'Dreader' Unnerves as You Weave a Mouse Pointer Through Mazes

[ad_1] <img width="850" height="478" class="attachment-newspaperly-slider size-newspaperly-slider wp-post-image lazyload" alt="Dreader" decoding="async" src="https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-850x478.jpg" srcset="https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-850x478.jpg 850w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-740x416.jpg 740w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-150x84.jpg 150w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1.jpg 1920w" data-sizes="auto" data-eio-rwidth="850" data-eio-rheight="478"/><img width="850" height="478" src="https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-850x478.jpg" class="attachment-newspaperly-slider size-newspaperly-slider wp-post-image" alt="Dreader" decoding="async" srcset="https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-850x478.jpg 850w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-740x416.jpg 740w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-150x84.jpg 150w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://s3-igpbucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/31031102/dreader-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" data-eio="l"/>

Dreader duties you with transferring your mouse pointer down some mazes with out making a mistake as eerie issues occur round you.

Throughout the early days I spent on the web, I had the misfortune of stumbling throughout a maze sport the place I needed to lead my mouse pointer to the tip. Not onerous, besides you couldn’t let your pointer transfer outdoors of the partitions otherwise you’d have to start out once more. I had a few clumsy restarts as a consequence of my shaky arms, however after some time, I used to be doing fairly properly. Then I reached this slim a part of the maze the place you needed to be tremendous regular for those who wished to get by means of. Squinting and sitting near the display to observe each motion fastidiously, I used to be in a first-rate place for the sport to hit me with a bounce scare. By no means performed a sport like that once more.

Besides now I’m taking part in one that pulls from that very same kind of play and concern, however does so with a lot better ambiance. Right here, you want to make your method by means of some slim mazes, however the scares appear to be occurring round you greater than they're on the pc. As your actions are performed out by the on-screen character, bathed within the inexperienced glow of the monitor, the sport begins to mess with you. Did you see one thing transfer simply there? What’s happening with the in-game instructions? Why is it exhibiting a video of my again, and why is the footage getting nearer and nearer?

Dreader makes you uneasy, and for me, I discovered it made me begin to mess up when working by means of the mazes. And that made the hazards really feel like they had been creeping nearer each second, which in flip made me screw up worse, making a cycle of failure and rigidity that makes this sport actually get beneath your pores and skin.

Dreader is playable now on itch.io.

About The Writer Joel Couture

Joel has been protecting indie video games for varied websites together with IndieGames.com, Siliconera, Gamasutra, Warp Door, CG Journal, and extra over the previous seven years, and has written book-length research on Undertale and P.T.. Joel is continually looking out for digital experiences that push the boundaries of what video games will be, and seeks to delve into the inventive course of, meanings, and emotion labor that goes into the work of artists worldwide.