Fear and frustration collide
By Paul Hunter
Psychological horror thrives on uncertainty, and Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror leans into this with a story of lost memories, eerie dolls, and a decaying manor hiding unsettling secrets. Developed and published by SOEDESCO, this first-person horror adventure follows Eliza de Moor, a famous singer who wakes up in a mental hospital with no memory of how she got there. The only clue to her past lies in her abandoned family estate, where strange occurrences and disturbing figures await.
Exploration, puzzle-solving, and survival elements shape the experience as you piece together Eliza’s forgotten history. The setting shifts from ominous hospital halls to a decrepit mansion and beyond, with shadowy corridors and abandoned carnival grounds adding to the atmosphere. Every discovery raises more questions—who is Eliza, and why is she being drawn back to this place?
A horror game is only as effective as its atmosphere, and Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror builds its world with unsettling imagery, shifting perspectives, and haunting sounds. Cinematic camera angles create a film-like quality, while unpredictable moments keep you guessing about what’s real and what’s a figment of Eliza’s fractured mind. Every location has a distinct presence, from the damp, fog-covered swamps to the flickering lights of an abandoned fairground.
With its psychological themes, unsettling setting, and mysterious story, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror aims to put you at the centre of Eliza’s fractured reality. Does it succeed in delivering a truly chilling experience, or do its mysteries remain lost behind the cracks?
Eliza de Moor’s life was once filled with fame and music, but now it’s a blur. Waking up in a mental hospital with no recollection of how she got there, she’s thrust into a desperate search for answers. Her only lead is an invitation—one that directs her back to de Moor Manor, her family’s abandoned estate and the site of a now-defunct doll factory. According to her doctor, this is where the truth lies, locked away in scattered memories and unsettling remnants of the past.
From the moment Eliza steps inside the manor, reality begins to distort. The halls shift, whispers echo in empty rooms, and familiar places feel unnervingly wrong. Strange figures appear in the shadows, watching and waiting. Memories surface in fragments—visions of performances, forgotten conversations, and unsettling glimpses of something just out of reach. The deeper Eliza digs, the more she realizes that some secrets were buried for a reason.
Throughout her journey, notes and environmental clues reveal glimpses of her past, though nothing is ever straightforward. Events unfold in a way that keeps you questioning what’s real. The manor isn’t the only place tied to her history, either. The journey takes you through eerie landscapes, including an abandoned amusement park and a treacherous swamp, each location offering new pieces of the puzzle.
Eliza remains silent throughout the experience, leaving her emotions and thoughts to interpretation. While this adds to the mystery, it also creates a disconnect between her and the world around her. Conversations with other characters, like her doctor, provide context, but the story unfolds largely through exploration and scattered recollections. Some details remain intentionally vague, encouraging you to piece together the bigger picture through observation and deduction.
At its core, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror blends puzzle-solving, exploration, and horror elements into a linear adventure. You navigate eerie environments, uncover hidden memories, and tackle various puzzles that range from simple logic challenges to more abstract sequences requiring keen observation. The game encourages methodical exploration, leading you through the twisted halls of de Moor Manor, a decayed amusement park, and other unsettling locations, each with its own mysteries to unravel.
Puzzles are central to progression, though they vary in complexity. Some require manipulating objects in the environment, while others demand memorization or deciphering cryptic symbols. One particularly tricky sequence involves interacting with symbols in a specific order—except the game offers no hints on what that order is. Making the wrong choice results in an immediate reset, turning the puzzle into a frustrating trial-and-error process. While some challenges fit naturally within the story, others feel disconnected, as if designed more to impede progress than to enhance the mystery.
The game’s horror elements stem from its unsettling atmosphere and enemy encounters. Dolls, clowns, and other eerie figures roam the environments, some stalking from the shadows while others lunge unexpectedly. Though a firearm is available, combat often feels more like an interruption than a necessity. The game provides ample ammunition, reducing tension, as most enemies shuffle slowly and pose little threat. A late-game encounter with a clown breaks this pattern, forcing you into an instant-fail chase sequence. This sudden shift in mechanics feels jarring, especially since the game never repeats it.
Environmental hazards add another layer of challenge. In the swamp area, narrow platforms make movement difficult, and falling into the water results in instant death. With no jump mechanic, even small obstacles can become major frustrations. Getting stuck on environmental objects is common, and at times, backtracking feels more tedious than rewarding. These gameplay issues hold back Dollhouse, which is unfortunate because the potential is there.
In Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror, the presentation feels disconnected from the eerie atmosphere it strives to create. The game’s visuals aim to evoke a haunting, unsettling vibe, but they often fall short. The environments vary in design, but none of them feel cohesive. The village area feels starkly different from the amusement park, and the swamp, while appropriately murky, becomes a frustrating, confusing maze rather than a chilling experience.
The lack of cohesive environmental design leads to jarring shifts in tone. One moment, you're exploring a dilapidated mansion, and the next, you're walking through a brightly coloured, almost cartoonish carnival. While some might find this variety interesting, the lack of connection between areas detracts from the overall sense of immersion.
Character models are serviceable, though not remarkable. The enemies—dolls, clowns, and other unsettling figures—feel like they could have benefited from more variety in design and animation. They all shuffle slowly toward you, making them more of a nuisance than a real threat.
Audio design, unfortunately, further weakens the experience. Early on, a deep, bass-heavy sound dominates the soundtrack, becoming grating and headache-inducing. While this is meant to build atmosphere, it instead creates discomfort that detracts from any tension the game tries to muster. Throughout the game, ambient sounds often feel mismatched, and there’s a noticeable lack of sound cues when certain events occur, such as gates closing behind you, leaving you stuck in rooms filled with enemies. The decision to cut all audio when picking up items kills any potential immersion and adds to the sense of disconnection.
Performance-wise, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror runs inconsistently. While load times are decent, visual glitches and camera issues often pull you out of the experience. The camera constantly shifts between angles, sometimes at awkward moments, creating confusion during conversations or enemy encounters.
With its visual and audio inconsistencies, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror struggles to maintain the eerie atmosphere it sets out to deliver. Instead of adding to the tension, the presentation often distracts from the experience.
Final Score: 5/10 - Mediocre
Developer: Soedesco, Grindstone, Indigo Studios
Publisher: Soedesco
Genre: Horror, Adventure
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Psychological horror thrives on uncertainty, and Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror leans into this with a story of lost memories, eerie dolls, and a decaying manor hiding unsettling secrets. Developed and published by SOEDESCO, this first-person horror adventure follows Eliza de Moor, a famous singer who wakes up in a mental hospital with no memory of how she got there. The only clue to her past lies in her abandoned family estate, where strange occurrences and disturbing figures await.
Exploration, puzzle-solving, and survival elements shape the experience as you piece together Eliza’s forgotten history. The setting shifts from ominous hospital halls to a decrepit mansion and beyond, with shadowy corridors and abandoned carnival grounds adding to the atmosphere. Every discovery raises more questions—who is Eliza, and why is she being drawn back to this place?
A horror game is only as effective as its atmosphere, and Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror builds its world with unsettling imagery, shifting perspectives, and haunting sounds. Cinematic camera angles create a film-like quality, while unpredictable moments keep you guessing about what’s real and what’s a figment of Eliza’s fractured mind. Every location has a distinct presence, from the damp, fog-covered swamps to the flickering lights of an abandoned fairground.
With its psychological themes, unsettling setting, and mysterious story, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror aims to put you at the centre of Eliza’s fractured reality. Does it succeed in delivering a truly chilling experience, or do its mysteries remain lost behind the cracks?
Eliza de Moor’s life was once filled with fame and music, but now it’s a blur. Waking up in a mental hospital with no recollection of how she got there, she’s thrust into a desperate search for answers. Her only lead is an invitation—one that directs her back to de Moor Manor, her family’s abandoned estate and the site of a now-defunct doll factory. According to her doctor, this is where the truth lies, locked away in scattered memories and unsettling remnants of the past.
From the moment Eliza steps inside the manor, reality begins to distort. The halls shift, whispers echo in empty rooms, and familiar places feel unnervingly wrong. Strange figures appear in the shadows, watching and waiting. Memories surface in fragments—visions of performances, forgotten conversations, and unsettling glimpses of something just out of reach. The deeper Eliza digs, the more she realizes that some secrets were buried for a reason.
Throughout her journey, notes and environmental clues reveal glimpses of her past, though nothing is ever straightforward. Events unfold in a way that keeps you questioning what’s real. The manor isn’t the only place tied to her history, either. The journey takes you through eerie landscapes, including an abandoned amusement park and a treacherous swamp, each location offering new pieces of the puzzle.
Eliza remains silent throughout the experience, leaving her emotions and thoughts to interpretation. While this adds to the mystery, it also creates a disconnect between her and the world around her. Conversations with other characters, like her doctor, provide context, but the story unfolds largely through exploration and scattered recollections. Some details remain intentionally vague, encouraging you to piece together the bigger picture through observation and deduction.
At its core, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror blends puzzle-solving, exploration, and horror elements into a linear adventure. You navigate eerie environments, uncover hidden memories, and tackle various puzzles that range from simple logic challenges to more abstract sequences requiring keen observation. The game encourages methodical exploration, leading you through the twisted halls of de Moor Manor, a decayed amusement park, and other unsettling locations, each with its own mysteries to unravel.
Puzzles are central to progression, though they vary in complexity. Some require manipulating objects in the environment, while others demand memorization or deciphering cryptic symbols. One particularly tricky sequence involves interacting with symbols in a specific order—except the game offers no hints on what that order is. Making the wrong choice results in an immediate reset, turning the puzzle into a frustrating trial-and-error process. While some challenges fit naturally within the story, others feel disconnected, as if designed more to impede progress than to enhance the mystery.
The game’s horror elements stem from its unsettling atmosphere and enemy encounters. Dolls, clowns, and other eerie figures roam the environments, some stalking from the shadows while others lunge unexpectedly. Though a firearm is available, combat often feels more like an interruption than a necessity. The game provides ample ammunition, reducing tension, as most enemies shuffle slowly and pose little threat. A late-game encounter with a clown breaks this pattern, forcing you into an instant-fail chase sequence. This sudden shift in mechanics feels jarring, especially since the game never repeats it.
Environmental hazards add another layer of challenge. In the swamp area, narrow platforms make movement difficult, and falling into the water results in instant death. With no jump mechanic, even small obstacles can become major frustrations. Getting stuck on environmental objects is common, and at times, backtracking feels more tedious than rewarding. These gameplay issues hold back Dollhouse, which is unfortunate because the potential is there.
In Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror, the presentation feels disconnected from the eerie atmosphere it strives to create. The game’s visuals aim to evoke a haunting, unsettling vibe, but they often fall short. The environments vary in design, but none of them feel cohesive. The village area feels starkly different from the amusement park, and the swamp, while appropriately murky, becomes a frustrating, confusing maze rather than a chilling experience.
The lack of cohesive environmental design leads to jarring shifts in tone. One moment, you're exploring a dilapidated mansion, and the next, you're walking through a brightly coloured, almost cartoonish carnival. While some might find this variety interesting, the lack of connection between areas detracts from the overall sense of immersion.
Character models are serviceable, though not remarkable. The enemies—dolls, clowns, and other unsettling figures—feel like they could have benefited from more variety in design and animation. They all shuffle slowly toward you, making them more of a nuisance than a real threat.
Audio design, unfortunately, further weakens the experience. Early on, a deep, bass-heavy sound dominates the soundtrack, becoming grating and headache-inducing. While this is meant to build atmosphere, it instead creates discomfort that detracts from any tension the game tries to muster. Throughout the game, ambient sounds often feel mismatched, and there’s a noticeable lack of sound cues when certain events occur, such as gates closing behind you, leaving you stuck in rooms filled with enemies. The decision to cut all audio when picking up items kills any potential immersion and adds to the sense of disconnection.
Performance-wise, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror runs inconsistently. While load times are decent, visual glitches and camera issues often pull you out of the experience. The camera constantly shifts between angles, sometimes at awkward moments, creating confusion during conversations or enemy encounters.
With its visual and audio inconsistencies, Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror struggles to maintain the eerie atmosphere it sets out to deliver. Instead of adding to the tension, the presentation often distracts from the experience.
The Verdict
Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror offers a mix of horror and puzzle-solving, but its inconsistent presentation, frustrating gameplay mechanics, and technical flaws hinder its potential. While the game has some redeeming qualities, such as decent voice acting and moments of suspense, its disjointed story, confusing puzzles, and lack of polish make it difficult to recommend. If you enjoy quirky horror games with puzzles, you might find something to appreciate, but overall, the experience feels underwhelming and frustrating.Final Score: 5/10 - Mediocre
Dollhouse: Behind The Broken Mirror details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PCDeveloper: Soedesco, Grindstone, Indigo Studios
Publisher: Soedesco
Genre: Horror, Adventure
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.