Dream Cycle is a Lovecraftian action-adventure developed by Carthuria Games and published by Raw Fury. Raw Fury has become an exciting publisher thanks to its growing roster of phenomenal and often experimental games; while Dream Cycle falls into the latter of those two categories and has many strong ideas, the technical execution is lacking, and a little more time in development would have done wonders for what should have otherwise been an exciting release.
The story of Dream Cycle follows Morgan Carter, a sorceress who travels through the Dreamlands to release the tormented spirits of the living that are trapped within. The Dreamlands are an alternate dimension created by horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, in which a variety of different races and worlds exist that aren't present in the normal "waking world." These worlds are also influenced by Elder Gods like Nyarlathotep, who is one of Dream Cycle's primary antagonists. In her journey to regain her essence, free her friend, and stop the looming evil threatening existence, Morgan will travel throughout the Dreamlands and fight the dangers within.
Combat in Dream Cycle will be familiar to fantasy action-adventure players. Morgan utilizes a mix of melee weapons, ranged weapons, and spells which can be acquired by exploring the world and buying them back later if the player dies. In an interesting twist, Dream Cycle uses roguelite death mechanics that send Morgan back to the hub world and strip her of her weapons upon death, though certain items and currency will remain. Unfortunately, this will happen a lot.
Despite Dream Cycle introducing skills like "shadow strike," which launches Morgan towards a nearby enemy's weak spot, the combat feels unresponsive and hollow. There's little impact from swings or arrows, spells don't feel very powerful, and dodging is often unreliable. Pair this with hard to read enemies that can hit through walls and during scripted animations, combat quickly becomes frustrating and most deaths feel unfair. Movement feels much better however, as Morgan's sprint is weighty and fast, vertical movements mechanics are solid, and Morgan can levitate a significant distance and extend it using the "shadow step" dash ability. This makes getting to objectives pretty fun but, at the same time, exposes the game's biggest weakness.
Despite stunning set-pieces and art direction, Dream Cycle has a world that is beautiful but empty. There are only one or two locations in any given world that are relevant to progression and on the journey to those destinations, players may encounter an enemy or two. Because of this, there is very little stimulation that makes these worlds feel like anything other than a beta test for level layouts. It's a shame because screenshots of Dream Cycle show off impressive towers, an imposing eclipse, and surreal worlds that are all present but unexciting.
Ultimately, Dream Cycle is an interesting and creative take on Lovecraft's world and one that should have been so much better. While it's hard to recommend Dream Cycle in its current state, some may feel that these issues are miniscule compared to what the game is trying to do and that's enough reason to give it a go.
Dream Cycle is out now for PC via Steam. Screen Rant was provided with a digital download code for the purpose of this review.