D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Season One

Warning: -This game is HEAVILY QTE-based. QTE is the main gameplay mechanic here. If you hate QTEs or just find them annoying - stay away. -This game is unfinished, and will remain so - the second season is officially cancelled. So expect no closure. You will never find out who and what and why. - An absurdism and surrealism are abundant and affect the plot and gameplay mechanics heavily. For instance, you are buying things from your cat, and your vital signs (stamina) drop even if you open a fridge or just talk to people. All that was too much for me, so I uninstalled.

Fair warning: As far as I'm aware, D4 will not be continued, so it just ends at some point and leaves you with many questions, which is a shame. That said, this game is weird, so there are already many questions - and that is a good thing. It's good weird. The characters go from slightly unhinged to utterly deranged in a very amusing way, the story is a little bizarre yet intriguing, the music is sometimes improperly jolly (good soundtrack, though). Overall it's very entertaining. It is basically a point and click game with some QTE sections that you only need your mouse for; drag the cursor in a certain direction, quickly click on stuff, that sort of thing. There's stamina, health and "vision" (a hint system, pretty much bat vision), all of which deplete as you use them, but can easily be refilled with items you find in the environment or buy from ... well, you'll see. The game has collectibles that can give you random info or actual backstory, most of which are interesting. You can go back to chapters after finishing them if you're a completionist or even just accidentally miss out on something. It took me about six hours to "complete", but I'd wager you could go through in less than that if you don't care about random side content. Suggest you do, however, as it adds to the entertainment. Especially the meals.

I finished the first and second episode. It's a strangely unique game, plays like a 3rd person adventure, similar to: telltale games, longest journey, life is strange, indigo prophecy etc. The designers incorporated some mini games and a lot of mouse movements/gestures. Originally this game was designed for the Xbox Kinect system so it used body movement, in this case: you're moving your mouse to recreate the gestures. The characters are just plain weird. Seriously. I suppose that's the endearing factor; you don't see many games with such an oddball character base. The story is simple, but is delivered well. The standard tale of a hero who wants to avenge his wife's murder. The delivery is well done and is similar to the movie Memento, using trinkets to warp to their origin and searching for clues. It's really confusing, half the game will be spent scratching your head. Audio delivers with voice acting of all dialog and fitting music. I wouldn't say the acting is top notch, but it's on par. Visuals are great in the comic book style they use. The game played well without any hiccups or crashes. I probably wouldn't replay this any time soon until the next season comes out. Wasn't a bad investment though for it's price. If you enjoy adventure games, you may like this. I've been gaming for over 10 years and can say the one thing about this game is: it's unique. The only game that's close to it that I've played is Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecies. If you're looking for a more "hands on" experience and like interactive stories, I'd say it's money well spent.

Dark Dreams Don't Die is a peculiar little offering. Its origins as an XBox1 title are clear, given the reliance on gesticular controls. I can imagine most of them working very well on Kinect but there were several where I was really grateful for the mouse. Out of the gate, though, this game is weird. Dreamlike is an overused term but it suits D4 down to the ground. Having played straight through Prologue-end of Episode 2 in two sessions I can safely say I am still rather baffled as to the actual plot but I am intrigued enough to be keen on getting Series 2. I ran this on stream with vocal contributors from Discord and its certainly a game that stimulates debate and theorising :-) The QTE elements are not infrequent (most combat and dramatic situations) and are handled with reasonably forgiving sweeping mouse gestures rather than key presses, which make a lot of sense in the context of the action and are therefore far less annoying than their finger-twisting keyboard cousins. Look at everything, talk to everyone, eat anything you find, drink tequila, wrestle a strange woman dressed as a cat and try to solve the murder of your wife. It's a truly fun ride with a graphical style I haven't seen before:-)

There is Quick time events. You can horde up in game currency and buy different character outfits from an NPC, as well as finding them in game. Repeatedly pushing NPC's gets some funds. You travel time by way of mementos. There is some similarities to 'Twin Peaks', mixed with an anime. The health/Vision/stamina meters were done well. The story is short, never having gone beyond season one. Would like to read a full conclusion in book form because the series ended. Though at least the antagonist is revealed at the end.