Reader reviews for The Dream Machine

The Dream Machine captured my interest instantly with its eerie mood, soft ominous music, unique visual style and enjoyable puzzles. The first chapter was gripping from start to finish with each puzzle luring me deeper into the storyline, with intriguing twists and turns.

By the end of the chapter, I was left eager to see what happens next.

Chapter 2 gets off to a good start with cool puzzles and continues the gripping storyline. However, it feels more padded out with surplus dialogue. Given that the game has no voice acting, it can feel like a chore clicking your way through all the text. But still, the game is pretty enjoyable and, once again, left me longing for chapter 3.

Chapter 3 is where is all goes wrong as it branches away from the main storyline into a subplot. The puzzles are pretty banal, involving fetching items or running errands for characters before they share information with you. You do this so that you can complete another errand for another character. And this isn’t the worst of it. You will spend most of this chapter reading dialogue. There are so many insufferable and pointless conversations to click through. Barely any of it has any bearing on the main plot.

It’s a shame to see a promising game taking such a negative turn, but completing chapter 3 felt like work rather than a game. It was bad enough to put me off the following chapters. I may never know how the saga ends, but I no longer care.

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Time Played: 2-5 hours
Difficulty: Easy