A Quiet Terror in Dollmare

In a rather tense early moment in Dollmare, the player finds themselves repairing a doll in a decrepit backroom of the Sweet Cheeks factory. It’s subtle, but if you’re listening closely, you can hear an unintelligible whisper coming from behind you. A quick turnaround will reveal that there’s nothing there, but that, in its purest essence, is what makes this horror game so chilling.

Created by Alex Grade, gonzeek, and Oxeren, Dollmare is an indie horror game in which you play as a doll inspector. Your only job is to inspect dolls for defects, and while that role may expand and become more complex, the goal will never change. As you grow more familiar with the job, the game goes out of its way to make every passing moment more and more uncomfortable. Dolls with frightening defects will roll down the conveyor belt, and others may even move while you’re not watching them. To top it all off, Dollmare’s horror events are unscripted, meaning no two playthroughs will be exactly the same. This unique take on horror is both refreshing and extra terrifying as you struggle to maintain your sanity during your stint as a doll inspector.

The gameplay of Dollmare strikes a nice balance of challenging and dynamic mechanics. Like many anomaly games, it’s all about spotting the difference and figuring out if the doll should be approved or disposed of. While the initial gameplay loop is sufficient enough, Dollmare continues to throw curveballs at the player by making them fix certain dolls and even inspect for voice defects. These additions elevate Dollmare from being a competent indie game to feeling like a more unique horror experience. Each new element is another chance to scare, and the developers use every single wrinkle of gameplay to increase the tension and terror throughout.

While the scares may be different in every playthrough, the narrative remains static. As an employee at the Sweet Cheeks doll factory, the player must also unravel the mystery of what happened to the previous doll inspector. This mystery is pervasive throughout the story as it just adds another layer of complexity to the world of Dollmare. Eventually, the player can solve this mystery and discover the truth behind the entire operation, but depending on which ending you get, it may or may not be too late. It’s a simple and sometimes predictable story, but the fact that it’s accompanied by a game that is as unpredictable as they come still makes it feel memorable and exciting.

At the start of Dollmare, a text box tells the player that this is a unique horror game that doesn’t have any jumpscares or chase sequences. Its message holds true, but like the cheery dolls that the player is tasked with fixing, there’s more to it than meets the eye. The quiet moments are somehow more chilling than any loud jumpscare could ever be. It constantly feels like you’re being watched, and at times, the players might almost find themselves hoping for a jumpscare just to break the tension. However, that’s precisely the point of Dollmare. While many horror games scare with surprise, Dollmare creates its horror with a building sense of dread. This minimalism is what sets the game apart, and while it was a risky move, no game could better illustrate the potential rewards that come with such a risk like Dollmare.