Bad Dream Fever Switch Review by SwitchWatch
Developer: Desert Fox
Publisher: Forever Entertainment
Download Size: 383Mb
Release Date: 14/09/2019
Price as of Article: $9.99 USD, £8.99 GBP
Game code provided by Forever Entertainment
ESRB: TEEN PEGI: 12
The game begins with the character waking in a strange room. First order of business is to escape. Once out, you are greeted by the only other living soul that you know of – the Masked Girl. The Masked Girl will task the player to help her save the world from the degradation it is suffering from and unravel the mystery of the blue ink.
As the Story progresses, more areas become available to visit, keeping the game flowing nicely. There are plenty of twists and turns, as well as some bizarre happenings.
Bad Dream: Fever has a gripping story, that had me hooked very quickly. It does an outstanding job of having the player on edge at all times – this married with the art style complement each other.
There is a returning character, as well as a hint to something new… you will need to play to find out what and who.
[/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Gameplay” open=”on” _builder_version=”3.21″ use_border_color=”on”]Bad Dream: Fever is a point and click atmospheric point-and-click game. Also, it’s the follow up to Bad Dream: Coma which was reviewed by Juan here.
It is pretty standard, if not frustrating for a point-and-click.
The Mask Girl
For the most part, the Masked girl will send the player out to search for items or points of interest within the game’s story. Worst off all, she will send you off to search with no clue, what to look for, or even where to start. Here, it’s a case of tapping every item in an area till something happens.
This aspect of Bad Dream: Fever gets monotonous very fast. At one point, I spent a good 15 minutes tapping items only to find I had to go to a specific location on the map.
Frustrating as it is, it does not overly ruin the game. There could have been more direction within the game, by giving a hint or two.
The Puzzles
Seeing how this is a point-and-click game, I will not go into any of the solutions but more on some of the core ideas for the puzzles.
Most of the puzzles’ solutions are within the same area, but also consist of jumping around each part of the map, attempting to find the item needed to proceed — standard types of puzzles for these games.
There are also a few puzzles that make you think outside the game or are different from the rest of the puzzles. However, they hold your hand way too much. It is a shame, there could have been something magical. Do not get me wrong, they are fresh and inventive, just less hand-holding needed.
[/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.17.6″] style=”display:block; text-align:center;” data-ad-layout=”in-article” data-ad-format=”fluid” data-ad-client=”ca-pub-5661714653949151″ data-ad-slot=”5669732186″>[/et_pb_code][et_pb_toggle title=”Audio” open=”on” _builder_version=”3.21″ use_border_color=”on”]The soundtrack although not always the focus for the games sound design is at some points unnerving. It is not really music based but more auditory cues that something bad or something is going to happen. This approach works wonderfully here.
The sound effects and ambient noise are the main focus in Bad Dream: Fever, allowing to get a certain sense of unease. Most objects having a noise, while some have unexpected interactions. The ambient noise or lack of really adds to the discomfort of the overall game, there is an eerie silence to the place you are in, with only a few sounds can be heard.
The developers set out to make this a creepy experience I believe with the audio they made Bad Dream Fever one set closer to that experience.
Bad Dream: Fever, just like its predecessor, has a hand-drawn art style with a sepia-tone throughout, with blue being the only other colour within the game, with the guidelines left in (there is a reason for that as the game goes on). I feel as if this art style added to the feel of the game. Especially the Ink making, it looks like blood or some form of illness.
As the game progresses, the Ink is more relevant and frequent (cannot say any more for spoilers). Overall, the art style is creepy.
The performance was mainly good within the game but there was, however, a few momentary slowdowns, nothing major and took nothing away from the experience. I just noticed they were there. The load times were excellent. I played this mainly in handheld for this title as the touchscreen controls came in handy in some parts.
Overall, the visuals and the performance are good.
[/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Value” open=”on” _builder_version=”3.21″ use_border_color=”on”]The asking price for Bad Dream: Fever is set about right; it comes in at $9.99 USD, £8.99 GBP for a game that’s got an exciting story and some interesting puzzles. Also, it takes around 4-5 hours to finish depending on how you find the puzzles – at the top end of the budget games, it is an excellent price, even if there is no replayability to be had.
This is a must-buy if you played Bad Dream: Coma, as there is more than one nod to it, as well as it follows on with the same game style and creepy feeling.
Physical Edition – No
[/et_pb_toggle][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” background_color_1=”#f8f8f8″ background_color_2=”#f8f8f8″ padding_top_1=”30px” padding_top_2=”30px” padding_right_1=”30px” padding_right_2=”30px” padding_bottom_1=”30px” padding_bottom_2=”30px” padding_left_1=”30px” padding_left_2=”30px” custom_css_main_1=”||||” custom_css_main_2=”||” _builder_version=”3.0.93″][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.95″]Pros
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#5bd999″ icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.21″]Ambient noise and sound effects
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#5bd999″ icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.21″]Creepy fitting art style
Some interesting puzzle design
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#5bd999″ icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.21″]Good story
Cons
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#e6567a” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.21″]Some puzzles are horrible
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#e6567a” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.21″]Mask Girl can be a waste of time
Less hand-holding on the puzzles is needed
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#e6567a” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.21″]Lacks replayability
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