While playing video games most of my life and reviewing them for over a decade, I have learned something important. Sometimes, playing a really great game in a genre can make objectively “good” games in that genre-less enjoyable, because the bar has been set higher than before. After playing Hades, my gold standard for Roguelikes has made some recent Roguelikes less enjoyable. However, Dreamscaper does not suffer from this phenomenon.

Dreamscaper is an Action-Roguelike that combines elements from games such as Hades, with social elements from things like the Persona franchise. You play as Cassidy, a young woman who lived most of her life in a backwater town called Backhill and has now moved to the city of Redhaven. By day you explore the city of Redhaven, meeting residents, making friends, and uncovering bits of each resident’s story.

By night, you enter a world of Cassidy’s dreams, fighting nightmares and boss enemies that represent Cassidy’s inner demons. The deeper you go in the dreamscape, the more resources you will accumulate to engage with the residents of Redhaven. Conversely, using those resources will allow you to forge bonds, unlock new items in the dreamscape, and upgrade Cassidy herself to make her stronger in future runs.

There are several types of resources, Resolve, Glass, Sparks, and a few others. All of these meta-currencies (persistent currencies through runs) are used to enhance Cassidy in some way. For example, one currency is used to craft gifts that you can give to the residents of Redhaven to increase your relationship level with them.

Cassidy can meditate in the Park to increase her stats in various ways in future runs. You can also daydream to unlock different room types in the various floors of the dreamscape, and alter the rarity of drops. There are so many ways to progress and customize your experience in Dreamscaper.

The actual combat is easy to learn, but difficult to master. You have a ranged weapon, a melee weapon, a dodge, a shield for parrying, and up to two “Lucid Attacks” which are abilities that slowly recharge after using them. Cassidy can also perform a Lucid Awakening, which stops time for a short interval so you can deal massive damage to enemies. The Lucid Awakening can be stored or will recharge after a certain number of rooms.

Each of your weapons and abilities can have multiple rarities, modifiers, and levels. As a result, you’re constantly changing your loadout as you play through the levels, trying to master various abilities and set up a perfect build.

One thing I find more engaging than Hades’ combat, is that while there are some of the same mechanics such as blocking, dodging, etc, there are tons of weapons and playstyles to enjoy. Dreamscaper also has Lucid Mode, which is similar to Hades’ God Mode in that when you die, you get a damage resistance bonus in your next run that is cumulative.

If I’m honest though, I like the story of Dreamscaper, and I enjoy the idea of Cassidy learning to come to terms with her pain by becoming close with people around her. However, I find the supporting characters in the game a little less interesting than they should be. They all serve a purpose, of course, having a unique bond with Cassidy that teaches her about a different virtue/aspect such as dedication, wit, creativity, etc. Sadly though, they don’t tend to have as engaging of a storyline as Cassidy herself does.

The environments in Dreamscaper are nothing short of gorgeous. They have an almost painted look to them, and the evolving nature of each level of Cassidy’s dreams makes for engaging, unique visual variety. I only have one small visual complaint with the game. None of the human characters have faces. I know this is a stylistic choice, but there is something about it that I find creepy or off-putting.

The atmosphere of Dreamscaper is beautiful. The music is calming and relaxing, while the visuals are suitably surreal and dream-like. There is no voice acting, which is a small complaint, but there is enough to love here that I can easily overlook it. It is important to note as well, that the developers have at least one more major update planned for Dreamscaper. They are consistently updating to fix bugs and balancing issues, and it seems like they still have a lot of love for Cassidy and her adventure.

The story at the root of Dreamscaper is nice too. It is a tale of moving on from loss and learning how to build yourself up again. It is a story that celebrates art, creativity, and the act of following your passion. It is clear that Dreamscaper is a labor of love, and it is high on my list of games from this year. If you like Hades or Roguelikes in general, don’t pass this one up.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Dreamscaper was provided by Freedom Games for this review.

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Dreamscaper

$24.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Variable Difficulty
• Fantastic Gameplay and Combat
• Tons of Progression Elements
• Gorgeous Visual Design
• Calm Music

Cons

• No Voice Acting
• Characters Don't Have Faces (Creepy)
• Characters Aren't Super Interesting