Entering the Dreamweb
If you don’t fancy yourself a point-and-click adventure fan, perhaps you should stop reading now.
When I heard that Dreamweb was a cyperpunk-serial killer-psycho thriller, I immediately wanted to play it. As a sucker for old school game graphics, and point and click adventure games I was sold.
Unfortunately, Dreamweb tanked when it was originally released in 1994, with reviewers stating that the game had a poor storyline, and that the gameplay itself was “cumbersome” (apparently clicking more than once on an object is difficult to fathom for some people).
While I understand that many gamers prefer a more singular, definitive conclusion (well…early 90s gamers anyway), I must say I enjoyed drawing my own conclusion from the psychological ramblings contained in Ryan’s “Diary of a Madman” that comes with the game itself. It is from this diary that the game’s storyline is derived, and it is these ramblings that provide a truly ambiguous undercurrent to the game’s story line and outcome.
Dreamweb is short and sweet, with a simple yet chilling plot that somehow manages to instill uneasiness in players. While the dialogue can seem slow at times, this is far surpassed by the game’s ability to provide the player with a sense of isolation and detachment not usually found in games today, and a game trait which can be somewhat difficult to convey properly.
Despite reviews that range from mediocre to completely abysmal, this dark, cold and fragmented future scape was like a wet dream come true for me. A point-and-click cyberpunk adventure set in a dystopian reality where seven guardians contained within a separate realm protect our reality? Yes please!! Dreamweb has everything I want in a game, and despite the top-down viewpoint, gameplay is your standard point-and-click fare, and definitely a game users could play within the space of an afternoon.
Still curious? Have a look at the true 90s game in action. Careful though, there is a definite SPOILER ALERT!
Obsolete Graffiti 