Just add this to the list of things that prove that video games are art.

This game has some of the most intriguing, gorgeous, adorable (and in many instances disgusting) designs ever contructed. The art style is like if the film "Mirror Mask" were made into a game. And the plot is just as gorgeous and surreal. "The Dream Machine" is like the ultimate indie game.

You play as Victor Neff, a self-proclaimed "handsome" man, who has just moved into a strange new flat with his pregnant wife, but things get strange very quickly when your wife notices the landlord acting really weird. I will not spoil any of the plot. It is a game you must see to believe, but if you can believe it, there is in fact a Dream Machine in the game.

Many players who have received this game negatively because of the short nature of the first two chapters (which can potentially both be completed in under two hours combined) are wrong in assuming because of this, the whole game is very short. It is not, in fact. By chapter 3, the length of each chapter exceeds 2 hours (the fifth chapter took over 3 (almost 4) hours to complete as was by-far the longest and most complex). And yes, each chapter's puzzles are more intricate and complex, making the difficulty just right for players who need to adjust to the weirdness levels this game pushes out. And also remember, a short game is not a bad game. There are point-and-click adventure games that can be beaten entirely within a half-hour, but they are brilliant. So if you find yourself getting through "The Dream Machine" very quickly, do not equate that with it being a bad game.

The first two chapters are there to get the player's feet wet with how this game is going to present itself. It's really surrealistic, thus it needs to demonstrate how the puzzles are going to work and the imaginitive ways to solve them. (Hopefully, without spoiling much, I will give you an example. In Chapter 2, there is a character that you have to talk to but he doesn't speak clearly at all. The problem is one of his vocal cords is bent. The solution is to remove the cord and bang it with a hammer until it is straightened. Then the character will speak clearly). Hopefully that was a good example of how unconventional the puzzles are in the game.

And the puzzles are very well implimented. There were times, however, when it is so unclear what to do, clicking everything on everything becomes a method to get through the game. I only found this problem on Chapter 5 (which was a huge chapter with a lot of map screens). The level was much darker than the others making it a bit difficult to see items that needed to be picked up and characters were not clear in what they needed from Victor making it difficult to understand what to do, though I do know the developers are still updating the game very regularly fixing this and that, so the problems with Chapter 5 may very well be fixed in a couple of months.

The atmosphere in the game is brilliant, with a slow build to the weirder things (the ending of Chapter 5 was by far the strangest thing) with subtle music and an even mixture of a serious tone from the characters mixed with a humourous tone. There were two parts that had me laughing out loud: a part with these pumpkins, and a part with a knight in armour.

The artwork of the game is something to behold. Looking at each screen on the game and noticing the tiny details the developers put in give the game an extra dose of appreciation. They clearly care about this game (especially since it's been in development for almost a decade). Regardless of people disliking the game because they think it's grotesque, I think it's beautiful and I truly wish there were more games (let alone stop-motion films) in this style.