Xanthe Caulder has long been trapped in a psychiatric asylum. During one escape attempt, she accidentally stumbles into the mysterious Dreadfall Trials. Here, players must enter one death instance after another, obey bizarre rules, and uncover the truth in order to survive. While others fear ghosts and death, Xanthe treats it all as a game far more interesting than the mental hospital.
In the first instance, Marionwick, a cursed puppet, midnight rules, a missing mirror, and a skinning murder from ten years ago appear one after another. With her extraordinary calm and insight, Xanthe teams up with Isolde Morcant to investigate the truth, and ultimately discovers that the mortician Ivo Mordaunt is actually the mayor who was supposed to be dead, while the true source of the curse is hidden in an abandoned theater. Xanthe burns down the theater, destroys the ghost, and successfully completes the first game.
After clearing it, she learns that only by continuously obtaining puzzle pieces and assembling the complete Dreadfall map can she return to reality and gain one chance to make a wish. High-ranked player Sabine Rooke recognizes her ability and invites her to take part in a dangerous advancement match together. At the same time, the Winter Team has already set its sights on Sabine. Xanthe and Sabine enter the new Harrowmere Residences instance, and amid player hunts, strange residents, and death commissions, they once again begin a survival game that no one can predict.
