Dreamview Weekly Roundup #77

And I heard Bill lost his big toe on the last business trip. Don’t be ridiculous, readers would never walk this far for content. They’re behind us? Come on now, you’re pulling our leg. No, that joke isn’t too soon. Gosh, there you are, you gave us a fright! Looking for the Weekly Roundup? You might want to stand back; our estimations put you directly in the splash zone. Gulp residue doesn’t come off in the wash.

We’ve been busy catching up with our newly acquired subsidiary D.Tours – their tourist guide will come in handy if you’ve gone and stumbled into the Land of Lost Dreams. Here’s an idea: let’s pass the time sharing five of our favourite spooky creations whilst we figure out how to get you home. Come on, step inside the clover circle and we can get started. This is the 77th Roundup after all; we must abide by superstition in emergencies like these.

I Want You To Live#

by xTHExSILENCE

Estimated playtime: 30 minutes

Hello Dreamers, we want to play a game. One involving extreme peril, intense memory challenges and panicked physical contortion. No, this game may resemble your last extended family gathering, but this game promises a far greater threat: a timed escape room. Few souls have escaped xTHExSILENCE’s cunning traps or their devilish conundrums; fewer still have witnessed its mind-mangling ending. For as insistent as this game is on wanting you to live, these challenges are often unforgiving in their obscurity. Less hand-holding, more hand-snatching. Those who think themselves worthy to conquer these trials, make haste as the timer is already ticking down. As for the rest of us? We’ll be in the corner leisurely poking away on a jigsaw puzzle, thank you very much.

Realm of Madness#

by rrrw

Estimated playtime: 1-2 hours

If nothing else, Realm of Madness grabs the audience’s attention from minute one. Waking up tied upside-down to a pole, the player is thrown to the ground for a ritual sacrifice. Before you can ponder whether you misread the terms and conditions of your walking tour, a spectral wisp eviscerates your bindings, allowing you to grab a mace and clobber one of your captors off the towering ledge. Such a bombastic opening is fitting for rrrw’s horror-shooter, an unbridled fusion of rollercoaster set-pieces and Gothic atmosphere. Exploring its lavish castle and fighting cultists is enhanced by its unique inspirations: steampunk firearms, luminous gunpowder ammo, candlelit summoning statues. There’s even a hint of BioShock in its arcane spells and open combat – scorching a group with a fireball spell tossed on a patch of grass is but one of several creative opportunities. In true genre tradition, there’s even vents to crawl through. You know, in case you want to eavesdrop on what those cultists are having for lunch.

goth egg | slip and fall#

by CFulljames and KaTMalenjamz

Estimated playtime: 3 minutes

Poached, fried, scrambled; with all the ways we torture eggs on the daily, we’re not surprised they’re a bit emo. Channeling that attitude into an alt-rock banger, CFulljames and KaTMalenjamz’s aggressive riffs and unapologetically metal lyrics instantly pin the audience into a yolk-hold. Boasting a killer style that’d make Humpty Dumpty blush, Goth Egg ascends to instant superstar status, effortlessly dropping punchy bars about pinching wet floor signs. Their rebellious exploits define Slip and Fall as a chart-topping smash in the making; whilst us mere mortals must contend with sliding on puddles, Goth Egg simply rolls with it. Try resisting the urge to headbang as a carton of eggs grinds and slides down a half-pipe, all whilst smashing out addictive drum hooks on vats of toxic waste. With tracks this gnarly, we wouldn’t want Goth Egg to ever show their sunny side.

Found Footage: "wavves mixtape 01"#

by WavesAtNight

Estimated playtime: 2 minutes

There’s an art to creating an authentic found footage feel: fine-tuning distortions, startling video static and just enough context to conjure an atmosphere of inexplainable dread. All jolly good fun then, and one of our personal favourite horror sub-genres over in the Dreamiverse. As self-proclaimed experts on found object restoration, we applaud WavesAtNight’s haunting montage for sending chills down our collective spines. Perfectly matched to a minimalist techno beat, this series of images tingles our scare sensors, particularly bizarre insect close-ups and a liminal kitchen. Interludes of shapes and light projections are powerfully tactile, heightening the illusion that our console’s transformed into a cassette player outside our gaze. An abrupt hard cut lurches us back into reality; there’s little doubt that WavesAtNight understands what makes found footage resonate.

The Pale Hermit#

by Killford2

Estimated playtime: 2 minutes

As we wrap credits on another curious Killford2 animation, the innate stardom of their wickedly strange creatures shines brightly. After initially cowering in horror at their elongated limbs and void-black pupils, a shift into swashbuckling adventure and now The Pale Hermit’s adorable slice-of-life has us pining for a Manfoetus plushie. Seemingly growing tired of haunting homes, The Pale Hermit depicts our plucky slug child decorating their own. Luminous pumpkins and arcane eggs stick to Killford2’s overriding ethos of embracing the weird; a motto that proves the strange can be equally beautiful. Naturally, these seasonal design choices are so pristine, we wouldn’t be surprised if we spotted them in a showroom. Don’t mind us crawling underground for a private consultation.

Check out the playable edition of this week's Dreamview Weekly Roundup right here in Dreams!

Which creations caught your eye in the Dreamiverse this week, and why? Tell us about your personal picks over on the official Dreams forums(opens in new tab)!