Dyer Expedition is a new indie horror game available for PC on Steam. It is a mysterious puzzle adventure with elements of Lovecraftian horror. For those who don't know, Howard Phillips Lovecraft is a writer of science fiction horrors, which aptly describes this game as well. The main objective of this game is to solve puzzles in advanced structures beneath and within Antarctica, built by unknown beings. The game is eerie and interesting, a good pastime for a Saturday night.
The developers of Dyer Expedition are Monkeys With Jobs, specifically the developer - independent programmer Christoph Willinger (with the help of just a handful of people) for whom this is so far the only achievement. The game supports keyboard play as well as gamepad. The inspiration for this game is the novella "At The Mountains of Madness." We can even say that this is a direct adaptation of that novel in the form of a video game. We play as geologist and professor William Dyer from Miskatonic University. The game is his retelling of a journey to Antarctica, where he discovered a previous research expedition that ended catastrophically – no one returned. In Antarctica, they discovered huge and terrifying habitats of extraterrestrial beings (later we learn they are called Elder Things). Immediately, a terrifying plot unfolds - we have only two days to uncover the truth, as the only transport then departs for home – with us or without us.
The game is in the first person. It cannot be said to be an FPS, as there is no "shooting," nor combat, so we can say it is a first-person horror. The sole focus of this game is exploring abandoned levels. The player must solve puzzles that guard the way to deeper levels and even greater mysteries that we gradually uncover.
The game has a retro visual mode. It can be said that the aesthetics are classically adventurous, already seen in some games. In the settings, a more modern look can be set, with a higher resolution, but the overall atmosphere certainly remains retro. The soundtrack is eerie and haunting. The entire game is accompanied by a sense of discomfort, but also a sense of curiosity – you always want to find out what lies behind the next door and the next puzzle. However, we cannot say that the game is not for the faint-hearted – there are no sudden jump scares or classic monsters that haunt or attack you (too bad?). The game is simple to play, with just a few commands – for movement, and for picking up and placing various objects in designated spots. There are no commands for jumping or fighting, there is only a sprint button, which is actually not a sprint, but rather a slightly faster walk. My major complaint about this game is the multitude of puzzles for which there are no instructions – for example, turning strange symbols on a console that need to be arranged in a specific order to open a door or a portal to the next level. Without any instructions, we have no choice but to randomly arrange those symbols until the desired order is achieved. And believe me, that can take a while. The graphics, as expected, are not great, which is not a problem, since you already know that graphics will not be the main asset of this game – but the atmosphere, solving puzzles, and the feeling of discomfort that accompanies you with the appropriate music.
All in all, for a first game from an independent developer – we have no complaints. However, we should not start this game with too high expectations. It is just a fun puzzle-horror with a dark pixelated style and interesting gameplay. We won’t reveal the ending, we will only say that it is quite anticlimactic – there is no big revelation or “wow” event. Rarely does a game give such a feeling of discomfort the whole time, but so do Lovecraftian horrors – emphasizing the fear of something unknown and unexplainable.
A copy of the game for review purposes was provided by the development studio Monkeys With Jobs
