Dreamcutter – Steam Review

Overview – developed by Ten Pennyfingers and published by Shady Corner Games, Dreamcutter is an action platformer set in a world of dreams and Nightmares. As the protagonist Haley, wield the Dreamcutter to defeat the nightmares that are keeping you trapped in your mind. This title is available exclusively for the Steam storefront with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Shady Corner Games for providing the copy of Dreamcutter that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Mature Content Disclaimer: this title is classified as adults only, featuring strong language, full frontal nudity, sexual situations and explicit sexual content. If you are under the age of 18 or are uncomfortable with sexual content, then please click off this review and read some of the other coverage presented on this site.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story of Dreamcutter.

Story – Haley is a student who has been having trouble sleeping due to nightmares, which have been getting increasingly vivid. One day while in class, she falls asleep and finds herself trapped in her dreams, unable to escape from the nightmare that she finds herself in. She soon finds the mysterious Dreamcutter, a scythe that talks to her and gives her the power to fight the monsters in her mind. With the Dreamcutter in her hands, she sets out on a quest to defeat her inner demons and escape.  

Gameplay – Dreamcutter is an action platformer, with a focus on battling monsters and crossing challenging platform sequences. The player controls Haley, the young girl who wields the titular Dreamcutter, a mysterious scythe that has the power to cut down the monsters in dreams. There are two modes the player can select when starting up the game, which are Story Mode with narrative cutscenes and Arcade mode which is just the action and special boss scenes (discussed later).

Before diving deep into the gameplay, it is important to discuss the narrative scenes. Throughout the game, there will be scenes where Haley and other characters interact in a visual novel style. This is usually simple with the characters talking back and forth, however, there are segments that are interactive. These moments give the player an option between two dialogue choices, which will result in a different response depending on the choice.  

When starting the game, the player is provided a relatively simple tutorial where the mechanics and systems are taught to the player. At the end of this, the player is transported to the Sanctuary a safe haven within the mind of Haley, where the player can access stages, the gallery and shop. Her mind itself is made up of 5 worlds, with a set of stages in each of them, with later stages introducing more challenging sequences for the player to take on.

In these stages, the player must hack their way through hordes of monsters that get in her way, while traversing the pitfalls and traps that are scattered through her mindscapes. At the end of stages, there will be a Nightmare that must be destroyed to progress, which often spawn a horde of monsters when attacked and only breaking after the player deals enough damage. When a stage is cleared, the player can either progress to the next or escape to the sanctuary.

The Dreamcutter itself is a versatile weapon, which can be used in a few ways while in battle. The first is to swing it at enemies, cleaving through them and destroying objects that litter the stage, with enemies possibly dropping coins upon defeat. When the player is able to chain enough hits together, there is a combo meter that will appear on screen, with a letter grade increasing from D-A. If the combo meter depletes, a coin reward is provided based on the rank that is earned for that combo.  

The second way to use the scythe is for traversing the environments of Haley’s mind palace. This is possible by throwing the Dreamcutter into walls and using it as a lever to bounce from, with the player able to recall it by pressing the attack or throw button. This also helps the player collect the coins that are scattered through the stages. There are also moons that appear in the game, which the player can hook onto and spin around gaining momentum to launch Haley into the air.

The last feature of the Dreamcutter is the glide spin, which allows the player to cover larger gaps and use upward air currents to float upwards. All of these features combine to create a challenging platforming experience, which can be satisfying when successfully maintaining a combo to increase the player speed. The challenge can be further pushed forward by speedrunning the stages, using the combo and mechanics to clear stages as fast as possible.

At the end of each world is a boss battle with each of them having their own unique challenges in them. The battles can be intense and will push the player to do their best to survive, as the health pick-ups become non-existent as the game progresses. When the boss battle is cleared, the player is transported to a serene location, where a reward scene will play out. These scenes are explicitly sexual, with Haley being in a variety of situations with other characters.

Going back to the sanctuary, the player can access the shop where coins can be used to unlock skills and upgrades for their character. These upgrades are for total health, damage dealt and the coins that enemies can drop. The skills are extra attacks that can be used in combos, with a downward slash and an extra attack in the main combo. There are also missions that can be unlocked in the shop, including the need to defeat specific enemies in a stage and clearing set stages as fast as possible.

The last thing to be discussed is the gallery located in the sanctuary, where all of the explicit scenes can be viewed freely, along with the reward images earned by clearing challenges. The bonus images are provided by a range of artists, with many different tastes being catered to in this gallery. This gives additional play value for the player, giving a reason to return to previous stages in order to unlock these bonuses as well as to gain more coins for shop purchases.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this title, starting off with the controls.

Controls – as a PC title, Dreamcutter supports both Mouse/Keyboard and controllers, with an easy to pick up and play control layout. There are button prompts during the tutorial and at key points of the game, which inform the player on key inputs. All of the button inputs have zero input lag, which is important for an action platform title. if the player doesn’t have a compatible controller, apps like JoytoKey will work just as well for this release.

Difficulty – the difficulty curve for this release is fairly balanced, with the challenge slowly escalating as the player progresses. This is most noticeable during the later stages of the game, where intricate platforming is needed while battling enemies at the same time. In order for the player to overcome some of the more challenging sections, the player can return to earlier stages to earn coins and purchase upgrades from the shop.

Presentation – the visual style for this release has an old school feel to it, with 2D sprite work and beautifully rendered backgrounds. This is further augmented by the artwork that is used for the story and intimacy scenes, which bring the whole visual look together. The sound for this title is of a very high quality, with a soundtrack that features a range of musical styles that complement the stages featured. All of this comes together to create a solid experience that looks and sounds great.

Final Thoughts – I had played the demo for this title last year, which set up an expectation that the full release completely blew out of the water. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative and characters that were presented, which kept me engaged for the entire experience. The action and platforming is fluid, with the bosses and enemy swarms having a lot of intensity to them. This gives Dreamcutter a feel that is reminiscent of older titles like Ninja Gaiden and Strider, which I enjoyed very much.

I put the time into clearing this title multiple times for this review, beating the game faster each time, which led me to the realization that this is perfect for Speedrunning. This is most noticeable when learning the layouts of the stages, while using the speed boosts that the combo system enables. I am very happy to recommend this release to fans of the Action genre, as the core of the game is where the title shines and I feel it has a lot of potential for a console release in the future.

In the end, I give Dreamcutter a final score of 5/5. This is an excellent action platform title, which has the bonus of explicit intimacy scenes that aren’t integral to the experience. The solid and intense action of Dreamcutter can stand on its own merits, with the potential for a speedrunning community to emerge due to the speed boost combo system. If you want to check out this game for yourself, a link to the game and demo will be below.

Link to Steam version (HERE)