I was absolutely enchanted by last year’s DreamWild, a fast-paced, horde mode roguelike with one of my favorite art styles of any game in recent memory: A surreal, vibrant render revival that combines throwback 3D graphics with sprite-ized models and pre-rendered backdrops like a classic RPG. And right now it’s the cost of a fancy cup of coffee or a sandwich of indeterminate quality!
Every aspect of this game has grown on me more since I first played and loved it. I was initially only lukewarm on its shooting, but I find that its emphasis on bunnyhopping to build speed and zoom across surreal moonscapes has really worn a groove in my brain. Herding the DreamWilds’ inhabitants and leading them like a sword beam-flinging Pied Piper has this almost meditative quality to it.
But the vibes still reign supreme for me. Loading into this verdant, mossy wilderness with abstract ruins and sundial faces poking out of the marshes, a big location card popping up that reads:
“DreamWild #8989: SUNKEN GROUNDS -Cambrian Technology Bed-“
Now that’s the stuff right there. It’s all cinched by a dreamy OST straight out of a Dreamcast game that never existed, one you can only listen to in-game or via purchase on Steam at the moment.
So, DreamWild. The sheer margin of your discount isn’t as crazy as we’ve gotten used to seeing in Steam sales: It’s down to $6.40 from a usual $8, but that still makes today a 20% better time to check out this genuine hidden gem than yesterday. It’s collected only 83 total Steam reviews since release last October—this could be the subject of a true crime podcast.
Chuck DreamWild in your cart with a heavily marked-down Witcher 3 and the veritable institution of 97 cent Deus Ex: Invisible War—it’s one of the best deals in the Steam Spring Sale, and you’ll thank me later.
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