Dreamcutter is another fine example of an action-packed indie that deserves a peek when you have the time. I can’t recall whether this was on Eastasiasoft’s showcase video off the top of my head, as the screenshots didn’t ring a bell.
Ah, I remember this now, as the gameplay is predominantly an action platformer. I’d controversially say that this isn’t even a visual novel, as those segments serve as a narrative device and are far too short to be deemed a VN. That scandalous comment out of the way, let’s get on with the review.
Meet our lethargic hero, Haley. Just waking up from a nightmare, she’s greeted by her friend Lucia, scantily clad and telling her friend to do the same and live a little. Haley, despite implying that she wouldn’t feel comfortable, runs around in a low-cut dress that misinterprets the “turn the other cheek” line and instead shows them.
She promptly falls asleep and enters a dreamscape, which wasn’t a fancy little mini-game, but the meat and potatoes of the Dreamcutter experience. It seems she’s trapped in this dream/nightmare world and has somehow befriended an enormous scythe – named the Dreamcutter – whom she can talk to and wield for some slick cuts.
With a creepy castle-like hub, Haley can advance through a handful of worlds, each consisting of four or so levels, plus a boss. In each one, she has to beat an orb at the end, progressing the story towards an endzone boss battle and revealing some truths. Perhaps this dream world can help Haley overcome her fears, like how to deposit half of a double-ended dildo.
That’s not me being a perv, but one of the cutscenes after defeating a boss. Yep, Dreamcutter has its lewd moments fo’ sure. As the core gameplay is harmless enough, I was playing in handheld mode with my little girl watching, but I felt something… naughty might happen. Yep: tits out and some drinking from the furry goblet, and it becomes clear that this is an adult experience.
It’s quite an unusual experience, as Dreamcutter looks like multiple artists made it. The platforming part is so different to the cutscenes; it’s as if it’s a different game. In some of the visual novel elements, Haley is slender, but some cutscenes are in the image of a Robert R. Crumb Amazonian. Why does this look so… familiar…?
Anyway, gameplay. The first orb was a pain in the arse. When you reach the end of a stage, you have to hit an orb which spawns ENDLESS swarms. Thinking I had to kill them off first, I got irritated with the difficulty. These coins I’ve been collecting may help. Sure enough, a shop at the hub lets you invest in health, damage, extra coins and additional moves. Purchasing an additional move made everything peachy.
After failing miserably at the first ‘boss’ I realised standing still and button mashing could save the day. From there on, Dreamcutter got much easier and more entertaining. There is a slight flaw with levelling up, as extra damage makes bosses so much easier, and the additional health gives a buffer on the platforming sections when falling to one’s death. The challenge, then, irrespective of stats, is the platforming part.
Haley can hover and swing on crescent-like devices to the point where you build up a nice little parkour rhythm. However, flying enemies and poor timing mean it’ll dip into your health and sometimes be a little too harsh. This wasn’t the major issue with the game as you can always get better. It was the slowdown. When a few enemies are on screen, the game slows significantly, resulting in a crash. It’s inconsistent and I can imagine this will irritate a lot of impatient gamers.
That said, I genuinely loved Dreamcutter. The way it flows (minus the slowdown) is excellent, and the visual novel sequences complement the gameplay and overall story. I can’t complain about the boobs whatsoever, as that would be an outright lie, and quite surprised this made it to the Switch.
A gallery is also featured, and you can go through and view the saucy art throughout. Again, there’s something familiar about this. Though a different type of game, it reminds me of Marble Maid due to the fun, and variety. Aha! It’s Shady Corner Games – that’s why it felt so familiar! Yeah, if that’s not clear enough, I really enjoyed Dreamcutter – an excellent balance of gameplay, story and jubblies.
