I have been following this developer with great interest since playing the original free demo of the Dreampools level, and they were kind enough to provide me with a review copy upon the full release. Despite that, I genuinely believe this game is worth the asking price for any lovers of liminal spaces trying to find a game focused on exploration and observation rather than a focus on game-y mechanics or jumpscares. The developer's clear talent in designing liminal architecture and sound engineering elevate this experience to one of my favorite dream-like games, and certainly my favorite Backrooms-inspired outing.

Dreamcore is mainly supported for mid-to-high end rigs, though that isn't surprising given the game's size and attention to detail. Though I personally prefer to play with the VHS filter enabled for a more nostalgic experience, turning off this filter makes it clear that every polygon of these massive mazes is very polished. While other games occasionally use low-resolution filters to hide these imperfections, and I would not have blamed Dreamcore for doing the same, I believe it could be played without the filter without losing much of the experience, as the game is beautiful regardless. There are occasional visual glitches that are apparent in both the filtered and non-filtered versions, though these are rare enough that they did not hamper my enjoyment of the overall game or remove me from the experience. However, these may be more obvious and prevalent in a playthrough that chooses to not use the VHS filter, so be warned.

Montraluz's greatest asset in Dreamcore, in my opinion, is their fantastic understanding of what makes liminal architecture so effective at inspiring both awe and fear. Both maps on display at launch are massive in size and really capture the haphazard, alien personality of an impossible space, and hide the human behind the work extremely well. The Dreampools level handles the task very well, with a wide array of unique spaces the player will enter to make them feel like there is some sort of progression, without detracting from the experience by funneling the player towards a concrete goal or feeling game-y. This non-linear approach allows players to see the world at their own pace without getting frustrated from a lack of new discoveries. The Eternal Suburbia map is notably more experimental in its design, with a few segments that feel a bit too aimless in the current version, making it harder to recommend at this time. However, the developer has been taking this feedback to heart and it is my understanding these more frustrating sections will be seeing improvements in the future.

The last piece of the trifecta of aspects that make this game truly impressive is its use of sound and silence throughout its maps. While the game is (mostly) without spooks, it occasionally uses strategically placed sound-effects to induce paranoia or startle a player deep in thought. While I am personally not a fan of jumpscares and the store page's claim that the game has none isn't quite accurate, I do believe they are used in a reasonable and artful fashion as a method of keeping the player on edge, mostly in the Dreampools. The game very infrequently uses music, and is mostly silent with the punctuation of footsteps along tile, grass, or wading through water, but when music is presented, it always has a clear purpose in mind for making those areas exude a unique personality.

The game's premise is brutally simple - you walk around a space, either in search of a key item or an exit door, usually denoted either with a visual or audio cue that gently leads the player in the intended direction without feeling overbearing. The game has no combat, platforming, or anything that would really define it as a game - realistically, this is a walking simulator, and I would not recommend it to someone who finds those types of games boring. As a fan of these types of games, I appreciate the developers sticking to their vision, but I think someone who isn't fascinated by liminal spaces will have limited enjoyment. In regards to length, both levels currently in the game are massive. Through the gentle funneling towards important points, someone primarily focused on getting through the maps would probably do so in about 1-2 hours on average for each, so about 2-4 hours of playtime total, with adjustments based on how quickly the player picks up on environmental cues. However, I believe each map probably has upwards of 4-5 hours of exploratory content for someone who isn't focused on finding the exit, and I can see a very curious player getting more than 10 hours of gameplay from the two levels in the game now if they wanted to.

The game is currently listed for $8.99 USD, so depending on your preferences for a gameplay-to-cost ratio, you're looking at potentially $2-4 per hour of exploration. The developer is currently planning to release at least 3 more levels to the game within the next 2 years, with the game's price increasing but added as free updates for existing owners. Some people may be rightfully hesitant to determine the game's monetary worth via promised expansions, in which case I would probably consider the current price of a single level to be a little under $5 for somewhere between 1-3 hours of gameplay, and I would not be surprised to see the game's price increase roughly $3-4 for each of the three planned updates. For those that choose to purchase the game now, I can see the "value" of the gametime increasing to roughly $1 per hour of exploration or even less, which is likely one of the better deals on the market right now for this type of paid product.

It is always difficult to recommend or not recommend this style of game to a "general" audience, as mileage will fully vary depending on your sensibilities. For those looking for a more horror-styled experience or anyone who finds walking simulators generally boring, I would not purchase this product. For those who do not mind or even prefer a slower, more thoughtful or introspective experience, I would say it is certainly worth considering, though your enjoyment will rely entirely on your continued interest. For those who love liminal spaces and have always wanted to explore them, I highly recommend this game, as I believe there is nothing else on the market quite as effective at creating that unique vibe, even with this title's infrequent hiccups or missteps. It is a title that understands it has a niche audience, and does everything it can to be the perfect game for that subset of people, which will alienate those outside of that group. While this is unfortunate, it ultimately unavoidable and actually preferred in order to create such a curated experience.

It's not exactly a horror game, but is more like a eerie-suspense-uncanny experience. Despite being a relatively simple game I feel it very detail cared. At first I was afraid of being lost a for a lot of time but the level design has been concerned about it and the developers have done a good job of keeping a fluid pace.

I think this game does a great job condensing the escence of liminal spaces.

The concept of the backrooms and some liminal space horror can be boiled down to “imagine being trapped in an uncanny facsimile of a familiar benign space forever in an endless labyrinth”, but I’ve noticed some games in this genre seem to take that concept a little too literally. Ideally, a good walking simulator should give you some memorable points of interest and guide you along your journey with minimal puzzles and similar challenges to punctuate your adventure, but in some ways dreamcore feels like the dark souls of walking sims, and I honestly don’t know what to do with that. The graphics are nice and getting lost in these surreal environments is fun, until it isn’t. It almost feels unfair to call this a walking simulator because in all honesty it’s just 2 giant mazes. In a game like pools, you relish getting a little bit lost because with minimal patience you’ll be funneled into a new interesting space filled with cool set pieces and memorable vistas; in dreamcore you’re running around desperately hunting for a way out in frustratingly samey environments. The game does give several tastefully subtle hints as to where to go, but I was routinely presented with forks in the road in the form of identical divergent paths that would send me back to where I was or into new sprawling empty spaces with little to do or see except eventually realize the error of my ways and trace my route back. Ie, if your cozy liminal horror experience seems to require a fast travel system, I have to question what the heck is happening.

In terms of content, there isn’t a terrible amount for the price (even though much of that is just because of raw volume), but, as others have noted, this is an early access game lying about being a full release. Not 20 seconds into the main menu you’ll be confronted with the fact that 3/5 maps are missing and to be added later.