Dutch game publisher SODESCO has announced that the film noir horror experience Dollhouse will be disturbing players on both PlayStation 4 and Steam sometime this year. This release window may be large and vague, but it’s likely reliable; Dollhouse has been in development by Creazn Studio since 2014 but SODESCO just became involved last year, and all info released since makes things look like production is slowly but surely wrapping up. Accompanying this announcement is the release of the official box art for Dollhouse on PS4.
Dollhouse is a psychological horror game set in Hollywood in the 1950’s that puts players in the role of detective named Marie who’s lost her memories. There are only two facts Marie is sure of: her daughter is dead, and she is being haunted by something malevolent. You must escape from your pursuer as your sort through your memories and put the puzzle pieces together to find the truth. There are also a few features that set Dollhouse apart from its contemporaries in the gameplay department: there’s a multiplayer mode included, levels are procedurally generated, your character is upgradable with over 40 abilities and passives, and you’re able to see through the eyes of your enemy (which sounds much like classic PlayStation 2 horror title, Siren).
Abilities, passives, and procedurally generated levels make Dollhouse out to be something akin to a rougelike rather than the common first-person “walking simulator” style horror games that P.T. inspired. Hopefully Dollhouse will be a blend giving us the best of both worlds. While it isn’t entirely clear from the information released so far, I believe Dollhouse will allow players to fight back against enemies using limited resources in a similar way to Resident Evil 7, versus being completely helpless and forced to run or hide like in Outlast. I come to this assumption based on the inclusion of an upgrade system, the competitive multiplayer (I don’t think they’d limit their combat system to one mode), and the short shot of the character who looks to be protagonist Marie holding a pistol in Dollhouse’s trailer. There’s sure to be a trailer featuring gameplay before the game’s release, and we’ll be sure to feature it here when it’s released. Stay tuned to NerdBacon for future info on this stylish horror experience!