Dreamscaper is an isometric indie roguelite created by Afterburner Studios that was originally released on Steam back in 2020 (Check Out Our Steam Preview!) and is now making its way to Switch on August 5. When a brave woman is forced to confront her inner demons within a world created by a mixture of her fears, it’s up to you to make sure she’s able to regain her lost memory through fast-paced and action-packed roguelite gameplay. Unlike others of its genre, Afterburner Studios capitalized on other important elements of gameplay that made this roguelite stand out.
While living a secluded life in a new town, Cassidy is constantly haunted by her mysterious past which causes her to have vivid nightmares of her traumas. The only way for her to overcome her deep depression is to fight through the stages of her lucid dreams to reclaim her lost memories. Once she completes a level within her dream, she starts to recall bits of her memory. As a protagonist, Cassidy is someone who feels very realistic by how well-written her circumstances are in life and what she’s emotionally going through. It’s also interesting to see the duality of the character as she’s both this tenacious warrior in the dream world and a meek, awkward young woman in the real world. Afterburner did an incredible job humanizing Cassidy as a character and making us connect with her. It’s thanks to this beautifully written story that you’ll be more motivated to complete the usual frustrating factor that comes with roguelites.
Being a newcomer to the city of Red Haven, Cassidy can also build relationships with some of the locals. When you’re not fighting for your life in the dream world at night, during the day she can talk with NPCs and learn more about them either through chit-chat or giving them gifts. After raising your affinity with them, you will trigger a conversation scene which will end with Cassidy receiving a permanent buff from them of some kind. This is a nice mechanic as it’s reminiscent of the social link system from the Persona games. While it may not be as in-depth, it does well in both building out Cassidy’s personality and the world around her as she interacts with all these unique characters. The conversation scenes also have charm and authenticity while not appearing as a cheap way to throw in exposition. While it could be seen as a chore to constantly craft gifts and grind these relationships, I saw them as a good way to give myself a break from all the action.
Speaking of action, let’s talk about the real meat of Dreamscaper: the rougelite gameplay. When day turns to night, Cassidy will fight through her nightmarish dreams that are constructed by her forgotten memories. The game then turns into a hack and slash dungeon crawler with a map that is broken up into different rooms either have enemies, puzzles, armor, weapons, and shops with new upgrades that you use Sand to purchase.
There’s almost a limitless arsenal of weapons and powers at your disposal, leaving you so much room to customize and experiment with Cassidy’s combat. She is equipped with a melee weapon, ranged weapon, a dodge ability and a shield that can be used to parry enemy melee attacks or projectiles. Whether you like the speed that comes with wielding daggers or smashing your enemies with a gigantic hammer, the choice is yours. To makes things even better, Cassidy also can equip two Lucid abilities which are spells with devastating power. Most of these contain elemental damage, like freezing your enemies in ice or getting them trapped in a swirling tornado. However, since it is also rougelite, permadeath is an issue as you will lose all your abilities and gear in a blink of an eye if you meet your tragic end. If you’re forced to do another run, it’s important to explore all the areas and do every challenge and puzzle you come across just to get that loot back.
I found myself enjoying the combat in Dreamscaper, which is thanks to the combination of the fluid movements of Cassidy’s battle animations and the versatility provided through the many weapons that can be used. Some of my favorite moments were successfully launching a counterattack after a parry and destroying distant enemies with my Superman heat vision. With so many ways to build Cassidy, it took away from the frustration of dying to an unlucky stab in the back and made it easier to jump back in to try a new approach.
Once you’ve explored every room of the current stage of a nightmare, your last stop will be the boss room. The bosses are demonic beings made up of the negative emotional elements in Cassidy’s mind (Fear, Sorrow, etc.), and as you can expect they’re no pushover. It’s important to come into these battles with strong gear and abilities. You’ll also need to quickly pick up their attack patterns if you have any hope of surviving. If you do die, then it’s back to the very beginning. Fortunately, after you beat them once you have the option to skip them in later runs, which can progression so much easier.
After each run, you will return to the real world where you can use the skill points you’ve obtained to make things easier for Cassidy later, whether it’s meditating in the park to upgrade your health and Lucid meter or sketching in the café to craft new weapons and spells that you can find in the nightmare world. Every little bit helps, so take advantage of the time you have during the day when you have it.
Dreamscaper provides an amazing blend of addicting heavy-action gameplay within a unique world and a painfully relatable narrative that will certainly get you invested. The art style matches well with the mysterious, nightmarish tone of the game, and the choice to make the characters faceless conveys a sense of discomfort, almost like you’re trapped in a dream yourself. Afterburner’s rougelite certainly deserves a spot in the Switch’s library as it’s I’m confident that it’s something you’ll occasionally go back to, whether it’s for the action-RPG gameplay or the bizarre yet compelling presentation of Cassidy’s journey within her nightmares.
9.5/10
Check Out the Dreamscaper Trailer:
For more information, visit: https://www.freedom.gg/dreamscaper
Related: DREAMSCAPER Preview for Steam Early Access
Nintendo Switch Review
I've loved playing video games ever since I first played Battletoads on the NES when I was a kid. Since then, I've played a wide variety of games on different systems, including Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and have mostly gravitated towards open-world RPGs and action-adventure games with amazing storylines and character arcs. I'm passionate when comes to writing and interested in working as a narrative designer.
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