Dream
- July 31, 2015
- HyperSloth
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Dream" is a single-player adventure game with a strong focus on exploration and puzzle-solving within the subconscious mind of its protagonist, Howard Phillips. The game boasts stunning visuals, a phenomenal soundtrack, and a dense atmosphere, but is held back by numerous bugs and a significant amount of grinding. Players can shape Howard's future by making choices that lead to multiple possible endings in this non-linear narrative experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and a stunning soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere.
- The concept of exploring dreams and solving puzzles is intriguing and offers a unique gameplay experience.
- The game has potential for deep storytelling and emotional engagement, with some players finding it thought-provoking.
- The game is plagued by numerous technical issues, including crashes, bugs, and poor optimization that hinder gameplay.
- Many players find the puzzles tedious and lacking clear direction, leading to frustration and confusion.
- The protagonist's voice acting and dialogue are often criticized as annoying and unengaging, detracting from the overall experience.
- story272 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it touching and intriguing, while others criticize it for being simplistic and poorly developed. Many noted that the narrative is often overshadowed by tedious puzzles, leading to frustration, and that the connection between the story and gameplay can feel disjointed. Overall, while there are hints of a compelling story, it lacks depth and clarity, leaving players wanting more engagement and coherence.
“It is a really touching story about the feelings of loss and the insecurities of the protagonist.”
“This is one of the best story-driven puzzle games I've played in a long time.”
“The story and the way the game develops as you learn more about the character and their story is also interesting.”
“The game lacks clear direction, has a barely-existing story with lackluster voicework and most of the 'puzzles' are unintuitive or simply unfun.”
“What I got is run around and do puzzles with little to no story.”
“The backstory is utterly forgettable.”
- graphics258 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning visuals and atmospheric design, often highlighting the beautiful environments and artistic style. However, several users report performance issues, graphical glitches, and a lack of optimization that detracts from the overall experience. While some find the graphics to be a standout feature, others feel they fall short of expectations set by promotional materials, leading to a consensus that the visuals are impressive but marred by technical problems.
“The graphics are astonishingly beautiful, and there's good music fitted perfectly for every moment in the game.”
“The graphics and the overall appearance are amazing!”
“Dream has extraordinary graphics complemented by Unreal 3, which makes it just wonderful to look at and is complemented by an absolutely breathtaking soundtrack.”
“The graphics were poor and often misrendered.”
“It doesn't look that good in real game even when you are on the highest possible graphics and it's poorly optimized and I'd say very close to unplayable.”
“However, the graphics are a disappointing mishmash, the controls fiddly and non-immersive, and the user interface completely unhelpful.”
- music206 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many users praising its beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere. Reviewers noted that the soundtrack is both relaxing and fitting for various moods, contributing significantly to the game's dream-like quality. However, some players found certain tracks less appealing or felt that the music occasionally overshadowed other elements, such as voice acting. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the standout features of the game, often described as exceptional and captivating.
“The music in the game is exceptional and adds to the dream-like ambiance.”
“The soundtrack is great; everything else is meh.”
“The atmosphere and soundtrack create the perfect mood.”
“No - lack of music or any kind of atmosphere.”
“This game has it, some people like it, but I'm not into ethereal background music and found the mix quality utterly horrible.”
“You can't hear the protagonist speaking over the music, he seems to murmur, and yet the music isn't even loud at all.”
- gameplay158 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it frustrating and lacking direction due to clunky mechanics, bugs, and a lack of engaging elements. While some appreciate the relaxing exploration and puzzle-solving aspects, others criticize the game for its poor execution and tedious gameplay loop. Overall, it appears that the game has potential but requires significant improvements to its mechanics and overall playability.
“Most importantly, the developers have done a fantastic job of translating dream experiences into meaningful gameplay mechanics and level design.”
“The gameplay and the game itself is truly beautiful and amazing.”
“12 hours of amazing gameplay, with beautiful graphics and an immersive environment.”
“However, the gameplay itself needs a ton of work.”
“The gameplay itself was boring, providing no motivation for exploration or progression.”
“Looks cool on the surface, but the actual gameplay is extremely boring.”
- atmosphere96 mentions
- 77 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its calming and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics and a fitting soundtrack. Many players appreciate the game's ability to create a unique and euphoric experience, although some note inconsistencies in visual quality and performance issues. Overall, it is recommended for those who enjoy atmospheric exploration, despite some critiques regarding gameplay and puzzle design.
“The atmosphere of the game is amazing - both the music and the soft graphics.”
“Definitely one of the most aesthetically pleasing games you will find on the Steam marketplace, from its beautiful soundtrack to completely stunning atmosphere, Dream provides a euphoric feel that you will definitely not find from any other game.”
“The atmosphere is so gorgeous and immersive that it hurts my heart to close out of the game.”
“In terms of creating atmosphere and telling a story, the creators didn't take the idea far enough.”
“And as said above, while there are some nice graphics in the game, there are also a lot of places where the game simply drops that and turns them into blocky white areas or places that are just bleak, dull, and some single color without actual atmosphere.”
“The game however has no jumpscares and is quite soft in experience - which adds to the overall atmosphere.”
- stability81 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 2 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, making it feel unfinished and often unplayable. Players report frequent freezing, clunky mechanics, and game-breaking issues that detract significantly from the overall experience. While some acknowledge the game's potential and interesting concepts, the overwhelming consensus is that its current state is too unstable for enjoyable gameplay.
“A buggy, unfinished, mega-scuffed, boring mess.”
“The game is full of glitches that makes it unplayable and terribly boring (when you need to repeat the same puzzle a couple of times simply because the game glitches or crashes during it - like the conveyor puzzle).”
“This game has been in development way too long and now it's just a totally boring buggy game.”
- grinding42 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tedious and often frustrating puzzles, which detract from the overall experience and narrative. Many players found the gameplay repetitive and lacking direction, leading to a sense of boredom rather than engagement. While some elements of the game are enjoyable, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grinding nature of the puzzles and mechanics significantly hampers the enjoyment.
“It's just tedious and boring.”
“I was expecting this to be amazing, alas, it is just a tedious grind through a boring story with mediocre voice acting.”
“Collision detection and other issues with simply moving around made the game feel tedious, where I'd hoped to experience a sense of wonder and novel exploration, as well as meaningful and engaging puzzle-solving.”
- optimization34 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 35 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with users reporting poor performance, particularly when interacting with objects, leading to lag and unplayable experiences. While the graphics are visually appealing and run well on high-end PCs, many players have noted that the game is not optimized for lower-end systems or laptops, resulting in frustrating gameplay. Overall, there is a consensus that the game requires substantial optimization updates to improve performance and enhance the overall experience.
“Beautiful game, runs smoothly.”
“Not recommended to be run on a laptop, as bringing my external over to a friend's and playing this had abysmal performance, but on my desktop, this game runs beautifully at max graphics.”
“(That is, if you have a decent PC. It is getting optimized, I can now actually play the game at a survivable frame rate, but if you have anything lower than a gaming computer, keep your cash for now, unless you plan on waiting to install/play the game in what seems to be the near future.)”
“My biggest issue with the game is the lack of optimization.”
“I bought this game shortly after it began early access and I've watched the devs add a ton of content, but completely ignore the performance and bugs.”
“The atmospheric experience of this game is incredible but is compromised by the poor performance.”
- emotional16 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game features a deeply emotional narrative that explores themes of loss and insecurity, with moments that are both touching and heartbreaking, particularly in sequences like the hospital scene. However, some players found the overall experience tedious and marred by technical issues, which detracted from their emotional engagement. Despite its potential for impactful storytelling, the execution left some feeling frustrated and unable to fully appreciate the emotional depth.
“It is a really touching story about the feelings of loss and the insecurities of the protagonist.”
“The first nightmare was genuinely tense and very well done, and the hospital sequence really felt heartbreaking.”
“The story is very touching and heart-wrenching.”
“I was expecting this to be amazing, alas, it is just a tedious grind through a boring story with mediocre voice acting.”
“After trying it the first time, I got stuck trying to jump up on a rock to fall down for something I was hoping was interesting. It did sparkle, but I couldn't get back there and had to start all the way back over and listen to the boring storyline. In my opinion, I would spend my money on something else.”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as quirky and kind, often providing a lighthearted contrast to its darker elements. Players have noted amusing bugs, such as getting stuck with a painting, which adds to the overall comedic experience. The game's immersive qualities also contribute to its humor, making for a unique blend of funny and slightly unsettling moments.
“The most hilarious bug is when I picked up some random painting in the house and couldn't let it go, and thus was stuck. This happened very early on.”
“The humor is kind; in fact, the entire game is kind.”
“He has a good sense of humor, and allows some of the darker parts of the game to be a bit more bearable.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users expressing disappointment over its unfinished state and suggesting that it is not worth the investment.
“Don't waste your money on this unfinished cash grab.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is largely criticized for being uninspiring, with the main character portrayed as somewhat dimwitted and the exploration of the relationship between reality and dreaming lacking depth. Despite this, the imaginative and creative environments may still motivate players to continue their journey.
“The main character development is uninspiring, largely due to the protagonist being portrayed as a dimwit, and the connection between reality and dreaming is hardly explored.”
“The character development feels lacking, as the main character's intelligence is questionable, and the potential depth of the story is not fully realized.”
“While the game has imaginative and creative backdrops, the character development leaves much to be desired, making it hard to connect with the protagonist.”
