The Lands of Dream

This little indie game really surprised me! Obviously this is ultra indie, more than a few devs studio kind of thing, this is the game of a man who could have written a quirky fantasy novel but instead chose to design a little video game drawn by hand. And in that it is alright, it works, but of course it is not the best game. Gameplay is fine, hidden object / visual novel kind of thing. Hand drawing is clumsy but pleasant and colorful. It's as if it was a style exercise, like "make a game on a block of post-its!". But even this is alright! Because if you are in this game for something, it is mostly the story and the atmosphere: very reminiscent of quirky fantasy that some geniuses write, ala Pratchett and the like. Also, the dev was very generous in funny comments, crunchy dialogues and hidden lore elements. Sometimes, a single image can hide a hundred hidden notes that you have to find, click, and enjoy reading. Crazy! Though it's the work of art of a single dev - there was tons of efforts and heart put into it - the full price is a bit steep, but on sale? a good dozen of hours of dreamy, absurd indie adventure.

"À la fin, la mer réclamera tout". J'avoue, j'ai essayé ce jeu parce j'ai juste trouvé le titre beau. Mais aussi parce qu'il m'a été conseillé par FibreTigre, et parce que son auteur a écrit pour Talos Principle, et aussi parce que son compositeur a fait la musique de Risk of Rain. Il faut dire que le jeu est... singulier sur la forme. Mais la lecture est délicieuse, touchante et profonde. Cela vaut la coup ne serait-ce que pour saisir la signification profonde de cette ancienne phrase.