DreamsCom ’22 – a huge, community-first gaming expo made entirely in Dreams, by the way – has wrapped up for another year. We had a lot of fun checking out all the player-made booths on the virtual show floor and interviewing the Dreams developers live on our Twitch channel. Very good one! did you know who? (We. We knew. Now you know too!)
the show floor Still playable on DreamsExplore*, hunt around, discover secrets… I won’t spoil too much, but suffice it to say we have some pretty cool surprises for those of you who find all the hidden treasures.
And guess what? All of these great creations featured at DreamsCom ’22 are still playable on Dreams today.We’ve picked a few highlights from this year’s lineup – check them out below. You can catch up on VOD on Twitchand even hear the creators themselves talking about the game!)
Protoland
Paulo Lameiras
The Prince of Pixels of Dreams is back. This time in 3D. Yes, the creator of the Impy-winning side-scrolling shooter Solar Blast turned her hand to her third dimension. The result is attractive. Against a magical backdrop of repeating stony cloud textures that fill the sky and flat green fields that feel nostalgic, we cycle through the weapon wheel and fire at the drones. Things get even more surreal when you discover you have the ability to freeze time. In a suddenly surrounded area, move everything slowly so you can aim your shots better and calculate your platform route more quickly. It’s clear from his two taster levels that Paulo’s understanding of level design translates well across dimensions.
distortion
Orksom
Very nice concept, no set dressing required. In this puzzle-platform demo, you are physically linked to a corpse. Your goal is to navigate a mysterious seaside bunker (sorry old beans, but the truth hurts) while carrying this dead weight. Still, they’re not entirely useless. The gas mask that ties you to your body might be the first clue that the stamina meter is linked to it. The process of learning how to deftly avoid obstacles and threats while picking up and lowering your companion is strangely engaging.
community garden showcase
Nephrendil
A garden is a meaningful place. In the garden, growth is everything, small victories are celebrated, and communities come together to share knowledge and even sustain themselves. His asset artist Nephrendil understands this deeply and is a joy to watch. They run a community he asset jam to populate the Dreamiverse with a wide variety of low-thermo (briefly see memory limits for scenes) flora that anyone can use in their creations. All entries are presented in an interactive showcase of what is possible when the community grows something together. As Season 1 draws to a close, everyone’s hard work is in full bloom. I look forward to seeing what comes next.
battle pigs
flash medallion
They say war never changes, but Battlepigz say otherwise. Squads of elite sows behind enemy lines have been smashed up to 1/9th, a much different kind of conflict. This real-time tactical shooter lives up to its concept in this generous demo as well. There are expertly crafted and presented tutorials as well as 3 full levels out of the 40 promised in his 5 campaigns for Full His release. Anyone familiar with classic shmups such as Cannon Fodder will quickly become familiar with this pig platoon. There’s real tactical depth here, with different ways to delegate power and hone your approach to each mission.
spider has 4 legs
By Pierogi-boi and Phreakerz
It looks like it just stepped out of the indie bestseller category – its creepy, sloppy 2D paint art style is to die for – in this QWOP-esque movement-based challenge. Control the titular quadruped by hovering over the legs and manually dragging each to the next position. Simple, isn’t it? Until you look at the fiercely competitive race scoreboards and realize there are countless ways to optimize your gyroscopic skittering to beat your friends’ times.
Liminal
By Rammstein53452 and matizzle1
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past year, it’s that our community absolutely loves boundaryliness. Endless staircases, empty corridors, quirky offices… (the last one is non-exclusive, just his Mm Towers every Tuesday). Rammstein53452 and matizzle1 took a fresh approach to this demo for their upcoming psychological survival horror shooter. This is a fun range of highlight reels. Expect everything from post-apocalyptic orange skies surrounded by massive walls of tunnels of glass and concrete, to humanoid shapes wrapped in plastic, to terrifying encounters that emerge from the darkness. With the Point’s audio design and spot-on pacing, this is a good sign (or a very bad sign?) for its planned September release.
*Internet connection Required for online play.
