Dreaming Sarah is a pixel art platformer that takes place in a surreal, Alice in Wonderland-esque environment. Your goal is to explore a weird dreamlike world, interacting with seemingly innocent objects and its inhabitants to collect various items. The entire game revolves around backtracking, as areas you already visited will change after hitting certain checkpoints. For example, a new item, doorway, or character will appear in previously explored areas.
The game’s platforming elements are trivial; figuring out where to go and how to advance is the main challenge. In fact, there are very few places where you can trigger a game over, and respawn points are extremely generous. You’ll find yourself progressing through a series of themed areas including a desert, haunted house, grassland, underwater zone, lava region, and more. I won’t spoil some of the creepier areas. Throughout your journey, it feels like you’re being watched, and a hazy fog makes things feel… off. I enjoyed the surreal atmosphere of Dreaming Sarah, as it closely portrays a fever dream throughout.
The game’s many areas often require a certain item or tool to progress. For example, to get through a series of invisible platforms in the haunted house, you need special glasses to reveal them. I found myself constantly missing an item along the way, reaching an inevitable impasse, and having to backtrack absolutely everywhere to hunt for whatever obscure item I needed. This exercise started to get frustrating after a while, as levels are usually stretched out and maze-like. You may end up running in one direction for two minutes before realizing it’s the wrong way. I admittedly began to use a walkthrough midway through the game, once I realized the entirely of Dreaming Sarah involves this routine.
The game’s length is quite short even without any tutorial aid, clocking in at around two hours on average. Dreaming Sarah is an artsy, experimental indie game and is intended to offer a nightmarish experience without gore or jump scares. It’s like a David Lynch film-turned-game. Now, I fully expected there to be some sort of hidden meaning behind the game’s cryptic locations and characters, but there wasn’t much to be found. Maybe I’m just missing it. I think Dreaming Sarah is a decent experience, but there are enough indies out there that go for similar themes and hit harder both story and gameplay-wise.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
The game's creepy pixel art environments do wonders in keeping the player engaged.
Background music is simple, but matches the creepy atmosphere thoughout.
The game's plot has a ton of potential, but ultimately falls flat.
The backtracking exercise gets repetitive after a while, and will likely only appeal to fans of this gameplay mechanic. Puzzles and general traversal both require it.
PROS / CONS
- Chilling locations and creepy music set the mood.
- Estimate play time seems just right, despite the short length.
- Backtracking is a bit much, forcing the player to retread constantly.
- Platforming is too simple, with no threat of death.
