Dreamview Weekly Roundup #79

Winter is well into its wintering, and the darkness is absolute. Remember the “days” when a flaming ball of gas called “the Sun” used to rise over the horizon, triumphantly kicking the tyrant Moon in its cheesy bum on the way up? Yeah, us neither, really. So long ago now.

Still, everywhere, tiny points of light remain (and we’re not talking about the stars, those smug little nerds. Stop twinkling at us and go to bed already). Case in point: the five dazzling creations that populate this Friday’s Dreamview Weekly Roundup.

LOOKING THROUGH-A Visual Puzzle Game#

by Todu

Estimated playtime: 5 mins

Furnished with Dreams’ new(ish) sticker tech, and a fundamental aversion to 3D sculpts, Todu’s back at it with yet another playful puzzler. Your mission? To use motion controls to sweep a magical magnifying glass across a series of 18 scenes and uncover hidden solutions to increasingly abstract brainteasers. Some challenges simply ask you to scan for an unseen secret somewhere on the screen - particular shoutout to the one involving a four-leaf clover, we’re big fans of those here at The Impsider - but others require some real out-of-the-box thinking. Fans of Flash browser game classics such as The Impossible Quiz should absolutely take a closer look.

REFLE/CTION#

by Tapio_X and DoubleODobby

Estimated runtime: Looping

A vision in virtual 8mm film, this hypnotic loop of footage will transport you somewhere completely other. Tapio_X has a real talent for oddly beautiful, often melancholic visual narratives: on these sunset-gilded shores, the contents of a surburban household find themselves washed halfway out to sea. DoubleODobby’s evocative soundtrack unspools in the background as you ponder a stranded hat stand, and a pair of high heels buried in the sand, each new shot framing its own inanimate wanderer.

Hook Shot Demo#

by Azure_Kn1ght

Estimated playtime: 1 hour

With the full game due to release in early 2023, the demo of this first-person puzzle platformer (which has been in development for two years) is less of a peep, more of a good long stare at what Hook Shot will be. Think Portal, plus parkour: switches and launchpads around chambers require you to be at your double-jumping, wall-running, and grappling best if you want to move through this mysterious facility. While the building blocks of these early-game puzzles won’t blow your mind in terms of complexity, what DOES stand out is just how well its creator integrates Spider-Man-esque movement into a whole other game genre - and makes planning and executing on those movements the core challenge. Oh, and the absurd levels of polish might just freak your bean entirely; spot-on sound cues and weighty animations for jumping make running your robot self through these courses feel like nothing else in Dreams. On this evidence, we’re going into Spring swinging.

Just Baking!#

by Jimmyjules153

Estimated playtime: 45+ mins

Exactly what it says on the (cake) tin. An accurate description for this might be “Diner Dash for people with anxiety”; you’re tasked with combining ingredients to bake goods, then setting them out on your shop shelf. Hungry punters lope by, buying whatever takes their fancy - but there’s no time pressure here, no “optimal” way to display your wares (although you’ll make faster cash if you can manage to present the popular item of the day). The intrigue here is in the experimentation, slowly puzzling out which ingredients create which treats. You’re not punished for inedible stuff; you can simply throw it out and try again, until finally, you happen across a winner. Isn’t that the real joy of baking, after all? Not the business element, but the alchemical process of discovering something new and delicious to share with the world. (Well, that, and eating the batter raw until you feel sick. Heaven.)

THE GOSPEL OF HUMPTY#

by Bevis2

Estimated runtime: 15 mins

There’s only so much words can really DO for the creations of Bevis2. This is something you have to personally witness. Animated short THE GOSPEL OF HUMPTY is - best we can tell - the latest entry in Bevis2’s Humpty saga, which uses body horror, hallucinatory audio and theatrical scores to mind-altering effect. The flames of our deific egg’s passion have burned too bright, it seems, somehow leading to the downfall of society. A night at the opera becomes utterly unglued, with us inhabiting the point-of-view of a shrieking, swinging soprano with two much skin. Humanoid frogs terrorise and are terrorised - sometimes riding on horseback through a ruined city, sometimes triggering nuclear explosions. Two elderly friends sit on a porch, calmly watching ragdolling bodies fall like so much rain. Each successive scene is a new mad tapestry - quasi-Biblical, perhaps even Renaissance at certain angles. Indeed, venturing into the abyss is sometimes the first step towards rebirth - a theme Bevis2 earnestly explores, as our hero emerges from this decadent destruction with yet more revelations around Life, Love and Transcendence. And we emerge missing more than a few brain cells. (Worth it.)

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!(abre numa nova aba)