I Did not enjoy this game, but you may...

[SocioPsycho]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeZBO72cD8I

This is a summary of my review video, which I encourage you to watch if you are looking for a more in-depth review.

Niko Through the dream proclaims itself to be a first person adventure experience with a puzzle element, but that's not exactly true; there is a lot- A LOT- of platforming throughout this game. I would say 40-60% of the game is platforming; a staggering amount considering there was no mention of platfomring on the games various pages.

The story of the game is supposed to be a narrative experience in a puzzle elemented world; but the narration is not told through vocalization or words, rather relying heavily on the 'dream world' element. It does not do a good job of providing a feeling of connection or emotional suspense. Information about the character and her story is told very abstractly, leaving much to the imagination. I never was able to understand why she was having issues, or even what they were.

How you experience a world through the level design is tied directly into how you enjoy the world, and understand what is happening. Unfortunately instead of walking you through the mechanics one at a time in order to then progress to a more difficult 'puzzle' (platforming element), they are mixed up in difficulty in a nonsensical way. Mechanics are introduced with no warning or time to learn how to use them, instead you are being chased or in a time crunch with no idea how to use the tools you are given. Because you have no clue what to do or no time to figure it out, you have to progress by failure; swimming through tubes without a breath bar, falling off of ledges continuously in order to get a jump perfectly, dying over and over again in order to accomplish the goal. It's not about just figuring out what you need to do, but understanding how to use those mechanics throughout the design. Dying over and over again due to failure in design takes away from the connection to the game, and just adds to the frustration.

The game overall is very lackluster. It doesn't respect your time. The story is vague, and the game drags on with childish puzzles and platforming elements that require many deaths to get through. I cannot recommend this game for it's standing price. If you would like more details on my comments, please watch the video review.

Thanks for your viewership and support; for more videos click here.
https://www.youtube.com/c/SocioPsycho

[ViolentPie]

Wow, this nearly perfectly encapsulates my experience! I keep getting stuck on new levels going "Okay, well, there's SOMETHING I need to do here, but I'll be arsed if I can figure out what it is."

[ORRI]

-_-