The narrative is the game’s heart, with 71 positive mentions out of 87, drawing players into a tense, atmospheric mystery that feels more like an interactive film than a traditional adventure. Yet behind the slick audio and solid gameplay—57 positive mentions out of 74—persistent bugs and performance hiccups keep a minority of reviewers frustrated, and only 86 % of post‑release Steam reviews rate it positively.
What it's about: Find your missing friend. Uncover the secrets within. Brave a luxurious and haunting mansion in Dead Take, a first-person psychological horror crafted by Surgent Studios.
In-game
« Pros: - awesome game - awesome story - amazing actors Cons: - got jumpscared :( »👍 anonymous review · Aug 2025 · 4 h played11« Une expérience narrative et horrifique très intéressante avec une mise en scène géniale et des acteurs qui jouent leur rôle à la perfection ! »👍 anonymous review · Mar 2026 · 5 h played« Très bonne ambiance d'horreur avec ce titre! J'aurais aimé que les puzzles poussent davantage la note & que la fin de l'histoire soit plus punché, mais j'ai apprécié l'approche au côté ''dark'' de l'industrie du divertissement »👍 anonymous review · Dec 2025 · 4 h played« Au top, laissez-vous plonger dans l'histoire .. »👍 anonymous review · Nov 2025 · 5 h played« Très bon jeu. L'ambiance est vraiment top, on est tout de suite dedans. Le gameplay est très fluide, les enigmes, les puzzles, tout s'enchaine bien et facilement. »👍 anonymous review · Aug 2025 · 6 h played« Great story and greater actors, what more could you want? »👍 anonymous review · Aug 2025 · 5 h played
« Writing is generally weak, but performances of actors is very good. We genuinely had to look up if AI was used in the writing because it fell into the chatGPT model of "its not just x, its y" so many times. »👎 anonymous review · Dec 2025 · 4 h played11« pas ouf très loin d'un jeu d'horreur »👎 anonymous review · Mar 2026 · 2 h played« what if we take some really popular voice actors and personalities and make a horror game out of cheap takes we make them record »👎 anonymous review · Oct 2025 · 3 h played« I was willing to let the horrible UE lighting and texture maps slide because I was excited by the cast of this game but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, the writing is on par with an edgelord fanfiction and the jump scares instantly cheapen the experience :/ »👎 anonymous review · Dec 2025 · 2 h played« Not a fan, at all. It had some cool puzzles, but the plot was not it and the acting was even worse. On top of all, I played and completed this game, but didn't get a single achievement. Buggy AF. Waste of time and money. »👎 anonymous review · Oct 2025 · 6 h played« It's a short (~4 hours) psychological horror puzzle game, which let's you delve into dark side of the movie industry. I liked it, even if it was short! »👍 anonymous review · Jul 2025 · 4 h played
In players' words
« Pros: - awesome game - awesome story - amazing actors Cons: - got jumpscared :( »👍 anonymous review · Aug 2025 · 4 h played11« Writing is generally weak, but performances of actors is very good. We genuinely had to look up if AI was used in the writing because it fell into the chatGPT model of "its not just x, its y" so many times. »👎 anonymous review · Dec 2025 · 4 h played11« Une expérience narrative et horrifique très intéressante avec une mise en scène géniale et des acteurs qui jouent leur rôle à la perfection ! »👍 anonymous review · Mar 2026 · 5 h played« pas ouf très loin d'un jeu d'horreur »👎 anonymous review · Mar 2026 · 2 h played« Très bonne ambiance d'horreur avec ce titre! J'aurais aimé que les puzzles poussent davantage la note & que la fin de l'histoire soit plus punché, mais j'ai apprécié l'approche au côté ''dark'' de l'industrie du divertissement »👍 anonymous review · Dec 2025 · 4 h played« what if we take some really popular voice actors and personalities and make a horror game out of cheap takes we make them record »👎 anonymous review · Oct 2025 · 3 h played« Au top, laissez-vous plonger dans l'histoire .. »👍 anonymous review · Nov 2025 · 5 h played« I was willing to let the horrible UE lighting and texture maps slide because I was excited by the cast of this game but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, the writing is on par with an edgelord fanfiction and the jump scares instantly cheapen the experience :/ »👎 anonymous review · Dec 2025 · 2 h played« Très bon jeu. L'ambiance est vraiment top, on est tout de suite dedans. Le gameplay est très fluide, les enigmes, les puzzles, tout s'enchaine bien et facilement. »👍 anonymous review · Aug 2025 · 6 h played« Not a fan, at all. It had some cool puzzles, but the plot was not it and the acting was even worse. On top of all, I played and completed this game, but didn't get a single achievement. Buggy AF. Waste of time and money. »👎 anonymous review · Oct 2025 · 6 h played« Great story and greater actors, what more could you want? »👍 anonymous review · Aug 2025 · 5 h played« It's a short (~4 hours) psychological horror puzzle game, which let's you delve into dark side of the movie industry. I liked it, even if it was short! »👍 anonymous review · Jul 2025 · 4 h played
Anonymized excerpts from public Steam reviews — picked among those most voted "helpful" by the community.
What players say, by aspect
PositiveMixedNegative
Story / writing
82 % pos · n=87
Gameplay
77 % pos · n=74
Audio / music
92 % pos · n=40
Graphics / art
72 % pos · n=18
Value for money
86 % pos · n=7
Performance
33 % pos · n=6
Stability / bugs
0 % pos · n=6
Interface / UX
33 % pos · n=6
Content / longevity
0 % pos · n=5
Multiplayer
100 % pos · n=1
Detailed data (table)
Aspect
Mentions
Positive
Mixed
Negative
Story / writing
87
71
5
11
Gameplay
74
57
6
11
Audio / music
40
37
0
3
Graphics / art
18
13
0
5
Value for money
7
6
0
1
Performance
6
2
0
4
Stability / bugs
6
0
0
6
Interface / UX
6
2
0
4
Content / longevity
5
0
0
5
Multiplayer
1
1
0
0
Positive reviews by playtime
🎮 Players who like it have spent 5.3 h on median; those who dislike it: 4.1 h.
<2h
32 % (n=19)
2-10h
89 % (n=357)
10-25h
93 % (n=28)
>25h
67 % (n=3)
Fixed or still broken? Sentiment over time
➡️ Stable reception over time
% of positive reviews per month (months with ≥ 15 sample reviews).
of players have unlocked the rarest achievement — the upper bound of those who "100%'d" it. 19 achievements in total; the median achievement is unlocked by 58,3 % of players.
Fans of narrative‑driven, horror‑infused adventures who appreciate FMV‑style storytelling and puzzle‑solving will find the game rewarding, especially when technical snags are set aside.
Is Dead Take worth it in 2026?
Yes — player reception is very positive: 88% of 826 Steam reviews are positive (player score 84/100). Most-praised strength: Story. Current price: 9,09€ (35% off).
Verdict
Dead Take delivers a compelling cinematic experience with strong storytelling and sound design, but itsorchid of bugs and performance glitches dampens overall enjoyment. For those willing to overlook the technical hiccups, it remains a memorable indie adventure that shines in its atmospheric strengths.
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