"Dreaming Sarah" Short, but sweet

[Kaldrak]

Dreaming Sarah is an odd little indie platformer.

It's very hard to figure out exactly what's going on in the game or what the premise is from the in-game content, but if you read the description, the game is about a woman in a coma named Sarah. You wander dream realms in an attempt to help her wake up. Alright, fair enough. So what exactly do you do in this game? You start out in a forest area and 'wake up,' though you have no real idea as to which way you're supposed to be going. Pick right or left and start running. That's pretty much it except for the jumping.

Dreaming Sarah is a surreal game. The levels are connected to each other in strange and bizarre ways, but there's no real rhyme or reason as to what they are or why you go to them. The gameplay is fairly freeform. Run around until you reach some obstacle you can't get past and then find some way around it.

As you play you collect various items, some of which are pretty darn cool. There's an umbrella which slows your falling speed, a paint can which changes your outfit colors, a magnifying glass to shrink you down to tiny size to get through little tunnels, and even an item which transforms you into a fish so you can access an underwater level. In addition to all the useful items, there are a bunch of items which don't do anything and whose significance to the plot is largely mysterious. Basically just collectibles, but strange ones. I have no idea why I was getting them or what the point of any of them are. Supposedly if you get all of them it makes the ending slightly different, but I took a look at the comparison between the two endings and it's hardly worth it if you don't collect everything.

The main joy of the game is the atmosphere. The music is great and the artwork is retro styled, but very pretty. The levels loop back in on themselves, so if you go far enough right or left or even down, you'll end up back where you started. There are NPC's, but they don't have much to say. Talking to them can be kind of neat though and some of them have collectibles you can get from them.

On the whole, Dreaming Sarah was an enjoyable experience for me. It is very short though. It only took me about three hours to beat it and collect every item and secret, almost all of which I found myself with no help. It's not very difficult for a platformer and there are only a few ways to actually die, after which you instantly respawn, so it's not for those looking for a challenge. The gameplay isn't really the point though. It's functional and there are some neat things you can do with the useable items.

An atmospheric, enjoyable experience overall. I'd definitely recommend it if you have a few bucks and you want something neat.