Dorotea • A free horror Game Boy adventure: an historian specilized in the history of her city, an event just weeks away and a mysterious door with 100 eyes

Hi! This is the page of my game Dorotea. This is an horror and free Game Boy game about Dorotea, an historian specilized in the history of her city, Conversano. Here you can play and download the game

Play or download now for free

Important note: some websites distributed my game without permission. Please use only the approved storefronts to play or download my game.
I’m also releasing the game on more platforms as possible, so this list will be continously updated

Itch.io – Original release, HTML5 Browser Web (no installation necessary), Game Boy ROM, Portable Windows Exe (Pre-configured ROM + Emulator)
Newgrounds – HTML5 Browser Web (no installation necessary)
Microsoft Xbox Store – Windows Xbox PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
IndiExpo – HTML5 Browser Web (no installation necessary), Portable Windows Exe (Pre-configured ROM + Emulator)
GameJolt – Browser Web (no installation necessary), Game Boy ROM (English only), Portable Windows Exe (Pre-configured ROM + Emulator)
Homebrew Hub (Gbdev) – Game Boy ROM
IndieRetroGames – Game Boy ROM
IndieDB / ModDB – Portable Windows Exe (Pre-configured ROM + Emulator), Game Boy ROM
Ezcha – HTML5 Browser Web (no installation necessary), Game Boy ROM, Portable Windows Exe (Pre-configured ROM + Emulator)

Streaming my game? The game category is available on Twitch

If you’re streaming my game, remember that you can set the category as Dorotea, since my game is on IGDB

Trailer

Lore after the game

Have you completed the game? Read the lore and the making of the game here
Avete completato il gioco? Leggete la lore e il dietro le quinte da questo link

Per la lingua italiana

Questa pagina è in lingua inglese. Vi invito a leggere la versione in italiano su itch.io

Requirements

Platforms	Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Windows PC, Xbox Series X\|S, HTML5 Browser Web
Languages	English, Italiano
Price	Free
Genre	Horror Adventure, Diagonal-down

The Original Soundtrack

You can listen to the original soundtrack on YouTube (With the oscilloscope view), SoundCloud and Newgrounds

Screenshot

Note: I haven’t tried the game on a real device. Also, the Game Boy is pretty difficult to capture, so all these screenshots are taken with an emulator (Bingjgb and SameBoy)

Game Boy Color version (Palette in Gambatte mode)

Original Game Boy (DMG)

Super Game Boy

Dorotea supports the Super Game Boy, a Super Nintendo add-on that plays Game Boy games . The game will be played as a Game Boy, so the Game Boy Color is still the best platform to play my game on.

With this version, you’ll be delighted with a custom frame

Incipit

Dorotea is a researcher specializing in the history of her hometown of Conversano, near Bari.

An important event is just a few days away. Her job involves cataloging and archiving books and artifacts dating back to the 1600s, stored in a room that hasn’t been opened for decades.

But the past never stops watching her…

About my game

Dorotea is an horror game for Game Boy with Game Boy Color support that you can complete in about 10 minutes. The other versions are just the game ROMs packed with an emulator and pre-configured.

The game was developed, written, designed, and composed almost entirely by me using the GB Studio engine and IDE with other tools, all in about a couple of weeks
There are only a few tiles and sound effects I borrowed from other authors, listed in the Credits section.

The theme

I created this game for the italian Italocurso Game Jam 2025. This year’s theme allowed me to create a tribute to my city, something I’ve wanted to do for many years.

Fortunately, Conversano is a city full of art, history, and legend, having also been a central hub for centuries, both politically and religiously.

For this project, I didn’t just want to “take” a specific story, I wanted to combine and mix different elements (real and fantasy) to create a unique tale, strongly inspired by, yet heavily spiced with elements of my own imagination.

For this reason, I should point out that the game is not a reliable historical or topographical document. Many references are purely coincidental.

I should point out that I don’t consider myself a musician nor an artist. The limitations of the Game Boy and my experience with the NES – a very similar platform for which I’ve already created a couple of works – helped me a lot.

If you see a hand, it’s a photo of my hand re-drawn in Paint.NET (No filters, it was hand painted).

Fun fact

My project for the jam was initially supposed to be a “Resident Evil-like” game for PlayStation, but due to various technical issues and lack of time, I decided to start from scratch, focusing the story on the protagonist and rewriting three-quarters of the story.

Completed my game? Learn more here!

If you’re interested about the references of this game, I wrote a separate article

English version
Italian version