Weird Dreams Download (1988 Arcade action Game)

The title says it all, does it not?

You awake in your pajamas inside a cotton candy machine - when was the last time that happened to you? To escape, you must grab the stick, after which you appear at a fair. But be careful: Somewhere out there, there's a giant bee after you. However, this bee is nothing compared to the greatest villain I ever saw - the girl with a knife. How I hated that little brat... Was I glad to see her get served to the soccer ball. If that's not weird enough for you, I don't know what is! And just to satisfy your need for weirdness, you'll also meet some living dildo statues (which you must beat with a fish) hopping around the desert...

So the game does justice to its title, but will you like it? I did. It deserves a 4 in my opinion.

The part I like most is the atmospheric music which really lets you smell that cotton candy. Not to mention that none of the things really kill you - you're just so frightened that your heart rate goes out of control - and you die. You will be brought back to life on an operating table a couple of times, but once your doctors' get lazy, you are gone for good. Then you have to start again from the beginning. Have fun at the fair!

Weird Dreams is a very original surrealistic action/puzzle hybrid that is frustratingly difficult. The premise is strange but simple: you are a hospital patient, being put to sleep during a surgery. You then start having strange, menacing dreams that threaten your real-life alter ego, with each new screen weirder than the last...

A description of the first few scenes in the game may help illustrate just how weird this game is. When the game begins, you are shrunk to a tiny size and trapped in a giant candy-floss machine. As the giant stick comes around, you have to hop on and hopefully get lifted out. You then run, in pyjamas of course, through a fairground with a giant bee chasing you across to the hall of mirrors. The mirror you pick determines which level of the game you play next. Do you go to the desert where you can grasp flying fish from the air to hit the living stone statues with, or do you go to the rose-garden to try and pass the man-eating roses? And if you aren't quick, the lawnmower will get you!

This game is definitely a love-or-hate affair. Personally, I love it. There are many features, weird background, and gameplay surprises that keep the game interesting throughout. The only criticism I have is that the game requires such a high level of timing precision and dexterity that it's very frustrating in places. The jump to the candy-stick, for example, has to be extremely precise to the fraction of a second. B Be prepared to get stressed with this game-- VERY stressed. The unusual and involving premise should be enough for everyone to grit his/her teeth and move on, though.

Overall, Weird Dreams is truly weird, but very original and atmospheric. It's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but if you like surrealistic games and can stomach some gratuitous gore, it's definitely well worth a look!

Note: The manual link below is the PDF version of the excellent novella by Rupert Goodwins that came with the game.

Some kind of strange puzzle game which has a variety of strange looking levels. As a matter of fact you play the games in your subconscious, which explaines a bit the strange kind of levels you play.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

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