One of the odd things I’ve encountered in the indie space with some regularity are games that don’t quite come together at the end of the day. They can have a decent design, control competently, and demonstrate some decent gameplay, but it’s almost like they’re missing some essential connective tissue that could make the experience as a whole more satisfying. Whether that’s a general lack of direction, a compelling story, or some mix of odds and ends that simply don’t quite work, they’re just sort of there to be played but lack a sense of satisfaction. DREAMOUT, for me, absolutely falls into that trap.

I suppose the fact that your character’s main quest essentially starts in the aftermath of her wrecking a bar, after getting blackout drunk, isn’t the strongest narrative draw, but honestly the game makes little to no effort to do better. Rather than being driven by some sense of purpose, you’ll mostly be meandering around, solving the odd puzzle, helping someone out, and in essence that’s all there is. Yes, you’ll be able to collect new hats to wear, interact with a lot of odd denizens of the world, and engage in some occasional activities like fishing, but when there are plenty of top-down action adventure titles that offer so much more in terms of worldbuilding, purpose, and excitement, this feels woefully unprepared to take on the eShop.

I’d say that its best feature is probably its puzzles, though considering the relative weakness of most other areas it’s not as great a compliment as you may think, more just acknowledging that’s its best quality. Combat is dull and listless, there are times where the interface with some puzzle items can be needlessly confusing, and after a while you’ll just end up wondering when the game is going to kick into gear… but unfortunately it doesn’t feel like there is one to be found in this case, it’s more just a way to pass some time.