Dreamscaper (Switch)

Cassidy is a moderately normal young woman. She struggles with making a human connection. A tragic past event has put her guard up. Anxiety weakens her ability to communicate.

And she can’t get a good night’s sleep. These days, though, who can?

But Cassidy’s restless nights are plagued by a deadly dream world, twisted by her subconscious. In her dreams, her real world issues coagulate into monstrous enemies that attack her with ferocity. Rather than dream about idling through her snowy childhood home or rainy city streets, Cassidy fights off against embodiments of fear, isolation, and resentment in those once trusted spaces.

Dreamscaper is one of the most engaging spins on the roguelike genre not only because of its engaging systems but because of how it adapts a person’s very human struggles into the format.

Over the past couple of years I have become increasingly enchanted with the particular adrenaline and dopamine rush roguelikes provide. There’s something intoxicating about looping through similar encounters constantly working towards incremental change. It’s a particular reason I feel especially ashamed for not having played Hades and only briefly dipping my toes into Returnal.

Dreamscaper is a similar rush. As Cassidy, players will fall through their bed, plunging into the dream world where Cassidy’s deepest issues fight against her. Except in Cassidy’s dreams, death means waking up to a reality in which she still suffers from her insecurities but has learned a bit more about herself and overcome just enough that maybe the next day will be easier and those dreams will be slightly less terrifying and pungent.

As a person with a honeycomb of anxieties large and small, Dreamscaper‘s delicate narrative hit close to home. It wasn’t until a few bouts of restless nights that I realized the loop in which Cassidy found herself, a loop I’m certain other struggle from. Over the course of a few hours and a handful of runs, players begin to put together a few of the puzzle pieces and come to a better understanding of what is plaguing this woman’s sleep and her day-to-day existence. Memories scattered across levels show Cassidy fondly reflecting on past events in her life. Conversations with people during the day reveal a woman who often doesn’t know the right words to introduce herself to people, coming across as awkward or rude.

Dreamscaper finds a way to gameify the struggle of human emotions. Imagine, for a moment, being able to fall asleep at night and wake up the next morning having leveled up your personality or emotional maturity by combating with dream monsters. It’s less Nightmare on Elm Street and more Chicken Soup for the Soul. That sounds great doesn’t it?

Cassidy is able to dive into the dream world and slowly level herself up, becoming a stronger person in her dreams to become a stronger person in her everyday life. This is most recognizable in the permanent buffs players can unlock using a currency called Resolve. In her waking hours, Cassidy travels to the park and can sit on a bench and meditate. Players can select “develop a healthy mindset” to raise Cassidy’s maximum health. “Be okay asking for health” grants a companion at the start of a new run. “Don’t let my inner demons get to me” allows a boss to take more damage.

While it might sound like simple character upgrades, having Cassidy meditate shows that the work she puts into the dream world will help improve her actual life. These are lessons Cassidy is teaching herself and by becoming emotionally healthier during the day, her rest can come easier in the form of improving her combat efficiency in dreams.

I absolutely love this cycle of improvement in Dreamscaper. It gives weight to the decisions that other games often turn into simple +1 to stats. And sure, Cassidy’s hypothetical improvement is relegated to text boxes and menus, but when being analytical about what Afterburner Studios is trying to accomplish with Dreamscaper, it shows that care was put into gameplay, narrative, and how the two feed into each other.

Cassidy is also able to sketch during the day, using currency primarily obtained from felling bosses. In the Dreamscape, Cassidy will find blueprints to weapons and equipment. She can then sketch these out where they will then become permanently available in subsequent runs. By daydreaming, Cassidy can unlock modifications to layers of the Dreamscape. These come in the forms of challenge or puzzle rooms, unlocking more shop items, and other special floors.

Lastly, Cassidy can craft items that she can give to a handful of people she encounters across town. Being shy and nervous about interacting with new people, Cassidy must learn how to forge relationships with strangers. Players will learn what kind of gifts these people would like and after Cassidy crafts something, she can give it to anyone she pleases. Hand a person their preferred gift and their relationship with Cassidy will level up faster. Each acquaintance grants a specific type of bonus that Cassidy can be equipped with during the Dreamscape. Based on playstyle, players may focus on leveling up one relationship over the other but have the option to switch up the boost after clearing a section of the Dreamscape.

Every aspect of Dreamscaper feeds into the other. It’s an essential component of any roguelike and, when done smartly, can enhance both the narrative and the gameplay itself. I found myself warming up instantly to Cassidy because her character and the ones around her are grounded enough and don’t feel like caricatures. I loved going to the record shop and trying to identify the small referential vinyl covers on the Switch’s tiny screen, knowing that the person responsible for the game’s music had great taste akin to mine. Learning about what caused Cassidy’s retreat into life in a small apartment in a busy city felt earned as I peeled away new details run after run.

While the story of Dreamscaper might feel muted, it’s appropriately so. Initially, I felt that the character’s literal blank faces would prohibit me from making a connection. Instead, I became entranced by the game’s dream-like aesthetic with often sleepy, blurred colors in the Dreamscape clashing with the bright clarity of Cassidy’s waking world.

Being impressed by cohesive mechanics is one thing but I was surprised by how excellent of a sheer combat game Dreamscaper turned out to be. This game is exceptionally fun to fight in.

Cassidy is a capable warrior in her dream state, able to wield an arsenal of melee and ranged weapons while equipping fantastic powers called Lucid Attacks. The melee system comes alive by giving Cassidy control of traditional weapons like swords and then supplementing the loadout with pool cues, yo-yos, and parasols. She might fire a bow or shoot a blast of energy with a finger gun, using the digit attached to her hand as a launcher. Different boots can also be equipped that may leave a trail of fire after dashing or cause an AoE quake after landing a dodge.

Players can simply hack away at enemies with normal and special attacks, unleashing combos that change up with the massive list of attacks. Lucid Attacks require energy and are on a cooldown but act like magic spells that cause massive burst damage or apply status effects. The best part of Dreamscaper‘s combat is how players can unleash a perfect attack by hitting the attack button after Cassidy flashes during a combo, dealing more damage. By parrying at the right moment, Cassidy can unleash a shockwave that can stun or hurt an enemy. Better yet, the window for perfect moves can be expanded upon by meditating.

Each floor and biome of Dreamscaper is full of enemies, traps, and secrets. Bombs are available that can unlock doors, crack open resource nodes, damage enemies, or unveil a secret room. As players upgrade the Dreamscape, new challenges and rewards open up that will grant Cassidy better equipment with higher ratings and more stat bonuses. Nothing in the game feels obtuse and that is appreciated. There are menus showing off challenges players can complete that reward materials for unlocks. Enemies have a set number of patterns they use to telegraph attacks.

Over the course of a few dozen runs in Dreamscaper, I began to grow comfortable wearing down enemies and bosses at a rapid rate. I could see the logic of map layout and how the game teaches players to conserve bombs and keys for when they may need them the most.

I never felt powerless, as a better weapon or new blueprint was usually around the corner. Dreamscaper is always pushing the player towards some progression goal even if that goal isn’t crawling deeper into Cassidy’s darkest dreams. Maybe players are working towards mastering their favorite items to unlock a passive bonus. Maybe they are working to fully bond with an NPC to further realize a build.

However, I will admit there comes a point in Dreamscaper where the difficulty can level out to the point where a player starts seeing little return on their runs. At a surprisingly early juncture in the game, players can adjust the difficult of certain aspects of the run, such as boss health and enemy aggression. While these adjustments can earn Cassidy better rewards for her daytime ventures, it may turn easier sections of the game hard. And eventually, it becomes excessively costly to level up meditations, sketches, and daydreams. But it is a cost I was happy to pay because the game felt so fully realized and good to play.

Dreamscaper is an exceptionally heartfelt, engaging roguelike. By offering up a gameplay loop that hopes to fuel a deeper narrative, players may find that the game is one of the rare instances of synergy in the genre. Using a smart upgrade system to fuel its weighty, acrobatic combat, Dreamscaper so frequently punches above its weight. For those who get lost in ever-engaging loops, this one is for you.