Having played loads of indie action adventure titles of all types, ranging from blatant Zelda clones of some kind, through those that have simply plotted their own path, in general I’d say there are at least as many misses as hits. One that I encountered some time ago that I would have considered unlikely to be decent, was the family-friendly Milo’s Quest. While I’m a sucker for games involving dogs in some way, it’s pretty simple looks and action took a moment to get past. While it was by no means a wild success, it at least managed to charm me with a reasonable balance of simple action, some puzzles, and a mild family-friendly degree of challenge. 

In theory, Milo’s Dream should have been able to satisfy those same elements, and even if not surpassing the original, manage to make for a mildly-satisfying follow-up. Unfortunately though, in terms of its overall design, it feels like it lost its way at some point. Its relatively simple look and style are back, though I’ll admit that your limited abilities to combat enemies, and a tendency for them to be able to get in cheap hits after you attack them, can be annoying at times. While you’ll get the ability to attack with some short-range magic, you’ll be running at quite a lot of enemies to knock into them, but it’s easy to then be vulnerable to a counter-attack, chipping away at your health somewhat cheaply.

The bigger issue though is with the overall map. Pretty much right out of the gate you’re given limited firm direction. Sure, there are some signs around that will point you in a certain direction, but more often than not it just feels like you’re being left to meander around, wondering where you’re supposed to be going, and what you’re really supposed to be doing. The fact that enemies respawn in each area when you return to them can further confuse your sense of where you have and haven’t been, and aside from it making the game pretty quickly feel grindy, the lack of overall direction and purpose also robs you of the motivation to return. It’s pleasant enough, sure, but considering other titles, including its predecessor, do a better overall job, it’s hard to get excited about.