Dollhouse of Dead Hands-On Preview: Scraps, Screams, and Toy Terror
I didn’t expect a toy factory to feel this threatening. After diving deep into Dollhouse of Dead, the newly released co-op horror action game from Renderise Games on Steam, I quickly realized it’s much more than a spooky romp through abandoned toy factories. It’s a visceral, chaotic adventure that blends frantic scavenging with unhinged monster encounters, and it puts tension and laughter on equal footing. The core loop of grabbing junk, crafting upgrades, and surviving now-alive toys that hate your guts kept me glued to the screen.
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co
Setting & Premise: Toys That Bite Back
In Dollhouse of Dead, you play as part of a squad of scavengers hired by Dollhouse Corp, the world’s leading AI toy manufacturer. Business is booming, until their so-called smart toys literally go rogue and overrun their factories. The corporation, being the tightwad it is, still wants production materials, so your team is sent in to scavenge junk, extract components, and expand deeper into these dark mechanical playgrounds. While not every toy hates you instantly, many will pursue you relentlessly as soon as you step into the factories’ deep corridors.
There’s an almost cinematic quality to the concept. Imagine Lethal Company meets a hallucination of Toy Story with its toys replaced by bloodthirsty horrors, all set in the rusted shell of once-bustling production lines. The lore is strange, playful, and creepy, and every corner of the map feels like it hides a good secret or a terrible surprise.
Gameplay Loop: Scavenge, Improve, Survive
The first thing that hit me was how Dollhouse of Dead manages to balance tension and mechanical depth. Your team drops into a factory, and immediately you’re doing three things at once: scavenging for materials, fending off hostile toys, and trying to open up deeper vaults and areas. Junk piles become treasure troves when dismantled, giving components you can use to improve your gear or unlock shortcuts. Progression feels intuitive: find better stuff, make better tools, push deeper.
What makes this loop addictive is how it blends risk and reward. Push further and you will find better loot, but suddenly you’re surrounded by stitched teddy bears with glowing eyes or creepy clowns brandishing oversized scissors. Sometimes neutral toys even change their behavior based on what you do, so every playthrough felt unpredictable. It gave our group moments where we’d be carefully methodical, then instantly frantic as a swarm arrived from some dark corner we thought was safe.
Survival isn’t about memorizing safe paths. It’s about adapting, communicating and constantly scanning your surroundings for both threat and treasure.
Co-op Chaos & Team Dynamics
I can’t talk Dollhouse of Dead without mentioning how much it thrives in co-op. Solo is enjoyable in its own right, but with friends it explodes into something that feels like a horror movie where everyone knows the monster is behind them but nobody dares say it out loud. The game’s systems encourage teamwork; whether it’s a quick revive after someone gets swarmed or coordinating who grabs which resources before the next wave hits.
One memorable run had us open a vault only to trigger an ambush. A toy resembling a jack-in-the-box came to life and chased one of us down a catwalk. We were yelling directions, tossing scraps and pulling focus just to survive. These are the kinds of moments that Dollhouse of Dead is built for. It made me wish there were more built-in communication tools — but honestly, that chaos played out perfectly with just voice chat and sheer panic.
Enemy Design & Environmental Threats
The toy enemies are where the game’s personality really shines. Some are bizarrely whimsical with a twisted twist, and others are downright jarring in appearance — scarred, oversized and terrifying in motion. They don’t just shuffle at you. They move with intent, forcing you to watch sightlines, manage choke points and retreat strategically when needed.
Neutral toys sometimes act as environmental hazards too, leading to moments where you’d nervously skirt around a group rather than engage. Their AI feels unpredictable enough to keep you on your toes, and because factories have multiple intertwined paths, you’re never quite sure whether retreating means safety or a run-in with a worse nightmare. I appreciated that unpredictability as it lent each session a sense of real danger instead of rote memorization.
Weapons & Upgrades: Fragile but Flexible
In Dollhouse of Dead, your gear starts modest: busted flashlights, weak melee tools, and whatever scrap you can cobble together. But as you progress, the crafting and upgrade systems begin to shine. You salvage parts, improve your weapons, and craft customized defenses. That progression feels gratifying because every upgrade meaningfully changes how encounters play out. A crafted weapon that shreds cloth-soldier dolls feels deeply satisfying, and it makes every return to earlier factory zones feel fresh again.
Your gear never feels overpowered, though. The game maintains tension even when you’re decked out. Enemy variety and placement ensure that every upgraded item has to be used with precision rather than brute strength alone. That design keeps runs exciting and keeps you scanning every corner for resources rather than barreling through levels like bullet sponge targets.
Visuals, Sound & Atmosphere
Technically Dollhouse of Dead isn’t a high-budget title, but it makes the most of its aesthetic. The abandoned toy factories have an eerie, uncanny look — lighting is sharp, shadows hide threats, and the industrial toymaker visuals evoke both funhouse oddness and real dread. Environments are richly detailed with junk, conveyor belts, and broken AI parts strewn everywhere, giving each level a lived-in feel that hides danger around every corner.
The sound design reinforces this mood beautifully. Clangs echo in empty halls, mechanical whirs fade into silence, and every distant toy squeal makes your heart jump. Sound cues feel intentional and tell you about nearby dangers even before you see them. I found myself listening more than watching when I first entered a new area, which is exactly what a horror game should make you do.
Strengths & Where It Could Grow
There’s a lot to admire in what Dollhouse of Dead does well. The mix of scavenging, progression and horror action creates a satisfying tension. Enemy variety and unpredictability make each run feel alive. Co-op elevates the experience immeasurably, turning simple objectives into chaotic, hilarious moments of terror.
But there are areas that could be refined. Some runs feel longer than they need to be, and occasionally resource scarcities can slow pacing at awkward moments. A bit more map variety or dynamic event triggers would also keep the experience from feeling too familiar after multiple runs. Still, these are polish issues rather than core design flaws, and they don’t detract from the game’s core thrill.
Dollhouse of Dead is the kind of co-op horror game that makes you laugh and scream in the same breath. On first play and many sessions after, I found myself choosing between greed for junk and the fear of what that next dark corridor might hold. It’s chaotic, it’s tense and it rewards communication and quick thinking. With its blend of scavenging, crafting upgrades and unpredictable toy horrors, it’s one of the most memorable indie horror co-op experiences I’ve had in 2025.
If you want horror with a sense of humor and a genuine challenge you can share with friends, Dollhouse of Dead deserves a spot in your library. It’s not perfect, but it’s wonderfully alive in the places that matter.
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