Finding a unique way to blend platforming and horror that is fun, challenging, and puts players on the edge of their nerves is a difficult task. Facing that mix of genre is WarSaw Games with their latest game, Dream Alone.
Story
A young boy who lives in a town, recently plagued with the mysterious illness that is causing everybody to fall into a coma, sets out to find a way to save everyone; especially his parents. Facing danger in multiple forms, he must overcome the challenges ahead if he hopes to be successful in this adventure.
Gameplay
Featuring only two mechanics, move and jump, players must learn the patterns of enemies and various dangers in each level in order to progress. There is no special actions a player can take to aid them, so timing will be the only answer.
Enemies range from small to tall and always have a pattern. The challenge is finding how far and high you can jump then using the environment around you to ensure you can get past them.
There is a few power ups and abilities that can aid you, but they are for the platforming and puzzle solving aspects. From providing a temporary portable light to creating a doppelganger to let you be in two places at once, each ability will be used throughout the game.
The first and main ability let's you go into an alternate reality where the landscape is a bit different, the danger feels raised, and dead bodies are seen variously around the background. It doesn't help with the enemies in any way, but players will find themselves using this often to find their way to the end of the level.
Graphics and Sounds
Visually, the game has a mid-90's/early-00's horror art style with characters and enemies that could have been approved by Tim Burton. The graphic level isn't amazing, but it does well to provide the atmosphere.
The music and sound effects were all matching well. Either blending in or reacting to the changes in the environment, the sounds used helped with the games overall atmosphere.
What Could Be Better
The movement felt a bit off and didn't make the game feel as smooth as it could of been. The overall character control needs to be improved when it comes to the movement.
The story wasn't very impressive with an ending that lacked the ability to grab my attention. This game may have benefited by being a silent game that doesn't tell the story seeing as the gameplay is the main factor that holds any interest in Dream Alone.
Final Verdict
Dream Alone is a somewhat challenging and a pretty interesting puzzle platformer. While there are aspects that could have been better, the fun that the confusing and dark gameplay provides is the reason you will want to try this game out.
