When you’re not dealing with AAA games with high production values, high double or even triple-digit play times, and crushing expectations you can afford to narrowly focus primarily on doing only a few things well and it can work out. While many indie games have tread a more general path, sometimes even ticking boxes from multiple genres by mixing things up in new ways, others have clearly invested in deeper elements like storytelling, setting out to surprise or more deeply move the player than they’re accustomed to. 

While on the surface Night Reverie is a colorful and generally well-made adventure, if you’re sure to keep paying attention as you go along you’ll find that it’s quite a bit more. Thankfully, as an adventure it still works quite nicely, and if anything it’s more approachable than most of its peers. While many games in this style will tend to throw odd and sometimes convoluted puzzles at you, which can often result in dissatisfying success through trial and error or perhaps looking up some help online, if anything the majority of puzzles here may err on the side of being too easy in places. The thing is, given the fact that they’re the gameplay vehicle for the greater experience in the form of the story, this can be a positive, you’ll just need to be sure what sort of game you’re looking for.

Now, if you’re looking for lighter or more mindless fare, not particularly looking to be challenged or seeking out something deeper, it will likely be a poor fit. The experience very much revolves around being mindful of what’s going on, not skipping impatiently through the dialogue, and really engaging with the material. Depending on your schedule or your preference, this could make for a poor fit. If, however, you’re the type who may enjoy the likes of well-written visual novels but find traditional games to be too complex or frustrating, this could be an excellent gateway game for you. In the end, this is just one of those indies that stands out for being unafraid to do things its own way, and then as a bonus it really sticks the landing.