Dreamscapes: Nightmare's Heir - Premium Edition

Worse than the prequel, mostly because of the broken hint system - it seems the hints only work in the hidden object screen (where you don't really need them), and only ever say "there is nothing to do here" in the main game, which is worse than unhelpful, it's actively misleading. Especially annoying when you're asking for a hint because you can't find anything to do, and it turns out the thing you're supposed to be doing is a thing you already tried twice but a finicky target refused to recognize it (think you should steam up a window? Don't use a cup of hot water on the window, nor on that piece of the window sill, you gotta use it on *that* piece of the window sill! To help you find that, I'm gonna say "there's nothing to do here".) And that's just one example, I was thrown off by finicky [and nonsensical] target areas at least four times throughout the game. It's still an okay game, but there are so many better hidden object + puzzle games that this can only merit a "do not recommend".

Some of the critiques I had about the previous game are fixed in this one. The writing (mostly in terms of grammar and sentence structure) is better, and so is the voice acting for the most part. However, I'm still not sold on the Sandman's voice acting. He sounds like he's just reading his words without emotion, and not in a way that sounds scary. However, he does do a few evil laughs that are not bad. Another big complaint I have with this game is that both the main game and the bonus episode feel a lot shorter than the ones in the first game. This wouldn't be so bad if the endings weren't so unsatisfying. You see, this series has four endings: The main game and bonus game in the first entry, and the main and bonus games in the second. In all four endings. [spoiler]the Sandman doesn't face any real punishment or defeat. The heroes just kind of get away from him, and then the game ends abruptly. Since he is supernatural, maybe you could say that he is immortal and can't be killed, but there should at least be a way for the heroes to seal him away or otherwise prevent him from doing further evil, even if he finds a way to escape it. Laura is said to have this great power, but even still, she never really tries to STOP him.[/spoiler]

3/10

Graficznie lepsza niż część pierwsza, dodatkowo z obsługą szerokich monitorów. Jednak te małe potworki, których szukamy na każdej planszy tak jakby lepiej się chowały. W tej części pojawiły się już standardowe sceny z ukrytymi obiektami.

I am very disappointed with this sequel. The story is quite underwhelming. Most of the design choices are from the first game, except for a few hidden object sections. It has 4 soundtracks and those are from the previous game. It felt quite lazy. Some puzzles are copied from their other games. The "Hint" button is not very useful. The bonus chapter is added just for the sake of it. Both the main game and the bonus section ended abruptly without any satisfying conclusion. That was a huge letdown. The only positive for me was the visuals. On the technical side, it ran very terribly. I encountered stutters throughout my play-through. It crashed a couple of times. Some name related issues for Benny's counterpart. Glitch entries in the diary where the first page was repeated thrice in between. During the bonus section, dialogues were repeated at some missing locations. I think this game was rushed and was not properly quality assured. Overall, if you have played the first game and you won't play this one, then it's fine. You are not missing much, to be honest. Play the first game again or some other game instead. I got this in a bundle with some other games. But still, I won't recommend this one. If you want to play just to complete the series, then get this on a sale or in any bundle. My verdict: 3/10

Aj

A nice continuation of the story from Dreamscapes: Sandman. While its core is still mostly a point-n-click adventure game, the developer did attempt to incorporate the more traditional elements of the 'Hidden Object' alongside the usual puzzles you have to solve. Also, it appears as though the sequel addresses the random CTDs you may get playing the first Dreamscapes game, as I managed to finish the story without crashing once. While the game itself is roughly the same in terms of art, music and progression, I do have a few gripes with the sequel. Firstly, the hint system is seemingly broken most of the time, so if you're stuck in an area where the hint doesn't work, then you either have to bruteforce it or find a player's walkthrough to guide you through it, both of which aren't particularly fun to do with the latter potentially revealing spoilers if those bother you. Second, the story feels a lot shorter than the first. Even with the extra HOG scenes, it took a notably shorter time to finish than the prequel. This makes the price tag seem a little too steep. While it does improve on the flaws from the prequel, I feel the short story doesn't justify the retail price. Hence, I would only recommend if the title goes on sale, or get it in a bundle.