A Vlogger’s Venture into Darkness
After years of playing horror games, I have managed to set a few ground rules; things that I have learned along the way should I ever find myself in the same position as some of the victims of these games.
Number one is to never go towards any strange or creepy sound. You must never try to summon the dead or the antichrist either, mostly as that never goes well. Thirdly, never trust a mannequin.
Dreamless is a game that sees a number of these rules be broken, fully embracing the usual horror cliches along the way. Sometimes I like going down a familiar route in games, but in this short experience, it doesn’t quite give me a new scare.
So here comes the plot for this short, five-chapter game. In a small town – somewhere unspecified – is a horrific event that happens every 25 years. For one week in August, strangers mysteriously disappear, all thanks to something that is locally known as ‘death week’. It’s here where the folk of the town are told to stay indoors for that week, rarely venturing out. The thing is, no one knows what the mystery is; it could be something paranormal or perhaps a serial killer.
It’s here where John, a 17-year-old vlogger, comes to the fore, looking to investigate the mysteries. After a tip that week he heads to a strange house and begins his investigation…
Dreamless’ Narrative and Gameplay
The story found in Dreamless is intriguing and I like the fact that it is told through the eyes of a 17-year-old protagonist. The story unravels well, revealing bits of itself slowly. And I quite like the self-narration from the main character; it is fine, but sometimes does feel a bit off-kilter and has a few too many quips. Overall the narrative doesn’t feel like it’s treading any new territory, but it does tell a story in a micro, well contained way.
The gameplay runs in a first-person perspective throughout. Over the five chapters, you will find yourself in a series of quite contained areas where you have to progress by doing a certain amount of things to progress. This might include picking up objects or actioning a sequence of events in the right order.
It’s in the first part of the game, as you wander around an empty house in the darkness, that you make the most of a video camera, utilising it as a source of light. However, Dreamless is a dark game, and this means it is tricky to see throughout, especially when you don’t have a camera and you have to use candles or a flashlight. In the end, I decided to go and turn the brightness settings to full.
Navigating the Darkness
There is also that age-old problem of having the game translated over from PC to Xbox, and inaccuracies of the controls. I found at times the control system to be off slightly; at least in regards to how tight I would have liked things. But that said, battle through and the puzzle elements of the game are good ,with some nice things to do like hunting out a correct order to perform a demon summoning ritual or a ball puzzle game that is as hard as nails. Dreamless comes with a fair few surprising elements too, accompanied by others that feel extremely familiar, overused in the horror game genre.
Visually, apart from those darkness issues, Dreamless runs some decent environmental design. Even though I may chastise the use of mannequins, the developer does use them well here. But, there is nothing terrifying about how the monsters of Dreamless are revealed; this is not a game that will have you jumping in the middle of the night.
A Chilling Atmosphere
Sound-wise, an equally decent job is done, with some scary effects from windows knocking in the wind to whispers in the darkness. The voice-over work is well delivered too, even though John sounds a lot older than the 17 years he is meant to be. On the whole, the soundtrack is good though and creates some chilling atmosphere to the game.
A Short but Atmospheric Horror Experience with Familiar Tropes
Dreamless is a short experience, with each chapter taking around 30 minutes to complete. However, at no point does it do anything that allows it to stand out from the crowd. There is a scary doll, some mannequins, and strange dream sequences, but nothing that will ever scare.
Horror fans should have a good time with Dreamless, but it would have been great to see it take that extra step into the darkness.
Your Links
Dreamless: A Haunting Descent into a Town’s Dark Secret – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dreamless-a-haunting-descent-into-a-towns-dark-secret/
Buy Dreamless on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/dreamless/9N298QFDLGLM
