Without a Dawn

Without a Dawn header image
Seasoned Gaming
7.5 / 10
KonsoliFIN
4 / 5
So Many Games
5 / 5
SomHráč.sk
85%
Creators: Jesse Makkonen
Release Date: May 19, 2025 - PC
Share This Game:

Without a Dawn Media

Critic Reviews for Without a Dawn

Without a Dawn might be brief and lack substantive interactivity, but it succeeds as a deeply atmospheric, handcrafted experience.

Read full review

Without a Dawn feels down-to-earth, even small-scale compared to Jesse 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.

Review in Finnish | Read full review

How to begin summarising an experience like Without a Dawn? For all its brutality, there’s a gentleness, even something delicate about how it presents its themes. Mental illness can be the harshest of things, but telling these stories can’t be as rough, as people wouldn’t be able to listen. Jesse Makkonen sticks the landing beautifully, though, with a game that’s as thoughtful as it is creepy. I found myself recognising so much of my own mental health struggles, without ever feeling attacked. No, I felt seen and understood, and that’s all you can ask of art. To make you feel seen and heard in a way that’s mesmerising and haunting.

Read full review

Without a Dawn is an ideal experience for playing games at night with headphones, and overall it is a very strong one-liner - a melancholic “bedtime story” for adult souls.

Review in Slovak | Read full review