Dreamcore Review

Dreamcore is a walking sim focused on exploration immersing players into creepy and unnerving liminal spaces. Each level is a labyrinth players need to explore in order to find the exit. Each level is non-linear and puts an emphasis of tension building rather than obvious scares.

You’ll walk around each area trying to understand the logic of the levels in order to find the exit; it’s not a simple straight line. The deeper you go into the levels, the more confusing and nerve-racking it gets. You can either walk or run; but to be fair there isn’t of a difference in terms of movement.

You do have a camera which allows you to zoom in and out; it doesn’t serve much in terms of purposes. I’ve barely used it; only to try to spot across a specific room in the Dreampools if there was a door or not to avoid walking across the area for nothing. There are some odd encounters that adds a layer of uneasiness.

The game looks great. It offers a grainy, dreamlike VHS-inspired visuals capturing the 80s vibes. It looks spot-on to those liminal videos you might have seen across the internet over the last few years. It shows that tension and scare can be built up with minimal gameplay. The Dreampools level makes a great job of creating a feeling of claustophobia and uneasiness. The second level, Eternal Suburbia, is set in a unique “open area” neighborhood completely the opposite of the Dreampools. The score is a unique mix of oldie, 50s instrumental tunes with ambiant, unnerving tunes.

While the game has an original premise, it’s not without faults. The running doesn’t feel like running at all. It feels/sounds/looks like someone trying to re-learn to walk after coming out of a 50 year coma. While wearing boots made of cement. Also the game isn’t complete out of the box. When you boot up the game, there’s only two levels available with additional ones coming at a later time.

Dreamcore is one of the best, most unique gaming experiences in this still early year. The unneasyness and creepyness relies on atmosphere instead of cheap and predictable scares. While you do know that nothing will jump up out of nowhere, your mind still thinks something is coming. But as you’d expect, it’s very light on gameplay, this is all about the overall experience and it does feel cheap to have only two levels out of the box. If you’re looking for something different than the typical horror games, Dreamcore is absolute must play.