Game Review: Dagon: Complete Edition (Xbox Series X)

Would you like to know more about H.P. Lovecraft without having to do all that bothersome reading? Would you like to experience one of his famous stories from a visual and audio standpoint? Would you like hidden details that deliver even more facts about the famous horror writer? If the answer to all of this is yes, then you’re in luck, Dagon: Complete Edition has all of this, and a bit more.

Developed by Bit Golem and published by Feardemic, it is a visual novel experience that tells the H.P. Lovecraft ‘Dagon’ story. Told via powerful narration, haunting music, and sinister visuals.

A short tale written in 1917, Dagon is now considered one of his most iconic pieces and delivers on all the eldritch and cosmic horror that we have come to expect from the writer. Detailing the story of a man who had a very traumatic incident in a strange land that he came across while floating aimlessly in an unknown part of the sea. The story of Dagon is his account of what happened, and how he came to be where he is now.

It is a very creepy and imaginative story and brought to vibrant life via this visual novel experience. One that needed perfect narration and is delivered impeccably. Blended with the varied visuals that capture the fantastical world that Lovecraft creates with his words, Dagon: Complete Edition is one of the better visual novel experiences out there and the development team clearly cared about the source material.

However, it’s just that. A visual novel, and aside from finding secret symbols that reveal more detail about specific parts and Lovecraft in general, there’s nothing for the player to do aside from watch, listen, and then click to move on to the next scene. There’s nothing wrong with this, as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into. It’s less than an hour long, which includes searching for all the hidden trivia.

So, what makes Dagon: Complete Edition a ‘complete edition’? It comes packaged with several extra short stories that were released as DLC. There’s the excellent and horror-laden tale that is The Railway Horror, which details a dream Lovecraft had and described in a letter in 1927 to Donald Wandrei – a co-founder of the publisher house, Arkham House.

There’s The Little Glass Bottle, which was a story Lovecraft wrote when he was seven years old and, unsurprisingly, is much lighter than the stuff he would write as an adult. Then, finally, there’s What the Moon Brings, a surreal experience based on a poem written by Lovecraft in 1922. Each is only around 10 minutes long, but they are interesting – in particular, The Railway Horror.

These stories, when added to the main Dagon narrative, makes the Dagon: Complete Edition a bit more worthwhile. Even if you’re still only looking at around ninety-minutes of content overall. Yet, the love and passion poured into making this an experience that lives up the horror author’s legacy will win most over. It’s a visual novel, nothing more, but it’s a really strong visual novel.