Nottingham, Jul 2021
Some games bowl you over with a stunning Disneyland set the moment you enter. Dreamscape’s decor has a more home-grown feel. That’s definitely not to say it’s plain. Each of the five areas has its own theme and style, in set construction and puzzle design, executed with energy and gusto.
This is an unusual game structure. You do get an overall escape time, but also a score for the number of keys you collect. The game is divided into five sections, played in sequence, and in each of the first four you’re attempting to gather up to five ‘dream keys’ – not actual keys but a particular type of object specific to that area. In the fifth and final area, those keys help you solve the final puzzles quickly and thereby make you more likely to escape.
While you tackle the five areas in sequence, most areas have a set of distinct puzzles that are well suited to a divide and conquer approach. Each area has a time limit, and it’s expected that teams have to move on to the next section having gathered only some of the available keys. This makes for a frantic, high-pressure game, particularly in the first section, which throws a profusion of things to look at and do at players while they’re still finishing their feet.
Of the five areas, I really enjoyed two and disliked one. In fairness, the one I disliked was the one where a larger team would have been most useful, where it wasn’t just a matter of splitting up to tackle different puzzles in parallel but of needing to pay attention to many things simultaneously. I’d also argue that that was the area with the least memorable theme and decor. In contrast, the game highlights were distinctive and charming, and included puzzles that were surprising, fun and/or cute.
I find the game structure slightly strange – specifically that the reward for doing well in the first four areas is that you can skip sections of the final area. (I don’t want to shortcut past puzzles, I want to enjoy them all!) But other than that, it’s satisfying that the items you’re gathering throughout the game have actual utility, rather than just being a way of keeping score.
It’s high energy, distinctive and memorable. There’s a risk of overwhelm at the start, and it’s probably better tackled with a larger team than we had – but it’s quirky style and frantic fun makes for a reliable good time. 
