However, the gameplay loop of solving puzzles and navigating haunted locales can feel aimless and repetitive. Combat, while unique, suffers from inconsistent feedback due to the absence of ghost health bars. Dying is particularly frustrating, as it sends players into limbo with increasingly longer revival times.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Visuals - 6/10
The visuals are a mixed bag. The remastered graphics improve on the original but still feel dated. Environments lack detail, and animations are stiff. While the design of the ghosts is creative, the overall aesthetic feels like a throwback to early 2000s games, making this collection feel like a port to new consoles rather than a remaster. Despite its shortcomings, the game’s atmosphere and eerie lighting do manage to evoke a sense of dread.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Audio - 5/10
The audio design provides a serviceable backdrop for the game’s eerie atmosphere, but it lacks the depth to truly immerse players. Ghostly whispers and environmental sounds are present but fail to build consistent tension. Additionally, the voice acting is passable but doesn’t elevate the narrative. More dynamic soundscapes could have significantly improved the overall experience.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Value for Money - 5/10
For $29.99, DreadOut: Remastered Collection offers two games in one package, providing hours of horror-themed entertainment, the inclusion of Keepers of the Dark adds value, even if it feels like a side offering. The unique gameplay mechanics and cultural storytelling make this collection worth considering for fans of indie horror. However, the lack of polish, repetitive gameplay loop, and limited replayability make it a tough sell at full price.
DreadOut: Remastered Collection Review: A Chilling Tale Hindered by Its Execution
Have you ever experienced a premonition so vivid it blurs the line between reality and nightmare? DreadOut: Remastered Collection opens with Linda, a high school student, seeing a harrowing vision of the future—an ominous glimpse of terror that foreshadows the events to come. It's a chilling introduction that sets the stage for the eerie journey ahead. Linda’s dream comes just as she, her classmates, and their teacher are traveling to an unknown destination, only for their trip to take a sinister turn.
After a collapsed bridge halts their journey, the group stumbles upon an abandoned town, unknowingly stepping into a trap set by malevolent spirits. From here, DreadOut unfolds as a tale of survival, filled with tension and dread. The game's ability to weave Indonesian folklore into its narrative adds a layer of authenticity and intrigue, making the horror feel both cultural and personal.
The first act cleverly uses Linda’s vision to build anticipation for what lies ahead. It’s not just a prologue, it’s a chilling promise of what’s to come. As you play, the feeling of déjà vu creeps in, connecting her dream to the unfolding reality. This seamless narrative thread pulls you deeper into Linda’s plight, making every twist and turn feel inevitable yet shocking.
What makes DreadOut especially memorable is its emphasis on isolation and vulnerability. Trapped in a hostile environment with no clear escape, Linda’s struggle mirrors the player's own as they navigate the game’s haunting world. The inclusion of Keepers of the Dark in this collection only deepens the lore, allowing players to delve further into Linda's connection to the supernatural.
Capturing the Supernatural
One of the standout features of DreadOut is its unique use of everyday technology to combat supernatural threats. Armed with her smartphone, and later a DSLR camera, Linda captures photographs of ghosts to weaken and banish them. It’s a brilliant mechanic that turns a mundane tool into a lifeline, forcing you to confront the horror head-on.
The gameplay is heightened by the use of visual cues to guide your survival. A red vignette warns of nearby spirits, while a blue tint highlights hidden items or clues. When enemies are in range, the camera glitches, signaling their presence and urging you to prepare. These mechanics create a constant sense of tension, keeping players on edge throughout the experience. The journal system is a welcome addition, logging encountered ghosts and providing their lore and weaknesses. This feature enriches the experience, giving depth to each spirit and encouraging you to approach encounters strategically.
However, the lack of a health bar for enemies can be frustrating. There’s no way to gauge progress during battles, and some ghosts seem to linger far longer than expected. This ambiguity can be unsettling in a good way, but it also detracts from the satisfaction of defeating spirits. It’s hard to feel triumphant when you’re unsure if you’re making progress or simply wasting time.
Exploration and Puzzles
The exploration in DreadOut is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the environments are deeply atmospheric, from the dilapidated school corridors to the eerie streets of the abandoned town. Every setting is meticulously crafted to evoke unease, with subtle details like flickering lights and distant whispers heightening the tension.
On the other hand, these settings often feel empty. While the design excels at creating a sense of dread, the lack of meaningful interaction within these spaces diminishes their impact. Collectibles and notes are scattered throughout, but they rarely feel rewarding. Instead, they serve as filler to justify backtracking through the same areas.
Puzzles are a major component of DreadOut, ranging from simple key hunts to more elaborate challenges. While some are genuinely clever, others feel overly obscure, leading to frustrating moments of aimless wandering. The absence of clear direction can make progression feel like a chore, especially when the solutions to puzzles are hidden in places you wouldn’t logically check.
The combination of exploration and puzzle-solving is central to DreadOut, but it doesn’t always hit the mark. The game’s tendency to rely on trial and error disrupts the pacing, making the horror feel more tedious than terrifying at times. Still, the moments where everything clicks—when you uncover a hidden room or solve a cryptic clue—are undeniably satisfying.
Death and the Cost of Failure
Death is an unavoidable part of DreadOut, and the game treats it as a significant narrative and gameplay element. Each time Linda dies, she is transported to Limbo—a monochromatic realm where she must run toward a distant light to return to life. It’s a unique mechanic that reinforces the themes of mortality and perseverance.
The Limbo sequences are symbolic, with ambient sounds that evoke despair. However, the more you die, the longer you must run in Limbo to reach the light and return back to the land of the living, which can feel like a punishment rather than an engaging challenge. This mechanic starts to wear thin after repeated deaths, turning what initially feels eerie into a tedious obstacle.
The cost of failure in DreadOut is steep, and while this adds tension to the gameplay, it also highlights the game’s flaws. The Limbo sequences, though atmospheric, ultimately feel like a missed opportunity to explore deeper themes or offer more varied challenges.
Frustrations and Flaws
While DreadOut excels in atmosphere and narrative, it stumbles in areas that are hard to overlook. One of the most glaring issues is the lack of polish in its gameplay. The controls, while functional, feel clunky on the Switch, making precise movements or quick reactions unnecessarily difficult. This is especially problematic during intense ghost encounters, where every second counts.
The game’s pacing is another weak point. The frequent need to backtrack through empty environments dampens the sense of urgency. This is compounded by the lack of meaningful rewards for exploration; too often, you’re left wondering if your efforts were worth it.
HUD design also leaves much to be desired. On the Switch version, the subtitles are comically small, making it difficult to follow the dialogue, especially in handheld mode. This oversight detracts from the overall experience, as the story is one of the game’s strongest elements.
Finally, Keepers of the Dark, while a welcome addition, feels like a missed opportunity. The reused assets and lack of a compelling narrative make it pale in comparison to the main game. Its boss rush structure adds variety, but it doesn’t fully capitalize on the rich lore established in DreadOut. Instead, it feels like an afterthought, tacked on rather than thoughtfully integrated.
Is DreadOut: Remastered Collection Worth It?
Summary of whether it’s worth it
The DreadOut: Remastered Collection is a mixed bag of eerie brilliance and frustrating design choices. At its core, the game offers a unique horror experience steeped in Indonesian folklore, setting it apart from mainstream horror titles. Its story is engaging, and its mechanics—using a smartphone to combat spirits—bring a refreshing twist to the genre. For fans of classic survival horror or those nostalgic for Fatal Frame-style gameplay, there’s certainly a charm here that can’t be ignored.
However, the experience is weighed down by its flaws. Clunky controls, repetitive exploration, and the lack of polish in key areas diminish the impact of what could have been a standout horror title. Keepers of the Dark adds content to the package but feels underwhelming compared to the main game, serving more as a side dish than a full course.
At $29.99, the collection offers decent value for money, especially since you’re getting two games in one. For those who appreciate indie horror games and are willing to overlook some rough edges, this could be a worthwhile purchase. But if you’re looking for a tightly designed, polished experience, you might want to wait for a sale or consider other titles.
Ultimately, DreadOut: Remastered Collection delivers a cheap horror thrill with a nostalgic edge. It’s not without its moments of brilliance, but those moments often come at the cost of frustration. If you’re intrigued by its premise and can handle its imperfections, it’s worth a shot. Otherwise, this might be a game better left as a curiosity rather than a must-play.
| Platform | Price |
|---|---|
| PlayStation |
$29.99 |
| Nintendo |
DreadOut: Remastered Collection FAQ
Is Lore Scattered Throughout the Game?
Yes, lore is scattered across the game. Reading through everything you find is crucial to understanding the story, as the game’s intriguing narrative is not explicitly explained to players.
Are There Multiple Endings To DreadOut?
Spoiler Ahead
Yes, there are multiple endings in DreadOut, but the true ending is the one where Ms. Siska escapes, leaving with the Serpent Lady’s reincarnation.
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DreadOut: Remastered Collection Product Information
 |
|
| Title | DREADOUT: REMASTERED COLLECTION |
|---|---|
| Release Date | January 16, 2025 |
| Developer | Digital Happiness |
| Publisher | Soft Source Publishing |
| Supported Platforms | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Action, Horror |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | M |
| Official Website | DreadOut: Remastered Collection Website |
