Dreamscaper: Prologue – Review
Follow Genre: Action RPG
Developer: Afterburner Studios
Publisher: Afterburner Studios, Maple Whispering Limited
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC

Dreamscaper: Prologue – Review

Site Score
9.5
Good: Dream-like visuals, Good amount of different weapons and powers
Bad: The full game won't release until summer
User Score
9.5
(2 votes)
Click to vote
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Rating: 9.5/10 (2 votes cast)

For ages now a good way to get players excited for an upcoming game was to release a demo. While not every developer engages in this practice anymore, sometimes merely relying on trailers or gameplay videos to get people excited, Afterburner Studios decided to go the old-fashioned route. Dreamscaper: Prologue is a completely free game you can download on steam to get a taste of what to expect from the full game, which is to be released in the summer. And by the looks of things, Afterburner Studios will not regret their decision.

Story

Dreamscaper tackles the ever-popular theme of adulthood and mental health. The story revolves around Cassidy, a young woman who quite literally fights her own nightmares. While her nightly adventures definitely take on a more abstract form, taking her back to pivotal places in her life, you also get to play as Cassidy during the day. Here you can build relationships and slowly uncover more of the story through dialogue. The plot will have to be puzzled together as you go along, but really that is part of the fun.

Graphics

Fittingly for a game that takes place almost entirely during dreams, the art-style of Dreamscaper is pretty, with a vibrant color scheme. You will notice the colors changing slightly in-between levels, and while the prologue only has one chapter available, the full game promises more environments to explore. While in your dreams, the point-of-view is top-down to allow for better oversight of the battlefield, during your waking hours, the game reverts to the classic third-person view.

Sound

The soundtrack of Dreamscaper is excellent. You will notice the music changing a lot as you travel through your dream, with subtle and ethereal tracks playing when there are no enemies around, but the music speeding up and gaining an edge when engaging in combat. There are bosses in this game, which means we are treated to some cool boss music as well. Dreamscaper has no voice acting.

Gameplay

Dreamscaper is an action RPG inspired by roguelites and dungeon crawlers. The game is divided into dreams, where most of the gameplay takes place, and the waking world. Every night when Cassidy falls asleep, she is transported into her dream. This dream is randomly generated, meaning you will find a new maze to traverse every night in the form of interconnected rooms with portals between them. A handy mini-map will make it easy to keep track of where you are and also allows you to fast-travel between cleared rooms. Some rooms will require a bomb or key to enter, which you can find along your journey, so you can’t go just anywhere at once. There are also some simple puzzles.

Many challenges will stand in your way while you travel through your dream. Nightmarish monsters wait around every corner, and to complete the chapter you will need to find the boss room and defeat whatever is lurking in there. Thankfully Cassidy is far from helpless, having both a melee and a ranged weapon at her disposal and a powerful shield to block attacks. She also has Lucid Powers which come in different varieties such as freezing your enemies or slowing down the flow of time. Just like how the world you find yourself in upon falling asleep is different each time, the gear you start out with will be randomly determined too. If you don’t like what you have you can always pick up something else from the shop, if you have the means, or hope to come across something better in a chest. There is a multitude of weapons and shields with their own pros and cons, as well as upgraded versions of the Lucid Powers. You might also find permanent perks such as more health or the ability to carry more bombs.

Even with all of this, you can expect to need a few tries to clear each chapter since dying in your dream means waking up in the real world. Don’t go back to sleep right away though. In the real world, you can travel around Redhaven as Cassidy and meet people, with whom you can start to build a relationship. This unlocks new weapons and powers in your dreams, meaning taking the time to get to know these people can help you in the long run, especially if you get stuck on a particularly powerful enemy. Improving your friendships can be done by idle chatting, but you can also use crafting materials you find in your dreams to make gifts, which will instantly give your relationship a nice boost if given to the right person. All of this takes time though, and you only have a limited amount of hours in the waking world each day, so make the most of it.

Conclusion

Dreamscaper: Prologue sets up an interesting world with fun concepts and engaging gameplay. The full version promises even more modes, chapters, and plot, which will hopefully come together to form a completed experience. If it’s going to be anything like what we have right now however, there isn’t any doubt Dreamscaper is something to look forward to.

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Rating: 9.5/10 (2 votes cast)
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Dreamscaper: Prologue - Review, 9.5 out of 10 based on 2 ratings
Jessica


Games are my escape and writing is my passion.

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