Liminal spaces and backrooms were a hot topic a few years back, highlighting the darkly nostalgic, dream-like shells of familiar places. A liminal space is a place that feels both familiar and foreboding at the same time, somewhere that should represent normalcy or joyful times but is devoid of life. It feels like a dream—like a place you're trying to recall from fragmented memories, but you've left out all of the people. The emptiness is what is most unsettling. It's not necessarily the presence of a malevolent being, but rather the lack of any presence at all that can evoke hopelessness, anxiety, and general dread.
Playing on those feelings is Dreamcore, an experience divided into distinctive segments, two of which are currently available with more in the works. But does Dreamcore succeed in evoking the empty longing of liminal spaces, or does it quickly become a nightmare? Allow me to be your navigator through the labyrinthian corridors of this review.
Dreamcore advertises itself as a psychological horror experience from the first-person perspective, and, while that's true, it's first and foremost a walking simulator, and you need to be aware of that to properly set your expectations. Right now, there are two levels available: Dreampools and Eternal Suburbia, so this review is based on my experience with those two locations.
I'll take these sections one at a time, since they are two separate experiences. Dreampools begins with you wandering tiled corridors of endless water-filled rooms, dark hallways, and stairwells, occasionally punctuated by brightly colored waterslides that seem to begin and end nowhere. You possess a camera, which perhaps explains the grainy, VHS quality we view the game through, but also allows you to zoom your perspective in and out. You can walk, run, and crouch, and that's the extent of your abilities. At first, your goal is unclear, but eventually, you'll find clues to direct you towards your ultimate goal of escape. Without giving too much away, because I believe the joy of discovery is part of what makes this an interesting experience, you will need to use multiple senses in order to find your way through this disorienting maze. Lights off and headphones are strongly encouraged, but not required.
The important thing to note here is that there ARE clues to point you in the right direction; you'll just need to pay close attention to pick up on them. As I alluded to previously, there is no imminent threat to your life here, no beings lurking in the darkness to attack you. In fact, there is no one else here to interact with at all, which is where the uncomfortable feelings are born. If you're looking for true psychological horror with jump scares, action, and stealth elements, Dreamcore is not going to tickle your fancy.
The second level available is Eternal Suburbia, a dystopian cluster of suburban homes with white picket fences, which you must, once again, find your way through. You're equipped with the same camera, but now there is a day/night cycle. Once again, Dreamcore doesn't give you explicit directions for how to escape, but there are usually signs. Literally, there are signposts littered about that produce a strangely unnerving effect. But there are also clues of where you should be headed, which is what I was referring to. Paying close attention to the sights and sounds around you is strongly encouraged to prevent things from feeling too directionless. If you happen to find your way through the twists and turns of the suburbs, you'll eventually wander your way into "the neighborhood," which is perhaps even more disorienting, like a prison of apartment complexes that all blend together.
Both of the currently playable levels won't take you more than a few hours each to get through, so the title is currently pretty short on content. The Steam page indicates that future additions will be included at no additional cost for those that purchase the game now, but this ends up making Dreamcore feel like an early access title without the disclaimer. According to the developer, the price will increase for those that purchase the title after additional content is added, which seems like an odd way to skirt around an early access label.
I personally enjoyed the quality of the visuals on display here, which are properly disorienting and unsettling, without the game being conventionally "scary." The grainy filter over everything is a nice touch that sets a sort of dated, found-footage tone, like the player is viewing something that has been lost in time. I will say that I do not believe the two levels are created equal. I was much fonder of Dreampools and found myself deeply entranced by the floor-to-ceiling tiles, geometric doors, and the sheen of the water. Endless Suburbia is less visually impressive and is also more frustrating than Dreampools. It's not necessarily bad, but it does feel like a bit of a letdown compared to the first level.
I will say, however, that sound is really well utilized in both levels. Music is distant and nostalgic, filling in the eerie corners of these empty environments with the ghost of human presence. A warmth in the cold darkness that somehow makes the emptiness more tangible. Your footsteps against the tiled floors are quite loud, so you'll sometimes need to stop to take in everything around you more clearly, which is pretty deep when you think about it.
Dreamcore is a well-made, short experience of a game in its current state. It gets the atmosphere right, setting the tone of dread from the first moment you enter one of these labyrinths. It leans heavily on its aesthetic due to the lack of a physical threat, which fits the liminal space vibe.
Other developers have tried to capture a similar atmosphere with a more tangible threat (see pretty much every game that comes up if you type backrooms into Steam), so there is something refreshingly unsettling about your only fear being hopelessly lost and alone in the endless maze of houses and corridors.
GOOD
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