Noctem

About the Game

Noctem is a first-person psychological horror adventure developed by Greek indie studio Dreamtale Studio, based in Thessaloniki. The development team includes Stella Eleftheriadou (Game & Level Designer), Tom Sfetsios (Game Developer), Alex Tzortzidis (System Engineer) and Sotiris Ntougioutzoglou (Sound Engineer). An early demo was released in 2019, followed by the full Windows release on July 1, 2022.

The story takes place in Dry Creek, a small and isolated town in Alaska, located within the mysterious Alaska Triangle. The region is associated with unexplained disappearances, mysterious incidents and theories involving parallel universes and other unexplained phenomena. The protagonist is Amelia Hudson, who lived in Dry Creek with her family before moving to England to study writing. Her family has experienced a series of tragic events. When Amelia was fourteen, her younger brother Tommy was diagnosed with leukemia. He died two years later, and eight months after his death, her mother committed suicide. Four years later, Amelia moved to England. While studying there, she learned that her father had died under mysterious circumstances inside their family home. As her graduation approaches, Amelia needs a quiet place to complete her thesis. She therefore decides to return to her childhood home. 

However, strange events soon begin to occur. Unusual sounds, disturbing occurrences and visual disturbances make her feel that someone or something is watching her. Gradually, she begins questioning her own perception of reality. Gameplay takes place from a first-person perspective and focuses primarily on exploring the family house and uncovering its secrets. Players can interact with environmental objects, opening doors, drawers, cabinets and other containers. The interaction system allows control over the speed of these actions, while collected objects can be stored in an inventory and used at different points throughout the adventure. Environmental storytelling is an important part of the experience.

Players search for and collect letters, notes, photographs and personal belongings that gradually reveal the history of the Hudson family. Information is often scattered throughout the environment, requiring players to connect different clues to understand the events that took place and the nature of the strange phenomena. One of the game's distinctive mechanics is the Anxiety Level system. Amelia suffers from asthma, and her psychological condition plays an important role in her survival. Players must monitor her anxiety, search for inhalers and keep her condition under control. The increasingly disturbing events and supernatural threats make this management more challenging. The game also incorporates stealth and hiding mechanics. 

Not every threat can be confronted directly, so players must recognize dangerous situations, avoid hostile entities and use the surrounding environment to remain safe. Exploration and puzzle-solving are therefore combined with survival horror elements. The visual presentation uses three-dimensional environments and realistic settings. The family house is the main location and contains numerous rooms, corridors, storage areas and hidden spaces that reveal information about the family's past.

Lighting, shadows, environmental sounds and music contribute to the game's isolated and unsettling atmosphere. The narrative explores themes of grief, family tragedy, psychological distress and parallel-universe theories. Rather than explaining every event immediately, the story gradually unfolds through exploration, collected evidence and the protagonist's experiences.

Noctem Trailer