Decision-driven survival horror game
Dread of Laughter is a premium action game from Icy North Games. This survival horror not only tasks you with escaping from a crazed killer but also pushes you to make decisions that will either help you or the villain. Presented as a mixed list of objectives, you choose which ones to pursue and which to ignore.
Its use of conventional assets and design is supposedly offset by its unique zero-sum game mechanic. Unfortunately, it has a lot of bugs that make it virtually unplayable. Its entire gameplay can be likened to Granny or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
A horror game where choices matter
The premise for Dread of Laughter is nothing too original. You find yourself in a remote area for some reason, and a killer starts chasing you. At the center of it all is an isolated farm that holds the secret to the story and the identity of your pursuer. It has an effective set design best played with the highest graphics settings available, although it still has some visual glitches.
What makes this unique, though, is its zero-sum premise. Every decision you make is guaranteed to take you one step toward freedom or make the killer even stronger. It can be considered a roguelike since death means having to restart the entire game all over again. Also, you can use the opportunity to check out different combinations of wins and losses and see how they affect the gameplay experience.
Lastly, the main problem with the game is that it’s riddled with bugs. The textures don’t load properly and the soundtrack, although promising on its own, cuts audibly and interrupts the gameplay experience. Perhaps the worst part of all is that the killer glitches in a number of ways. It gets stuck on doorways, and sometimes, it teleports to your location.
A promising but poorly executed game
Overall, Dread of Laughter has the potential to be a great survival horror experience. Its premise makes you weigh your decisions, and it even has a good soundtrack that helps complete the unsettling vibes. Unfortunately, it has a lot of bugs across all aspects of the app that makes it difficult to enjoy. Until these issues are resolved, the game is just not worth the price.
