The Game Census
The Picture in The House cover art

The Picture in The House

Dystopia Game Studio · 2020-12-30

Steam

AdventureFree To PlayIndie

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: First person

Releases: Dec 12, 2020 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

A journey through ancient mysteries and forces described by the original short story "The Picture in the House" written by H.P Lovecraft.

The Picture in The House is an Adventure, Free To Play, and Indie game released in 2020, free-to-play, with Mixed reviews (52% of 137 reviews) and an owner estimate of 50,000 .. 100,000.

0
playing now
52%
positive of 137 reviews
Mixed
steam's rating (official)
50,000–100,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
2h
to beat · rushed 1h
pending
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
Free
steam price (US)

0 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 19:00 UTC (census sample)

"The Picture in the House" is a short story written on December 12, 1920 by H. P. Lovecraft. You are a young Boston researcher conducting genealogical studies in the city of Arkham. Once you have lost your way, you come across a worn-out house forgotten by the world, but something and someone is hidden inside. Guide the protagonist through puzzle games, cinematics and dark and ancient mysteries.(Storyline via IGDB)

Health check

Quiet
  • · 0 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 13 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~2/week).
  • · Review velocity down 7% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 35% of 28,739 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-09-01

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
151520202026Week of 2020-12-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 3 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 1 positive
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

102026-09-15 04:00 — 0 players2026-09-16 12:00 — 0 players2026-09-17 20:00 — 0 players2026-09-19 03:00 — 0 players2026-09-20 11:00 — 0 players2026-09-21 19:00 — 0 players2026-09-23 02:00 — 0 players2026-09-24 10:00 — 0 players2026-09-25 17:00 — 0 players2026-09-27 01:00 — 0 players2026-09-28 08:00 — 0 players2026-09-29 16:00 — 0 players2026-09-30 23:00 — 0 players2026-10-02 07:00 — 0 players2026-10-03 14:00 — 0 players2026-10-04 22:00 — 0 players2026-10-06 06:00 — 0 players2026-10-07 13:00 — 0 players2026-10-08 21:00 — 0 players2026-10-10 04:00 — 0 players2026-10-11 12:00 — 0 players2026-10-12 20:00 — 0 players2026-10-14 03:00 — 0 players2026-10-14 19:00 — 0 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Completion

5
achievements tracked
44.6%
earned "Explorer"
21.2%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerSteam AchievementsFamily Sharing

Player tags

3DGoreIndieHorrorPuzzleAdventureNarrationRealisticStory RichExploration

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Don't Knock TwiceHouse of CaravanMasochisiaDARQ: Complete EditionRusty Lake HotelRusty Lake: RootsInflictionApsulov: End of Gods

Similarity via IGDB.

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