Dreamcore on Xbox is a weird but interesting experience. From the start the game has a creepy, dream-like vibe. The menus look glitched, and the sounds are slowed down and echoey, kind of like you’re stuck in a dream or an old video game from your childhood. CRT, VHS and Chromatic Abberation video options all add to the eerie "found video" look–if you turn them on that is.
When you start playing, everything feels slightly "off" on purpose. Some parts look like they're from old games, and the lighting is soft and hazy. Characters and backgrounds sometimes act strangely, which adds to the feeling that something isn’t quite right.
Booting up, a reverberating tone is mixed with sounds tinged with static. Menus drift and shimmer and game icons float, slightly misaligned, as if you’re not browsing a dashboard, but maybe using an ancient operating system on an equally aged console.
Gameplay in Dreamcore is a surreal fusion of reality and dream logic, a walking game with no enemies, monsters, guns or gore. If (as was I) you're hoping for something akin to Portal then you're going to be disappointed. The controls are simple because the gameplay is simple; movement on the left stick and look with the right. Sprint (it's more like a ‘stumble’) is on LB and for some reason you can zoom the view in and out with the triggers. Whether you’re exploring a bizarrely designed deserted water park or an endless suburb set on rolling hills with neat houses divided by white picket fences, the haunting music adds to the atmosphere–everything feels half-remembered, like fragments of dreams you’ve had but can’t quite place.
The big, unsurmountable problem is that Dreamcore's style will definitely not be for everyone. It’s not scary, it never goes for the shock factor or jumpscares, nothing much happens other than you wandering around searching for a way out of two samey-looking, procedurally generated levels (there are more to come.)
Dreamcore is definitely unsettling, but you won't quite know why–it's psychological and could definitely cause some bad dreams. However, if you like strange or nostalgic aesthetics, it’s an interesting experience despite its bland visuals. If you just want to play something normal, it might feel too weird, but you'll definitely get your money's worth of wandering around feeling lost, dazed and confused–especially at its bargain price tag of £7.49.
Thanks to TLÖN Industries and Plan of Attack for the review code.