After the Demo we tried Sweet Dreams Alex by Kasedo Games in its entirety. We are ready to tell you our opinion

Let’s go back once again to talk about the Indie by Kasedo Games, Sweet Dreams Alex. The title is available for PC and can be found on Steam. As you know, we have already told you about it in our article regarding the Demo but now that we have tried it in its entirety we are ready to tell you our opinion.

The Gameplay of a Dream Builder

As already experienced in the Demo, our role in the game will be that of Dream Builders and the way is original: boxes. With these we will build complex labyrinths to keep Alex away from nightmares. When Alex, the little protagonist, goes to sleep we go into action. Our “work surface” will be an immense room, Alex placed on one side and the nightmare portal on the other. Misdirecting them and making them waste as much time as possible will be the goal. Once the timer set to 60 expires, the nightmare will be vaporized and we will have successfully finished our job (and level).

The first 15 or 20 levels are simple, they can vary in mechanics: infinite pieces to compose the maze or with a precise number. Indeed, these first levels are preparatory, very quick and help the player to get into the perspective of the game.

Continuing, obviously the difficulty increases and the resolution time could even increase to around thirty minutes. What to do if you can’t continue? Sweet Dreams Alex allows the player to access help to understand how to solve the maze. Anyway, don’t expect it to be an obvious help! It won’t show you where to start the maze or what changes what you’ve built needs. No, it’s rather a simple string usually made up of three drawings that can depict the nightmare, a foot (means speed) or a box (advises whether to favor linear paths or not). In extreme cases, if we fail to solve the level, it will be possible to skip it. We can try again at a later time. Skipping it we’ll proceed to the next one, hoping it’ll be less complicated than the previous one!

Multiple enemies and Sprinters

As we have already learned from the Demo, not everything that comes out of the portals is bad. In fact some good dreams could come out (in the form of ice cream) and we’ll be happy to get them to Alex as quickly as possible. However, we met a new enemy in this new run of Sweet Dreams Alex. He too is a nightmare to keep away; its specialty? It’s twice as fast as a normal nightmare, our ability to keep it away will be tested again.

Lengthening the path will no longer be enough, he would still be out of the labyrinth in half the time. So what to do? We’ll be honest, we had to make several attempts before we managed to defeat this Lollipop-looking sprinter.

Sweet Dreams Alex - Multiple enemies and Sprinters

The technique that we managed to use effectively consists of mixing and balancing short linear sections with oblique ones almost to form curves, which will tend to slow down our very fast yellow nightmare.

Sweet Dreams Alex, however, does not simply present us with these enemies individually. Or rather, he only does it for a few levels to make us adapt to the new arrival. We really appreciated the idea behind the game, to develop or sharpen a person’s ability to “predict” the outcome of what he has done. Always increasing the difficulty in a balanced way. Finding ourselves in levels with more nightmares (normal and very fast) and beautiful dreams. The game offers a valid mental and logical exercise thanks to the levels proposed. We are called to manage multiple targets simultaneously and have to calculate every single movement in advance and create a single labyrinth that satisfies the primary task: Protecting Alex from nightmares.

Different worlds different “work plans”

In Sweet Dreams Alex, we are offered six different game worlds. Different in mechanics and appearance. Each curated by the Pixel Art that makes the game distinctive. An essential but not neglected style and colors that promote a relaxing atmosphere. To help this relaxed atmosphere, the Lofi music of the artist Edelwize also intervenes. Every level, every moment is filled with a deep and relaxing atmosphere, accompanied by over 70 minutes of beautiful music.

We said different “work plans” because their appearance changes in the six worlds that we will cross while solving the levels. Their appearance is linked to the experiences of little Alex. In the second set of levels we will use crosswalks along with stop and go lights to keep the nightmares away from Alex. In the third set of levels you use various gaming equipment to create a path through empty spaces in the world.

Sweet Dreams Alex - Different worlds different “work plans”

The fourth set of levels features the placement of shops arranged in “Tetris” style shapes. These are just some of the levels as there are others as well. All these levels and worlds occasionally give us pages from the Diary that mum and dad write on Alex’s behalf. From here, we will be able to draw on some moments of the family’s life. A detail that we found cute and truly original are the drawings that Alex leaves after the little report of the day.

What else makes the worlds different? Well, the possibility of creating them as we like. This is possible thanks to the Levels Editor. We players will be the creators of our own levels. And will you say:”where is the fun if I created it?”. The beauty comes from the possibility of being able to share them with our friends. We’ll have all the simple and intuitive tools to create obstacles in the game world. In short we will be able to test the logic of our friends by exchanging personalized levels.

Do we recommend Sweet Dreams Alex?

Let’s be honest, Sweet Dreams Alex, despite being a relaxing game, requires a certain “amount” of energy. If you love puzzle games, a challenging game and competing with yourself then Sweet Dreams Alex is definitely for you! One piece of advice we would like to give you is: play it in small doses, a maximum of one hour. This way you won’t have the desire to screw everything up if some level gives you problems. We alternated longer or shorter gaming sessions, noticing a substantial difference in our “mood” towards the game. Long sessions can get boring and make you lose the desire to play – because actually the heart of everything is creating mazes.

So, the “task” is always the same then add a possible frustration of not passing a level, you understand that the flame of fun goes out immediately. For this reason we recommend playing it in small doses. So, to maintain the flame of fun and not transform a relaxing gaming experience into stress. Sweet Dreams Alex is a game that aims to make the player relax, while also offering a casual gaming experience.

Last but not least, we think that if building mazes, defeating enemies with logic makes you say “that’s for me, I want to try it” then you should embark on the story of Sweet Dreams Alex. If, on the other hand, the idea doesn’t excite you, then we advise you to pass.

So, what will you choose? Will you become Dream Builders and help Alex grow up peacefully and happy? Or will you give up? As always the choice is yours players! We are certainly curious about your impressions and what you decide to do, so leave us your comments here.

Good Game everybody!