REFRACTION: The First Dream
A downloadable game for Windows
REFRACTION: The First Dream is a short psychological horror experience built around fixed camera angles, environmental storytelling, and symbolic puzzles.
Explore unsettling spaces, study the details, and piece together clues. With no combat to fall back on, progress depends on observation and remembering what you discover.
Inspired by classic survival horror and retro presentation, REFRACTION explores themes of trauma, identity, dissociation, repression, and self-confrontation. Its story unfolds through the spaces you inhabit and the imagery you encounter, leaving room for your own interpretation.
What to expect
- Fixed camera angles and a retro visual style.
- Environmental storytelling and symbolic puzzle design.
- Exploration without combat.
- Approximately 20–30 minutes of gameplay, depending on exploration and puzzle solving.
Content Warning
This game contains psychological horror themes, disturbing imagery, and references to trauma and emotional distress.
Player discretion is advised.
Download
Install instructions
WINDOWS
- Download the ZIP file.
- Right-click the ZIP and select Extract All…
- Open the extracted folder and locate Refraction.exe.
- Double-click Refraction.exe to play.
You can use Keyboard or Controller to play the game.
Extract the entire ZIP before launching. Keep all included files and folders together with the executable. Check out for the README.txt for configuration and tips!
Development log
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