I stumbled across Dollmare during the Steam Next Fest in October 2024. I thought it was a generic horror game with a doll theme but figured I’d download the demo to see how it played.

The demo lasted about 30 minutes but I fell in love. The game released not even a week later and I instantly bought it.

Now, I’m very anti-horror games for October since I’m a variety horror game streamer. However, I caved and instantly played this through in 3 hours the day I bought it late October.

I love it.

Dollmare starts with a very clear message of “no jump scares” and “no chase scenes” which are commonly two staples of any horror game. It lived up to this promise by providing spooks, ambient horror, and underlying uneasiness without relying on the jump scare crutch. I routinely called out solid scares the game embedded in while giving a variety of challenges and twists. I ended up playing it three separate times and each playthrough was different.

If you are unsure, definitely purchase this game and give it a shot. The developers are active in fixing bugs and the community is prime if you’re an achievement hunter.

I play many, many horror games but this one is a good example of a low-cost, high-value horror game that keeps me wanting to play. I literally dreamt of this game and not in a “I’m having nightmares” kind of way.

I’m being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. The game keeps you on your toes and leaves you second guessing the true story at every turn. It’s worth multiple playthroughs to see the whole story.

10/10 – no notes!