- Publisher: Jesse Makkonen
- Release Date: May 19, 2025
- Also On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
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Summary:
Without a Dawn is a dark, psychological, and philosophical visual horror novel featuring hauntingly beautiful pseudo-ASCII art.
- Developer: Jesse Makkonen
- Genre(s): Adventure, Visual Novel
- # of players: No Online Multiplayer
- Cheats: On GameFAQs
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 3 out of 3
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Mixed: 0 out of 3
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Negative: 0 out of 3
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Aug 12, 2025Without a Dawn is all about offering us a chilling, psychological title in the form of a visual novel. I think it works extremely well, it manages to showcase the depth of human philosophy, while also showing us how easy it is for people to manipulate their own mind. At the same time, Without a Dawn shows us how troublesome depression and anxiety can be, if we just live with them and don’t tackle the core issues behind them. For me, Without a Dawn was a great game, despite being on the short side. Its visuals are incredible, I rarely see ASCII art used in games, let alone at this level. They have great atmospheric music, eerie visuals and the fact you get horror elements without cheap jump scares is a major plus for me. It’s an excellent, albeit short game, but it delves deeply into the human psyche, and you truly feel for the character and her journey. It even makes you question your sanity at times, and that’s definitely the sign of a good game.
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May 19, 2025Without a Dawn feels down-to-earth, even small-scale compared to Makkonen's previous games, but at the same time it's a truly heavy experience. The visual novel takes you straight into darkness, both literally and figuratively.
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Jun 4, 2025Clicking through the short, experimental visual horror story Without a Dawn is so chilling that you’ll probably be willing to overlook the complete lack of gameplay usually found in a Jesse Makkonen adventure.