Dorm 17

I first played Dorm 17 before release and reported several problems with the preview build. Unfortunately, after returning to the game following its release, many of the same issues still seem to be present. The premise itself isn't bad. You arrive for your first night working as a receptionist at a dormitory, starting with mundane tasks before things gradually become more unsettling. I also don't mind the PSX-style graphics. They aren't really my preferred visual style, but that's a matter of personal taste and not something I would criticize the game for. The problems start with the actual gameplay. The opening is extremely slow. Even the initial drive takes quite a while despite very little happening, and movement on foot feels unnecessarily sluggish as well. Walking and running barely feel different, making simple traversal take longer than it needs to. There are also numerous collision problems. I was able to glitch through objects and other cars, drive through trees beside the road and essentially leave the intended route because large parts of the surrounding world have very little collision. At one point I drove into the terrain, ended up underneath the map and watched my car spin around uncontrollably. Restart. On another attempt, my suitcase became partially stuck inside the car after I got back into it, making it unnecessarily difficult to retrieve. The dormitory itself unfortunately didn't improve my experience much. Some doors display an interaction prompt despite apparently not being usable. Registering ten new students at the reception desk becomes repetitive very quickly, and the font makes certain letters and numbers unnecessarily difficult to distinguish. Eventually I sat down in a chair and, after getting back up, became stuck next to it. Another restart. And this leads to probably my biggest problem with Dorm 17: there is no save system. In a short, linear horror game that might normally be acceptable. But when game-breaking bugs can force you to restart the entire experience, the lack of saving becomes extremely frustrating. Repeating the long drive, slow traversal and reception tasks because the game broke is not scary or atmospheric — it is simply tedious. I originally encountered these problems in the pre-release version and deliberately didn't publish a negative Steam review at the time. Instead, I reported my experience as feedback so the developer had an opportunity to address the issues before launch. Now that the game has been released, however, the same fundamental problems still appear to exist. That's particularly disappointing because there might be an interesting little horror story somewhere behind all of this. The concept of working a night shift at a dormitory while increasingly strange things happen could absolutely work. The Steam page describes the game as a short experience designed to be completed in one sitting, and that makes reliable progression even more important. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to properly experience that story because bugs repeatedly stopped my playthrough before I could get far enough. Dorm 17 needs considerably more technical polish. Collision issues need to be addressed, progression-blocking bugs need to be eliminated, and either the game needs to become reliable enough that restarting isn't a realistic concern or some form of checkpoint/save system needs to be added. I gave the preview build the benefit of the doubt because it was exactly that: a preview. After release, I can only evaluate the game that is actually available. And in its current state, I unfortunately cannot recommend Dorm 17. --- [b]Step deeper into the darkness — discover more horror gems and nightmares.[/b] 💀 [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45809849-Sanctum-of-Horror/]Sanctum of Horror – Steam Curator[/url] 🎮 [url=https://www.twitch.tv/CobarGaming]CobarGaming on Twitch[/url] 📺 [url=https://www.youtube.com/@CobarGaming]CobarGaming on YouTube[/url]

Creepy from the start, there is no time wasted before creating an eerie atmosphere. The mood and background audio do all the work of immersing the player into the game. A good psychological horror game to play with a headset on and the lights off.

Surprisingly good horror game. The dormitory setting creates a really creepy atmosphere, and the game keeps you feeling uncomfortable in the best way possible. Definitely worth playing if you're into indie horror games.

There are multiple collision bugs where I can drive through trees, walk through objects, and generally many other bugs. Also, the scaling is a big problem; some things are scaled enormously, while others are weird. When it comes to the gameplay, it's a bit short and has nothing much to do. Jumpscares were also not good and just loud. I would highly recommend the dev to fix the game first and maybe change the price because in its current state it's not worth 4.15.... A good start would be maybe making it free, getting support, and starting to make slightly bigger games. Many horror devs start like that the best example is the fears-to-fathom series. 3 out of 10 horror.

Not for those with nyctalopia, I would've loved to play this game, however I just couldn't see anything at all. I get that they're going for a dark atmosphere, but it clashes with my condition. Instead of being creeped out, I got frustrated because I couldn't see the areas where I needed to go.

What a game. As a living tenant of that dormitory, the electricity room jumpscare was crazy! Great sound design, lots of easter eggs for those who actually know the dormitory themselves :P Highly reccomended!!!👍👍👍

I like the dark atmosphere and graphics

Honestly, I really enjoyed this game. I played for about an hour and I was genuinely surprised by how good the atmosphere is. The PSX-style graphics, sound design, and overall presentation fit the horror vibe really well. What I especially liked is that the game doesn't rely on constant jumpscares. It slowly builds tension and makes you feel uncomfortable while you're just doing your job. After a while, even normal things start making you think, "Okay... something is definitely going to happen." I don't want to spoil anything about the story, but for a short experience, I think the game does a really good job creating an interesting and creepy atmosphere. If you enjoy PSX-style indie horror games, I definitely recommend giving this one a try. Really nice work by the developers.

As a streamer, I purchased the game and played it live on stream. The atmosphere and gameplay mechanics were really good, and I think it’s definitely one of those games that is worth its price. There are a few features that are currently missing, which I have already mentioned to the developers. Hopefully, they will be addressed and added in future updates.