The Dream Machine

I played the DM when it was first released. Having good memories I wanted to put some points discussed in a more balanced perspective. 1. Yes: the game should be given out with a warning. The psychological depths explored though interesting are sometimes not for the faint of heart. It is a topic told in a mature way. It is not a horror game, but the approach can be very unsettling. Being used to uncomfortable psychological topics I liked it. But I don'T want to discuss certain things in the game with close friends, for matters of intimacy. If you have a problem with that, skip the game. 2. Yes: The game starts very strong and then loses its depth. The first two chapters are the strongest and the 3rd is interesting. After that, it felt like depth in examining of the theme was sacrificed for fancy puzzles and a drawn out story. The puzzles are well done. I liked the ideas but I would have liked it the other way around. If that is a problem, wait for a sale and play Ch. 1-3. 3. The absurdity of the Puzzles fits the theme beautifully. Dreams have their own logic. If you want something that is based on cause and effect or rationality, this game won't be for you. Complaining about this on the other hand is like saying the voices in the head of Senua in Hellblade are too much when psychosis is the topic of the game. And difficulty. I found it difficult but I am not an adventure gamer per sé. You will always find Veterans in a genre, that tell you it is too easy when it is still too difficult for casuals of the genre. So it might be in good middle ground, as far as I can say. 4. Graphics are a matter of taste. But you can't deny the care of the developers. There are fingerprints of the animators on the characters, which is lovely and the art style fits the theme. I have never seen anything like it. For the story losing its depth in the end and the drawn-out pacing, I would give this game 3/5. But the other parts are so unique that I can't go lower than 4/5.

I was really drawn in initially by the graphics and storyline. The first few puzzles weren't particularly difficult and were fairly logical. As the game went on, however, the plot became quite unsettling. As other have commented, if you've had an unpleasant birth experience, you might want to steer clear of this game. Some of the later puzzle solutions were a bit out there and I felt the plot struggled to resolve itself and come to a satisfactory conclusion. It was like the writers started something they really didn't know how to wrap up. It defiitely dragged toward the end, with the final chapter being linear and requiring no puzzle-solving whatsoever. The amount of dialogue with other characters is quite extensive, although not always essential to problem-solving. Also, I discovered certain items that I never figured out a purpose for and certain puzzles did not seem to require solving in order to finish the game, which left me a bit unsatisfied. Although I definitely enjoyed the first few chapters, I found myself just wanting it to end toward the finish.

First of all this game is beautiful, the backdrops are all made out of cardboard, paper and other materials and painstakingly photographed, and the characters are all stop-motion animated. This is what got me and my wife into the game in the first place. The story is quite good and interesting, decently written with acceptable dialogue lines. As an adventure game it is good, but not mind blowing: the puzzles are pretty straightforward and require some amount of backtracking. It is overall a very decent adventure game worth playing... but for us it has one issue: while the game clearly approaches some delicate topics, such as parenthood and pregnancy, it takes a somewhat dark turn towards the end that becomes quite preachy with all and a strong opinion/statement disguised as a game element. The idea of using media such as games as a platform for one or another PERSONAL agenda honestly bothered us. I do think that games, as an art form, can also provide some insight and awareness for social issues (eg.: The Cat Lady, a game about depression and loneliness or Fran Bow, a game about child mental illness), but this game wants you to pick a side on a matter of personal choice. This soured the game a little bit and also cheapened the ending and the writing quality. Ultimately 99% of the game is good, it has very, very nice graphics and OK gameplay/puzzles, but like I said the ending is unsatisfactory and compromised by a decision to meddle in personal opinions.

The Dream Machine is a Swedish-developed point and click game centered around... you guessed it; dreams! It starts out quite interesting and it makes me want to keep going, I say every chapter actually holds up as the story continues and there was never a moment I felt that it stagnated or got boring (even though there's some backtracking here and there). Every area was unique and while the last chapter did reuse some of those, it was still something of its own. This is comparing to other episodic games that sometimes do reuse earlier areas for various reasons. The game is at various points quite dark and I'd go so far to say disturbing, however overall it's not a horror game. The ending I've heard was a let down for many, but personally for me I found it interesting and I guess satisfying. It was an interesting journey and I'm thrilled to play the future games of the developers!

Overall I think the game is great and very varied. The various dreams don't only differ in how they look but in how they are played. While some are very much puzzles others resemble traditional adventure games more. Some of the dreams surprised and impressed me quite a bit. Others were less interesting. I'd put a 7/10. Some small problems like what a previous review mentioned, that at times dialogues and comments are a bit stiff or dull. For me the bigger problem was how at times it was impossible to tell if i was in a place where a puzzle had to be solved or not. I used a guide sometimes to check if i was just wasting my time somewhere i wasn't supposed to be at. I also used a guide sometimes when i got stuck. Overall a good difficulty level but at times the puzzles get a bit far fetched. Creepy and very different.