10 Dead Doves Review - Low-Poly Graphics Meets High-Quality Storytelling
10 Dead Doves: A haunting indie horror blending Appalachian myths, emotional storytelling, and low-poly nostalgia. A must-play journey!
10 Dead Doves
Studio: Duonix Studios
Publisher: Duonix Studios
Platforms: Steam
Completion Time: Approximately 7 - 8 hours
Price: $24.99
Genre: Indie Horror, Adventure
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby Review of 10 Dead Doves, a horror game packed with jump scares, witty banter, internal struggles, and otherworldly phenomena, all tied to navigating personal relationships. Let's turn on our flashlights and try to find the light in the darkness.
A Journey Through Myths and Relationships
Let’s begin with the story of 10 Dead Doves. You play as Marc Stetson, a backpacker who has convinced his long-time friend Sean to join him on a mission to discover the Ant Farm in the Appalachian Mountains. It’s something Marc is dead set on proving—whether this mysterious place is an urban legend or an urban myth.
Throughout the playthrough, you will encounter many paths in the forests and abandoned parks that intertwine with messages from the bird-like figures of his dreams, touching on his relationships and how he has navigated them over the years.
I am going to try my best to describe as much as possible without spoiling any of the game because the abstract and artful world Duonix Studios has created is one for the ages that you should experience with a clear mind.
The demo was a tight experience, giving you the movie-quality intro, premise, horror aspect, and witty banter you experience throughout. But in the full game, you get it in broad strokes. The deeper you go into the game, witty banter and jokes are spread around sparingly and end up with darker themes of being a parent, relationships with loved ones, and how real friendships can be when put in the main focus.
The Complex Bonds of Marc and Sean
Let’s dive a little deeper into the main characters, who are named and played by the Duonix Studios leads Mark Byram II and Sean-Michael Millard.
Marcus Stetson is a complicated man. We are given hints that he is suffering from narcoleptic episodes, his relationship with his daughter—who he regrettably didn’t want—and the complexities of fatherhood, his romantic relationship with a shadowed figure representing his lover, and last but not least, his best friend Sean and their ongoing banter and fighting. How he doubles down on being verbally abusive leads you down a dark and depressing path.
Sean is Marc's right hand. He was there for the arguments with Marc's loved ones, he was there on the hiking trips used to escape, and he's there pranking Marc over the years, putting him in these horror-based scenarios even at the worst possible moments. Is he a helpful companion in life or just another locked door—not fully there for support or with the right advice?
Let’s get back to the intro of the game. You and Sean make your way towards the Ant Farm and need gas at a rest stop. The setting is perfect for a horror experience with a dark forest area. Things quickly escalate when you are chased by a tree-like figure, and both you and Sean are separated in the place known as the Ant Farm. You spend a majority of the time trying to find a way back to each other. That is as far as I will go without giving too much away.
Exploration, Puzzles, and Cinematic Horror
The game is pretty straightforward; you explore forests, dark hallways, and areas, collecting new pieces of notes and information building on the Ant Farm and what it is exactly from those who came there before you. The fixed camera perspective, a staple of early horror games, is present throughout the game, giving you an easy jump scare pretty often. I typically play horror games at night not to spook my 6-year-old, so I was getting surprised by almost every jump scare.
With long corridors or intertwining forest paths, you have to find items or solve certain puzzles to unlock new areas—either by collecting different pieces of wood you find to complete a broken wooden bridge or the missing hand of a character in a theme park whose statues need to face a particular direction.
That is the core gameplay loop. The extras are the videotapes or cassette tapes you find with recordings of the people who worked in this odd place or theme park, describing their experiences and how they also went through its trials and tribulations to find themselves at the end.
There are no weapons and no typical boss battles but more of horror movie chase scene sequences that are fun and at times stressful, as you would expect.
Low-Poly Nostalgia Meets Cinematic Adventure
I am sensing a theme of low-poly games released in 2024, especially with the ones I've had the pleasure to review, like Sorry We’re Closed, Grunn, and Mouthwashing. The visuals play a big role because they have the nostalgic feeling of older games and give the indie game studio the opportunity to play with bigger styles of grand gestures and effects that won’t weigh heavy on hardware.
It’s a cinematic adventure at its core, so at times, it feels like movie set pieces with the fixed angles and theatrics surrounding the wonderful voice acting. Think Resident Evil of the past meets the strange forests of Alan Wake and also the polished hallways of Control. Pop them all into this indie game blender, and out comes 10 Dead Doves. This 2000s-inspired visual style looks to be a staple for indie games lately, and I am loving every bit of it.
Haunting Atmosphere and Emotional Resonance
The sound design has a significant impact in 10 Dead Doves. Walking around the forest, cracking branches, whispers, and talking in the distance give you a haunting feeling each time you need to go around a corner not knowing what’s on the other side. If you walk into something the wrong way, you get a sound indicating it, which is very helpful with off-camera movements in the fixed camera view.
The soundtrack is brilliant and lifts the game to a movie-like style throughout. We are even greeted with a musical number in the late game I am assuming is sung by Sean, much to my personal delight. This is all where Daniel Willard, the composer—and I am just assuming it is Sean’s real-life brother considering they share the same name—shines. The haunting musical numbers set a mature tone with adrenaline-pumping songs for scenes where you are chased throughout.
The game has a strangely haunting score that complements the cinematic adventure. Take a listen:
A Must-Play Indie Horror Experience
One common saying about having a child is that everything changes, and this rings true for Marc. His journey as an unprepared father, grappling with complex struggles amid haunting fever dreams and otherworldly monsters manipulating his life, unfolds as a sorrowful exposition.
The demo, which teases playful banter and light-hearted gameplay between Sean and Marc, is not exactly a misdirection—but it certainly feels like one. The tone shifts dramatically as we delve into the characters’ backstories and uncover how they ended up in this Appalachian world. Marc’s journey through the depths of his own soul, culminating in multiple endings, reveals either his deepest regrets or a remorseful understanding of life itself.
During a chase scene, I encountered a bug that prevented my character from running, seemingly tied to the auto-sprint setting. While disappointing, the Duonix Studios team was incredibly responsive—Mark quickly addressed the issue on the Steam community page and released an update that fixed it. Their dedication, especially during the busy holiday season, is a testament to their hard work.
It took me roughly 8 hours to finish and the game is priced at a more than reasonable $25 for the full adventure you get. Do you want to know my own personal regret about 10 Dead Doves? That I didn’t have the time to play it earlier because it would have easily made it onto my 25 best indie games of 2024. 10 Dead Doves is a must-play for low-poly horror fans ready for jump scares, comedic dialogue, and an open mind for how to navigate being a good person in less-than-ideal situations.
Thank you for reading my review of 10 Dead Doves. If you are looking for more indie horror games, check out my review of Mouthwashing, and if you haven’t seen it already, check out my 25 Best Indie Games of 2024 Part 1 and Part 2 with many horror, cozy, and all-around indie games. Don’t forget to subscribe, and as always, GG!
Without saying too much, I kind of went with the game until key moments happened that showed me the situation. I just said a whole lot of nothing with maybe some something. Good review, and I would recommend this game to people who even aren't a fan of horror, because the horror isn't too heavy in this game.
And you're so right about the visual style. I gotta add pictures and gifs like you do.
This sounds intriguing despite it being a horror game as the visuals you have shown are very nice. I also like the story behind it that you describe so will keep an eye out for it. Maybe it will be my first indie horror game I play!