DreamWeb
| Developer: Creative Reality | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Empire | Sound: |
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| Year: 1994 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Adventure | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
8/10 | |
The story of Ryan, an anonymous citizen of a futuristic megalopolis. He is haunted by strange dreams, in which priests of a particular kind explain that he has been chosen to accomplish a mission: to kill members of a secret organisation that threatens peace in the universe… In other words: you play a psychopathic killer roaming free in a futuristic city. Fantastic!
A sad, taciturn man in a trench coat wandering through an oppressive city where it always seems to be night. A striking blend of mundane, tech-infused locations (apartments, bars…) and grimy back alleys. A relentless manhunt for targets who are neither entirely innocent nor truly guilty. A nagging doubt about the hero’s nature that lingers until the end… Have you guessed the film?
DreamWeb is original in many respects. It’s a game for adults—dark, violent, and even featuring an explicit sex scene. Its atmosphere and top-down perspective recall certain action games like Alien Breed. Yet it functions like a classic adventure game. You explore and perform actions by clicking on the scenery. There are countless items to examine and pick up. Most of them are useless, and since your inventory space is limited, you’ll have to make choices. This rewards practicality over hoarding.
The futuristic setting requires some interactions with computer terminals, somewhat confusing unless you know these commands: “LIST”, “READ”, “LOGON”, “KEYS”, “HELP”, and “EXIT”. Ryan’s password is “BLACKDRAGON.”
The downsides that come to mind are the shallow dialogue, the limited number of locations, the linear storyline, and the very reduced “usable surface” on the screen; details that give an impression of confinement. On the other hand, I loved the noir atmosphere, the out-of-sync protagonist, far from the stereotype, and then the final scene…
I warmly recommend the PC version, officially freeware and thus legally distributed with its manual and booklet (Journal d’un fou), in French, no less! Then, once you’ve finished it, try Hotline Miami (PC, 2012). And if you want more after that: Pixel Noir (PC, 2019).
The film to find was Blade Runner, you roller-skating Goofys!
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