Dreamcore - Step into the Space between dreams.

Racula
Apr 21
4 min read

Hello all, Racula here and welcome to another exciting review for XPN Gamng!

Released for pc and consoles, I have been given the opportunity to explore a game known as Dreamcore.

What is Dreamcore?

Developed by Indie developer Montraluz, in partnership with publisher Tion Industries, Dreamcore is a surreal, first-person, psychological horror, exploration game, that immerses players into the haunting beauty of the largest, liminal spaces ever created in a video game.

Within the game, there is no guides, no direction on which way to go and a sense of no escape.

However you could carve one for yourself, the key lies in observation and intuition.

Dreamcore will be adding new levels over time, expanding the game's world and every level, is a standalone experience, offering players a unique blend of exploration and atmosphere.

Each environment within the game is a vast enigmatic labyrinth, where every corner hides a mystery and every path bends the rules of reality.

Dreampools

Dreampools is a surreal labyrinth of endless pools in Dreamcore, with dimly lit in areas by artificial glow. The tiled walls glisten with reflections, amplifying the stillness of the water. The only sound in this part, are your foot steps echoing, splashes as you walk in the water and the occasional drop of water in the distances.

I often felt like I was walking around in an abandoned swimming pool area of a leisure centre, it felt so surreal and the uneasiness that went with it, kept me in a constant state of anxiety. Like I kept feeling that something either was going to grab me from either around a corner, in the water or from behind me, even though I knew there was no monsters in the game.

I did find dreampools to be tedious at times, especially when trying to find a flashlight to progress further and go down to the basement. After wandering around for 2 hours, I started hearing music, I did have to turn my volume level to max to hear it, so I followed the sound around, which eventually lead me to the flashlight. Once I found one, I found several other areas the flashlight had been and I kept walking past them all without realising, it was a real face palm moment here seeing this.

Entering the basement made the level and myself even more uneasy and anxious, as you are pretty much running around in yet another labyrinth, only this time it's underground with only a flashlight to see where you are going.

This took me roughly another hour to find my way about, I did get annoyed as was trying to walk around parts that had bars around them and I couldn't get passed. There was plenty of room to get by, but it felt like an invisible wall or barrier was stopping me getting around.

Eventually, I did find the way out and I was so relived, I'm not a fan of being in the dark, basements or being underground and having all 3 combined, was very unnerving and made me constantly anxious.

But I can see why the developers did this, to create this sense of unease without monsters and they did a very good job of it.

Eternal Suburbia

Dreamcore's Eternal Suburbia is a neighbourhood frozen in an eerie, artificial tranquillity, where identical, houses stretch into infinity. But once inside one of the houses, the difference becomes apparent, were hallways loop into themselves and the cozy interior becomes an unsettling puzzle of sorts.

Again there's no monsters in this level, but that feeling that something is watching you, is still there especially with the night and day cycles.

During the day, a vintage jazz music plays about, making the world feel pleasant and yet calm, yet when night falls, the music goes off. Making the world feel lonely and an uneasy feeling creeps over when walking around at night.

This level didn't actually take me as long as the Dreampools level did, roughly about 30 minutes give or take. But I found this one more pleasant and easy going, compared to the other level. I felt more relaxed, less anxious and also like I was part of the film The Truman show as I wondered around at times.

Found Footage

The graphics for Dreamcore are phenomenal with every detail built in Unreal Engine 5. Every little detail, from the water movements and the brick/tile work in Dreampools, to the wooden paneling and lighting in Eternal Suburbia, it all looks so real as if it were live action footage.

In the options you can either have VHS mode on or off, with the first person view being that of a body cam, the VHS mode gives the camera that 1980's aesthetic feel and makes the game experience even more eerier.

Personally, I had it turned off as it was effecting my eyesight and causing me a headache as well, playing with the VHS mode off, still gave the game an eerie feel regardless.

Final Thoughts

Overall I found Dreamcore enjoyable and tedious at times, I know there's still more levels to come out over the seasons this year and next year as well. I'm very much looking forward to giving them all a go when released.

The developer's Montraluz, have really done a good job creating this game and it's graphics, if this game ever comes on VR, I'd happily give it a go as it definitely got the VR vibes and it would look so good as well. If first person, psychological, exploration style games are your type of things to play, then I recommend giving Dreamcore a go and see what you think for yourselves.

Dreamcore is available to play on:

Steam

Xbox

Playstation

XPN RATING 4 OUT 5