10 Dead Doves

Did You Know?

• The game was nominated for Best Narrative at the Horror Game Awards in 2025, losing to Silent Hill f.
• Adventure Game Hotspot critiqued the game's unconventional narrative structure and clunky tank controls.
• The developers cited films such as Stalker and Synecdoche, New York as major inspirations.

Plot

Set in 2004, the player controls Mark Stetson, a terminally ill hiker searching for a mythic structure called the Ant Farm in the Appalachian Mountains. Assisted by trail angel Sean Russell, Mark believes the Ant Farm will fulfill his dreams. He experiences narcoleptic cataplexy episodes and prophetic dreams from a bird-like poet named the Wren.

Gameplay

The game uses fixed-perspective camera angles and involves exploration, environmental storytelling, and puzzle-based progression. Dove Dreams are surrealist episodes triggered by Mark's narcolepsy, presenting non-chronological story vignettes. Player choices in these dreams affect a scale that influences the ending. Some levels shift to third-person over-the-shoulder or first-person horror segments.

Development

Development began in January 2021 as a collaboration between artist Mark Byram II and brothers Daniel and Sean-Michael Millard. Funding came from a Kickstarter campaign after the demo appeared in the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc: Spectral Mall. The game uses voice acting and likenesses from its creators, with a stop motion-like facial effect achieved through photo references and texture coordinate scrolling. Influences include Dante's Inferno, Twin Peaks, and House of Leaves.