Dreamscapes 1: The Sandman

Dreamscapes: The Sandman
by Shaman Games - January, 2013

Series links: Dreamscapes 1: The Sandman, Dreamscapes 2: Nightmare's Heir

Available at:
Playrix as Collector's Edition
Alawar as Premium Edition / Standard Edition
Big Fish for PC as Standard Edition (only SE available)
Big Fish for Mac as Standard Edition (SE only)
GameHouse as Platinum Edition / Standard Edition
iWin as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition



Young Laura was well protected from nightmares once her father gave her the Dreamcatcher. But after his sudden death the Dreamcatcher disappeared and Laura slipped into an endless nightmare. No one could wake her up. But you can try to save Laura! With the help of Professor Sanders and his machine take a dangerous journey to Laura’s ghastly dreams, dispel her awes, fight her fears, solve numerous riddles of Laura’s subconscious and find clues to her redemption. Collect all the pieces of the lost Dreamcatcher and help the girl return to the real world with this breathtaking point-and-click adventure game!

• 50 various locations to wander around
  
• Incredible dream worlds to visit
  
• 2 game modes to enjoy
  
• Dozens of achievements to get
  
• Astonishing cutscenes in 3D
  
• Collectors Edition extras: 15 additional locations, concept art, wallpapers, screensavers and orignial soundtrack.
  

Click images to enlarge
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Dreamscapes: The Sandman CE (Adventure-lite)

Options include separate sliders for voice, music, sound, and ambient volume. You can choose between two modes of play (regular and expert), plus full-screen and custom cursor. The tutorial is optional, and the HINT button is refillable. You can drag and drop inventory items on to the hint button to find out where the item should be used. If there is nothing else to do in a particular location, using the hint button will show you which direction you should go.

There is a ton to do in this game: Besides playing the game and all that entails, you also need to find 120 beholders (if you don't know what one is, you willll~! ) and find pieces of a shattered item and put it back together. We have a diary which will gives us the back story. Each time we find "a" page, it will go into your diary. The thing is, the page we find is actually a group of about five pages (each time), which you will have to enter your diary to read. This is great for those who don't want to interrupt gameplay to read, and for those who don't care about the story. I personally LOVE a lot of story, and enjoyed reading every scrap of information I came across

There are a few localization problems, ie. "loose" instead of "lose" and oddly-worded phrases such as "Searching the sand with bare hands is useless," but it's not terribly distracting, because it only happens occasionally, and because the game is otherwise so brilliantly-made Keep an eye out for a joke early on in the game... just keep in mind that the developers are Russian, and you won't miss the funny

This is my favorite kind of game -- it plays like the very best IHOG, but with no hidden object scenes! We have achievements (always fun!), a deliciously creepy atmosphere, interesting story, and gorgeous graphics/cut scenes. The only thing I don't love about the graphics is the character design, but again, the game is so good that it's a negligible point

We have an adorable little critter that seems to be part frog... meaning that it eats the same way a frog would. I mention it simply for the sake of those who have problems with perceived animal cruelty. I honestly wasn't bothered by this because of the way it was handled, so hopefully it won't push others' buttons, either.

I managed to miss seven of the beholders during the main game -- some of them are very hard to spot! Luckily, there is a tab that appears at the left side of the screen if there are any beholders in that area to find. Clicking on the tab will show you how many you have left in that area (which may include zoom-in scenes.)

I mentioned that there are achievements, but they're nothing special -- just things that you would accomplish from playing the game. What's different is that when you go to the achievements screen, you get to place each trophy (adorable!) on the screen like a puzzle. I love it! I'm going to replay the game just so I can see the whole picture completed.

CE Content:

• Achievements (there are 14 in the puzzle-trophy room that I mentioned above)
  
• 15 new locations
  
• More beholders to find
  
• 12 wallpapers (there is an owl one that is just stunning!)
  
• 17 concept art pictures
  
• 9 music tracks
  
• 8 AMAZING screensavers I want three of them on rotation! lol~
  
• Built-in Strategy Guide (which I never used)
  

The game ends in a way that feels very satisfying whilst setting us up for a sequel, which I will buy on sight! The Bonus Chapter gives us some amazing closure to issues we didn't even know we had, and the gameplay, whilst it seems very straightforward at first, is more in depth than it originally looks like it will be.

This is a superb game with excellent bonus content, and I highly recommend the CE on this one! Major thumbs up from me!

Full game and review finished! AWESOME!

Genki, I am really enjoying Sandman and am addicted to finding those beholders, lol. Haven't missed any yet, but then perhaps I'm a bit obsessive about them, haha.

lol~ Yes, I loved finding the beholders, too, but if you complete all of the actions in an area without finding them first, you're out of luck! >_< haha

I recommend taking a look at the achievements tab to see what to work towards -- I try to never use hints in my games, but there are two achievements re: the hints!

This might be the best game I have ever played!
I usually forget about collectables and such, but I can't stop looking for the beholders! They are so much better than any collectables I have ever seen before. I have to get them, they are too scarey to leave!
There have been original puzzles! I have never, ever seen some of the stuff in this game before!

I take it back, this IS the best game I have ever played!

I have a question for anyone who finished the game, bonus included. Did you get the achievements? Aren't they supposed to fill in to show what you got? Mine are still hollow places where the figures go. So, I have no idea if I found all the Beholders. I think I missed one!
Also, did you have trouble with using "hint" in the last part, after going to the top floor? My "hint" just closed out the game after that, over and over (I kept trying!) until I just used the SG instead.
I did send a message on the developers site, but wondered if anyone else had problems. I wanted to see those cute little guys fill in my achievements!

The achievements are interactive! Click on the tab on the left side of the screen, then grab each Benny and place him where he belongs!

I didn't use any hints towards the end of the game, so I can't help you there!

Thank you! That was like a little jigsaw puzzle! I didn't get them all.
It seems backwards to get an achievement for using hints. It would figure you would be rewarded for not using it! It says using it to learn more about objects. I never thought to use it that way.
This is a game I will play again though. I can't get over those Beholders!

It's actually kind of fun doing the item-hints -- like a little puzzle in itself!

Adventure Of The Imagination      
   

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

I love HOs. Puzzles usually frustrate me or bore me. So it was a shock to realise ¾ of the way into this game that I was playing a puzzle adventure! I hadn’t even noticed there were no HOs because I was having such a good time with the puzzles. So, one star just for that.

It has to be said upfront that the graphics in this could be better. Not the artwork, that’s fine, just the definition. Too fuzzy. But I didn’t notice that for a long time either, I was too busy playing. Also, some scenes pan. Love that. Excellent voice acting. Appropriate music. Star No. 2.

Star No. 3 is for the beholders. These are nasty little eyeballs who hide cleverly in cracks and shadows, but once you spot them, must come out where you can see them – and neutralise them. And they’re ugly little dudes. They don’t all look the same, some look like tiny spiders, others more like centipedes, all of them creepy. And there are 100 of these little nasties.

The final star, No. 4, goes to Benny, a cheeky little companion of unknown species who keeps turning up wherever you are. It’ll be a while before you figure out why.

The story that ties all these things together is one we know, but never tire of. Laura is caught in her dreams, which some evil dream guy has turned into nightmares, and you must save her. It’s a fun story, allowing the imagination run riot, and in this game it certainly does.  

Bonus Content Review (GameHouse Premium edition only)

Worst bonus chapter ever.  Don’t even want to finish it. Typical Game House.  

There are errors, confusing instructions for puzzles, very slow moving.

At least we got the Strategy Guide, which was helpful in both the main game and this.

I Recommend This Game!(as a standard edition!)[/font]

Weird, I had NO troubles with the bonus content at all... but then, I got my CE directly from Playrix for an amazing $4.99!!  By the way, for anyone who hasn't gotten this game yet, the promo is STILL running at Playrix!  Check it out HERE.