Game Reviews

Dream Revenant

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iOS
| Dream Revenant
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Dream Revenant
|
iOS
| Dream Revenant

Dream Revenant is an interesting idea presented in a precariously buggy way. Its clumsy controls are frustrating, and its open world is all too easy to get lost in.

But if you're looking for a game with a narrative that goes way beyond what you'd usually find in a mobile game, you're going to be in for a pleasant surprise.

It's just a shame you need to spend so much time battling against the foibles and frailties of the world to get to the story the game is trying to weave.

Nightmares

You're essentially stuck in the sub-conscious of a dying cartoonist, living out episodes from his life in bizarre, eerie, disjointed ways. It's a jarring experience in some respects, and the game can unsettle you with an orchestral swell or a sinister whisper of wind.

There are puzzles to solve here and there. Some of them are obvious, some of them vaguely esoteric, and some are essentially broken. One that involves tapping chunks of a scribbled brain doesn't work if you go too fast.

You collect tools as you play, and can swap these around to help you with various challenges. There's back-tracking required if you want to see everything the game has to offer.

In fact there's likely to be back-tracking even if you don't. It's surprisingly easy to miss vital objects, and sometimes it's utterly unclear which parts of the world you can and can't interact with.

Your journey isn't the easiest either. I got stuck in a river I couldn't get out of, wandered off the path up a hill to nowhere, and fumbled around in a dark corner I didn't seem to be able to escape from.

Sweet dreams

There's a lack of polish too. Even on an iPad Air the game judders and stutters, so much so that you're not sure whether you're about to see a new cut-scene or a crash.

If you persevere you'll find an interesting and affecting story here. But it's a big if. Dream Revenant crumbles under the weight of what it's trying to build, and where it should be impressive it feels a little shoddy.

Dream Revenant

A game with a lot of big ideas, none of which it quite manages to see through
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.