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Casual Friday

This screenshot is from Dreamland. Way back when, Becky and I were going to double-team a playthrough. Tony Tough was nominated for the AGCPT and Dreamland was nominated for the CCPT. Both games have similar elements so the thought was that it would be fun to play the two simultaneously. Never worked out. Too many hurdles. But it was an interesting thought.

Dreamland is the name of an aging, (perhaps decaying is a better word,) amusement park. Your little brother sneaked out one night, and when he returned he was afflicted with some unknown and apparently un-treatable malady. The only clue to where he had been was a ticket to the amusement park. So, hoping to find out what ails your brother, if not finding the cure outright, off you go.

There are quite a few HO screens. They are of the standard random-item type except that most screens require some interactivity.

The puzzles range from fairly easy to very difficult. There are many locations within the park, and each is accessed the first time using a ticket that is won by playing a match three game. Very simple at first, but increasing in difficulty with each succeeding game.

Dreamland is owned by a little man of sorts. If any of you have ever played the Queen of Spades game, our little man is very reminiscent of the gremlin in that game. When you first enter the park he gives you a simple challenge. Either solve everything he has laid out for you, or meet the same fate as your brother. Fair enough!

The game is from astargames. As far as I know this is the only casual game they ever put out. However, like other one-hit wonders, most notably Codeminion and Phantasmat, Dreamland is a stellar game. I wish it had some features that are common to later games, such as the ability to change difficulty levels, and the ability to change screen size being two examples.  But this game was released back in May of 2010, so many of the things we take for granted just weren’t being done then.

Music is good. Graphics are excellent, although a bit dark in some scenes. There is no voice acting to speak of. Only the park owner has a speaking role, and he is rarely heard from. There is an interactive map, which was innovative at the time this was released. The game does have a tutorial that can’t be skipped. However you simply shut each tutorial screen. Fortunately, once you have done a tutorial-required action once, you will not be bothered again.

The above screenshot comes very close to the beginning of the game. It has been a long time since I last played Dreamland. But just walking through the entry gates was enough to make me want to keep it around for another replay.

Sounds interesting.

These kinds of amusement parks lend themselves extremely well to the horror genre, imo. There’s always a certain creepy element in the atmosphere.

Even if it’s not a horror game, the mood looks to be heavy…