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DEAD LETTER DEPT.

DEAD LETTER DEPT.

Mike Monroe, Belief Engine · released Jan 29, 2025

IndiePC

Working at a data entry job in the big city, you type up and transcribe the lost mail and letters that have nowhere else to go. But as the days carry on oddities in the mail start to emerge, and cracks begin to appear.

Steam page ↗Metacritic ↗
88
VGC Score
·No trend datahigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Patch v1.6” (1y ago)

91%
At launch
95%
Steam all-time
n/a
Press
94%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)––0
All-time Steam reviews95%90926
Metacritic user ratings––0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)94%891081
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 88.7, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 1,853 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Apr 18, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 1081 total reviews in window · weighted 124.6 up / 9.5 down · computed 5h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (3)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 85
    DestructoidDestructoid
    trust 58Jan 27, 2025

    “Mike Monroe and Belief Engine really know how to get a lot of mileage out of a simple idea. It would, perhaps, be accurate to say that Dead Letter Dept is better than the sum of its parts, but, truly, I think that fails to illustrate just how great its parts are. The simple joy of data entry is wrapped in a soft tortilla of a well-communicated atmosphere and a well-executed aesthetic. Through its medium, it finds the horror in mundanity and uncertainty. It’s a message worth receiving.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    GAMES.CHGAMES.CH
    trust 57Jan 27, 2025

    “Dead Letter Dept. is a very specific game. It combines typing and horror. But it does so incredibly well. The gameplay works perfectly with its low-poly look, its sometimes very weird moments and the very creepy atmosphere. Completely mundane work suddenly feels threatening and hostile. It tells a story that couldn’t be told in this way in any other medium. If the concept of a horror-typing game excites you in any way then you should absolutely get it.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    Game RantGame Rant
    trust 56Feb 12, 2025

    “DEAD LETTER DEPT. is a relatively short game that a player could potentially spend less than 10 hours playing to complete all endings, depending on how quickly they discover how to get them. Yet, it delivers a potent experience that deserves a spot in the library of avid indie horror fans. Players who can withstand the frights the game generates will find an intriguing story that doesn't hold the player's hand and tell them what to do.”

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. Patch Minor Update 1.6.4
    Feb 17, 2026
  2. Patch Minor Update 1.6.3
    Oct 16, 2025
  3. Patch v1.6.2
    Jul 8, 2025
  4. Patch v1.6.1
    May 13, 2025
  5. Patch v1.6
    Apr 18, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  6. Patch v1.5.1
    Mar 13, 2025
  7. Patch v1.5 [Linux Users Please Read]
    Feb 13, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  8. Patch v1.4
    Feb 10, 2025
  9. Patch v1.3
    Feb 6, 2025
  10. Patch v1.2
    Feb 4, 2025
  11. Patch v1.1
    Feb 3, 2025
  12. Minor Patch v1.0.3
    Feb 1, 2025
  13. Minor Patch v1.0.2
    Jan 31, 2025
  14. Minor Patch v1.0.1
    Jan 31, 2025
  15. Release Less Than 2 Weeks Away - Linux + SteamOS Version Announced ??
    Jan 20, 2025
  16. Demo Updated 1.5.1
    Oct 5, 2022
  17. 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐓. DEMO is now AVAILABLE on STEAM
    Sep 30, 2022significant · resets scoring window