HomeNews10 Dead Doves
We already said 10 Dead Doves was great a few years back, but it’s really great so I’m saying it againCoo-dn’t believe it
Coo-dn’t believe it
Image credit:Duonix Studios
Image credit:Duonix Studios
Rebecca Jones (RPS in peace) really liked10 Dead Doveswhenshe wrote about itback in 2022, saying it reminded her of why she “loves weird low-budget spooks so much”. Discovering such an interesting project speaks to curiosity and taste on her part, but me? I am simply a pun enjoying buffon who got an email promising that “Dovecraftian horrors await”. The thrust of said electronic mail was that the game now has a release date of this December, but it looked neat, so I doved right in. I coo-dn’t resist. I too love weird low-budgethorror. I have been pigeonholed.
10 Dead Doves - Official Teaser Trailer | The Indie Horror Showcase 2024Watch on YouTube
10 Dead Doves - Official Teaser Trailer | The Indie Horror Showcase 2024
This is likely part cop-out and part time constraints, but I feel the highest praise I can give what I’ve played of 10 Dead Doves is that I don’t feel I could adequately do it word-justice in anything less than a much longer article. I will say this: while I do not feel it’s attempting to be the indie game equivalent of an A24 film in any way, I dofeelthat my fellow A24 wankers will likely appreciate it. I’d compare it toIndika, almost, in the way it uses the sort of camera techniques, spatial tricks and disorientating artistry that feel like they’re film specific, but are actually implemented in ways only a game could pull off.
If this sounds overly worthy or highfalutin, I should say that it’s also just very funny. Nothing sums up the scrappy avant-garde approach better than the devs singing the game title acapella over the splash screen. Some of the language used in the more eldritch sections is winkingly baroque, and the way the character’s faces dart jarringly between distinct expressions is brilliant. I actually didn’t finish the entire demo since I plan to grab this on release, but it’s shot right up for me as a must-play for the year. It’s a Columbidae-te, then. One for the massive cross section of ornithology enthusiasts and indie horror fans, that.
