CW: This review contains discussions of suicide.

For all the issues generative AI and its ilk cause for artists and storytellers, there is still something to be said for the potential technology has for storytelling. While interactive visual novels are a fantastic example of the potential blending of games and stories, the potential to focus purely on story and create a multimedia presentation of a story is there, waiting to be tapped and explored.

I feel like this might have been improved if the protagonist hadn’t gone for the fish-themed room at the hotel.

Dagon pushes at the very edges of what makes something a “game.” There is next to no engagement with the game itself, that engagement being limited to turning the camera, clicking on the occasional icon, and clicking to continue the story. However, that lack of gameplay does not equate to the game itself being lacking. It doesn’t strive to have deeply immersive gameplay, and instead, seeks to present a multimedia, immersive way to experience one of H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, Dagon. It lovingly recreates the settings and elements described in the story, bringing them to life and letting the player meander through them, allowing the horror and the mood of the place to sink in and really take hold.

Octo-buddy has a problem.

Dagon’s method of storytelling creates an entirely new way to experience a fairly old story. While it doesn’t allow for the same free creativity that reading for oneself creates, it’s still a vision of engaging with literature that feels like a deeply modern view. It raises the question of the future of literature, and whether this sort of multimedia experience represents what fiction might be in the future.

For my part, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I - obviously - believe strongly in the power of the written word and the importance of letting the reader sort through imagery and prose in their own way and in their own terms. However, I also get frustrated with my lack of ability to truly convey what it means to be in the settings I create. Dagon’s approach to storytelling, of making stories multimedia expeditions, feels like it strikes a good balance. Readers - inasmuch as they still are readers - still get to experience the story and what makes it work, but get to experience it more holistically than words alone can necessarily capture. It’s cool, and it feels like a positive future for storytelling.

I drift alone, awaiting only the doom of the sea.

Dagon is not perfect. Its camera controls are sluggish, and the way they move makes me motion sick, meaning I didn’t interact with the environment as thoroughly as the game likely wanted me to. However, how it chooses to tell its story, and the augmentations it makes are stellar, and make the story feel alive and fresh. It’s a fantastic exploration into the future of storytelling, and one that leaves me wanting more.

Developer: Bit Golem

Genre: Visual Novel

Year: 2021

Country: Poland

Language: English

Play Time: 20-30 Minutes

Youtube: https://youtu.be/4YWanNq_nQQ