Dreaming Sarah (Review)

Dreaming Sarah is an adventure platformer with puzzle elements, set in a whimsical but often eerie set of dreamscapes. You play as Sarah, a young girl in a coma, with the hope of finding your way out of the dream and waking up.

There are a handful or two of other characters to meet in your journey, from fantasy beings to humans. Sometimes these characters will require help, such as finding something that has been lost, or other times they will help you, gifting you strange and sometimes baffling items.

While the movement is rather stiff (there is no inertia), platforming is easy and enjoyable enough. There is only one hectic platforming moment (and this is only due to a time constraint), and Sarah controlled fluidly enough to get through it without a hitch.

All of the puzzles are easy enough to figure out, but not to the point of ridiculousness. It was entertaining to take notes here and there, and to eventually put all the pieces together. The puzzles and platforming definitely take a backseat to the exploration, but I was more than happy to traverse through this world, whether I was running through it for the first time, or backtracking for a final achievement.

It was fun to jump and float with Sarah’s umbrella, and to wear magical seeing glasses that revealed hidden platforms (among other, sometimes terrifying, things). The only complaint I have with items is that many of them are currently useless (it is, however, early access), and that my compass didn’t work (despite that I saw it works quite clearly on Youtube).

The art style is beautiful to say the least, with the environments conveying a sense of both wonder and loneliness. Sarah’s animations are lovely, with a clear distinction between her walking, standing, running, finding a wall, sitting, swimming, et cetera. The same goes for the few NPCs you'll stumble across. To perfectly fit this world, a completely atmospheric soundtrack plays in the background, with only one area, so far, void of sound.

I can’t really judge this game properly yet, as it is still unfinished, but I can definitely recommend it. It captivated me for three hours, and I only stopped because, after being stuck for some time, I realised I’d probably reached the end of the game as it currently exists*. If the second half of the game is as decent as the first, then it will be my absolute pleasure to play again.

*I got to the road with the skeletal ducks, and then the grandfather clock with some unhelpful balloons. Has anyone made it further?