Dreamview Weekly Roundup #102

Another week, another weekly roundup, folks. And with that new week comes another meme format to capitalise on, as the Grimace Shake trend has seemingly taken over the Dreamiverse. We couldn't justify doing a whole roundup just dedicated to Grimace-based creations to our overlords (we did try, though!), but just search Grimace Shake in Dreams and prepare to witness the horror for yourself*.

*Disclaimer: The Impsider is not responsible for any Grimace-related injuries that may occur as a result of out recommendations.

Honestly, we're still amazed that we've the chance to write over 100 editions of this absolute nonsense high quality Dreamiverse journalism. Plus, this week, we also started releasing some special lists covering some of the best Dreams games in each genre. If you haven't done so already, check out our lists to see some of the best Platformers, Music Games, and Horror Games in Dreams. We'll be adding more in the coming weeks, so let us know what some of your favourite creations in Dreams are, and more importantly, why we're wrong!

Beats & Watermelons#

by bigricky30

Estimated playtime: Replayable

Not to be confused with The Smashing Pumpkins (ask your parents, folks!), Beats & Watermelons is a rhythm game where you find yourself bludgeoning the delicious goop out of those spherical fruits. Accompanied by some incredible Dreamiverse jams by a variety of talented creators, timing your button presses to the beat is key here, as you only have a handful of missed beats available before it's Game Over. It's tricky then, and it only gets harder as the game quickly incorporates multiple button prompts appearing at once for you to keep to the beat. But there's something really satistfying about hitting those buttons at just the right time and watching your spiky hammer explodeify (is that a word?) the watermelon in front of you. Incidentally, have you seen the square watermelons you can get in Japan? Mind-blowing. Japan are truly on another level, but they wouldn't really work so well in this game, as they can't roll.

A World Away#

by TaibhseLa

Estimated playtime: N/A

For anyone that has seen any previous examples of TaibhseLa's work, you'll know that they have a very distinct style that is all their own. That flecky, pastel, flowing approach is fully on display here in A World Away, a beautiful piece of dynamic art that shows off an experience that we've all had in our lives, daydreaming (we daydream approximately ten times a day, yet somehow we are still semi-functioning members of society). The unnamed young woman looks out of her window wistfully, contemplating things that we can only imagine: the state of global politics? Why bad things happen to good people? What to have for dinner? But these questions, vital as they are, might not be what she is actually considering when you notice the ring box next to her on the windowsill. Perhaps she's received a proposal that she is unsure of, or she's starting to question what that might mean for her life. Regardless, this artwork brings up more questions than answers, and that's what art is all about*.

*This definitely isn't a get out of jail free card that lets us get away with admitting we know nothing about art.

A Little Drive#

by superafroboy

Estimated playtime: 30 minutes

Ooh, this is funky. When was the last time you saw a 2D driving game like this? A Little Drive takes the energy of an extreme mountain biking precision platformer like Trials, and puts you behind the seat of...a yellow VW Beetle. It's not exactly extreme mountain biking, then, but it is a whole lotta fun. Driving this little car through unreasonably designed roads, and treacherous mountain paths is the name of the game here, and the increasingly challenging obstacles become deadly really fast. But there's also a very interesting sense of scale to this game. The way the camera is pulled in close, it almost looks miniscule, and like a children's play set. We're getting big Micro Machines energy from this, and we're here for it. We guess all that's left to say is "Yellow Car!" (punches sibling in the arm). If you know, you know.

The Arbornaut#

by Rabrit

Estmated playtime: 1 hour

Woah, what's this? We've somehow stumbled back into the wonderful era of 90s 3D mascot platformers. And we're happy we did, as The Arbornaut is an absolute joy to play. You play as Sproket, a Gardener of the Galaxy (a pun worthy of The Impsider, right there!), who, alongside your trusty watering can robot pal is on a mission to collect intergalactic plant seeds. This is one of those games where just doing stuff is really enjoyable. The jumping around feels tight, the fighting is frantic, and controlling your robotic friend to water the plants and defeat fiery enemies is both calming and punchy. And it doesn't hurt that the game is absolutely stunning in places. When you're in outside environments, surrounded by pastel-coloured space nebulae and thousands of stars, the world really feels alive and a pleasure to be a part of. But what makes this unique, is that on top of the fun platforming and gorgeous space-scapes is a positive environmental message, and a theme that we need to take care of nature for future generations.

ドーナツで遊ぶな！　Don't play with Donuts！#

by guttoday

Estimated playtime: N/A

We're not really sure how to describe this experience. It has the energy of a Keita Takahashi experience (Katamari series, Wattam), and the feeling of a tech demo from the PS3 days. Whatever it is, it's awesome. We never realised it could be so much fun to play with donuts, and pressing all the buttons to see what donut-themed anarchy you can create. Each button deploys a different surprise, from donuts erupting out of the groud by pressing , to the whole donut shop exploding with a swift press of , there's constantly a new reaction to discover. We didn't know we needed a donut physics simulator when we woke up today, but discovering the cutest army of fried dough we've ever seen has been an absolute delight! Go-nuts for donuts!

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!（新しいタブで開く）