Dread Hunger
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Dread Hunger
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Dread Hunger is a downloadable multiplayer social survival game available on Windows based PCs. Eight players take on key roles as part of a 19th Century Arctic exploration mission. Secretly, two of those players are tasked with sabotaging the mission and killing the other players. While players must gather materials and craft supplies to survive the expedition, they must also look out for who the traitors are in their midst. Violence and death are core parts of the gameplay, with players often getting killed in brutal ways and even having their corpses eaten by teammates. Communication is an important part of the game, both for coordination and to throw off suspicion. The drawback to this is that it opens players up to lots of profanity and offensive comments from other players via voice chat.
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What’s It About?
DREAD HUNGER drops players into a world of survival and betrayal, set amongst the backdrop of a harrowing 19th century exploration of the Arctic. Eight players must work together to survive the elements, collecting food, fuel, and other resources from the harsh tundra, in an effort to make their escape and claim their fortunes. But an ancient and sinister force is also at work, corrupting two of the players as its Thrall. Under the influence of this evil presence, the Thrall are tasked with making sure that none of the members of the expedition survive to tell their tale. What do you do when the person closest to you could be the one secretly plotting your demise? Will you work together to root out the saboteurs lurking in your midst? And if resources get low enough, how far might you be willing to go to live to see another day?
Is It Any Good?
After the huge success of Among Us, more than a few games have tried to mimic the formula, creating a new genre of "social disruption" games. These games force players to work together while also trying to find the saboteur hiding in their midst, but Dread Hunger ditches cartoonish comedy in favor of pure survival horror. The game's unique setting is perfect for a survival game, with players fighting against the elements for food, weapons, and other vital resources. But it also makes an already dark game even more disturbing. This is a game where a viable tactic to survive is to practice cannibalism and eat your fellow crewmembers' bodies when they pass. And that's regardless of whether or not you're one of the Thrall under the influence of whatever supernatural evil lies under the ice.
Dread Hunger's mechanics and controls are rough and clunky on the whole. There's a steep learning curve in figuring out how to function within the game, and an even steeper curve when it comes to doing so without raising suspicion, whether you're a Thrall or not. The game's also a vastly different experience depending on how you play, or more specifically, who you play with. Your best bet is to try and drum up a group of seven friends to play with, and to make sure you have the voice chat set up. Newcomers to the game tend to immediately be singled out as suspect if for no other reason than their odd behavior as they learn the game. Also, while voice chat is almost essential to communicate with others, there's often a lot of, let's call it "spirited," conversations. This can be goofy fun if everyone knows each other, but it can be extremely uncomfortable with strangers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about trust and teamwork. How important is trust when working with others toward a common goal? Where is the line between cautious observation and paranoia, and how can a person keep from crossing that line?
What are some positive ways to communicate with others in a social setting? How can good communication help to encourage others and to open up a positive exchange of information?
Game Details
- Platform: Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Digital Confectioners
- Release date: January 26, 2022
- Genre: Survival Horror
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Adventures, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires, Science and Nature
- ESRB rating: NR for No Descriptions
- Last updated: February 12, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
-
Among Us
Simple visuals hide deep gameplay of deception, deduction.
-
Werewolves Within
Social VR game hinges on unmoderated interaction, deception.
-
The Thing (1982)
Gory fear fest is a classic the faint-hearted should skip.
For kids who love scares
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