Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow

Review

There is one guarantee in life, and that is that we will all need to confront death. From events foreseen and unforeseen, everyone has their own story, creating memories along the way. It is super important to make the best of the lease on life that you have been given. In Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow, you’ll be playing Griffin as a youngster who is accompanied by Birly, his teddy bear, reliving his memories as he faces his inevitable death.     

Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow is a puzzle platformer developed by Frozen Line and published by Ravenage Games on the 15^th of June, 2023, on the Steam and Epic Games platforms. The game will also be available on PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One Series X|S later on.

In this game you will be immersed in beautiful visuals without narrative. The atmospheric story took me around seven hours from start to finish. The game starts with Griffin sitting on a black-and-white tiled floor that looks suspiciously like a hospital room. From the left extremity of the screen, one of the Grim Reaper’s hands starts closing in on Griffin. Thankfully, on the other side, Birly opens the large door and makes signs to follow him, and Griffin’s last journey begins.

This is mostly a puzzle platformer game, but the developers have included some stealth, combat and racing elements, too.  And the game needed it to elevate it further. As I was playing, I felt that the pace was a bit slow, specifically the character’s movements. So, having a few fast-paced pursuits felt good.  I enjoyed the level where Griffin and Birly were flying on a bike through valleys and caves with obstacles. The puzzles are good and make sense without being too difficult to complete. Most of the puzzles involve giving commands to Birly and also to the female character Griffin will meet later in the game. With Birly, the commands will mostly be to activate something. Griffin can also throw Birly across platforms and vents, and command him to go through cracks in walls to get from one area to another. The other character has a bow and arrows. You need to command her to shoot at targets and activate an action. The level in the cloud was probably the best of all for me. I like the fact that you felt more depth, as the level had a bit of a switch between closer and more distant platforms. I like that!

Within each level, there are one or two dragonflies to find. They may be located in secret rooms and will be revealed as you place, throw or open an object. I found most of them, but because I missed a few, I don’t know if they unlock anything extra. Keep your eyes open for anything out of place in each level. 

Regarding the controls, I found them adequate for most of the game, but I did have a few issues aligning objects to reach another area.  Apart from that, it was smooth sailing.

Be prepared to feel all of Griffin’s emotions along his special journey, perfectly evoked through stunning visuals and the accompanying soundtrack.

You can play this game with your keyboard, but I strongly recommend using a gamepad. The game has been translated into 19 different languages, including English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and others.

Review written by THE CPT FROGGY for Zeepond.com  

Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow Steam Store Page