This Morrowind-Inspired RPG’s 1.0 Release Was Worth The Wait
Add Dread Delusion to the list of amazing indies you need to play this year
I first played the retro-inspired RPG Dread Delusion nearly two years ago in the first days of its early access period. I liked what I played in the handful of hours I put into it thanks to the throwback Morrowind-esque world and mechanics, as well as the hint of cosmic horror. But as someone who has a tendency to get burned out on titles before they even fully release if I play in early access, I put Dread Delusion away and told myself I would wait until 1.0. Well, that day finally came on May 14 and I’m happy to say the wait was worth it.
Dread Delusion is a game that will mostly exist in comparison. That’s in many ways by design, as the foundations of the game are so entrenched in the stylistic and mechanical elements of other titles. The game’s deep roleplaying mechanics allow for combat, magic, stealth, and more due to a reliance on skills that are pulled from Elder Scrolls. The slightly unsettling fantasy setting is reminiscent of Morrowind specifically. The polygonal graphics are inspired by the PlayStation 1 in the same way as the retro-horror trend is. But its character models feel lifted from Thief: The Dark Project. Dread Delusion expertly weaves these inspirations together into a wholly unique cloth. It’s a game talked about in comparison, that manages to be more than its inspirations.
The star of Dread Delusion is its setting, the Oneiric Isles. A floating archipelago under a menacing red sky filled with warring armies and cosmic mysteries. As a prisoner of one such army, the player is essentially deputized into the fight and tasked with the mission of taking down a rebellious woman named Vela Callose. Infiltrating her fortress and assassinating her is your first goal, which you won’t be able to complete and will send you down a dozens-of-hours quest to finish the job. Once you have your (conditional) freedom from your jailers, Dread Delusion sets you loose in its weird world.
Dread Delusion wants you to get lost. But don’t get so lost that you fall off the side of the map, these are floating islands remember? When the game warns you to watch your step at the start of your journey you, like me, might laugh and think that will never happen. Then you laugh right off the side of the island. It’s undeniably hilarious but also highlights that the world is in fact dangerous if you aren’t careful. Like Morrowi
