First impressions, as we all know, can be quite important. Which is why I’m telling you not to judge Bygone Dreams: Prophecy too hastily – this 3D action-adventure game from developer Prime Time may not kickstart its adventure in the most exciting way imaginable, and I’m going to be the first to admit that I may have jumped to conclusions a bit too early when trying this playable prologue, but then… everything got better. Noticeably better. So, what I’m trying to say is that while not revolutionary, Bygone Dreams has so far been a competently made title with plenty of cool ideas squeezed into it – provided you play it long enough for things to open up a bit, and for the game to show off all the tricks up its sleeve.
Hacking, slashing, crafting
Let’s take combat, for starters. At first, it gives the impression of an overly simple, straightforward system where you keep hacking away at baddies until they fall over. But then the game goes, “wait, you can actually scan enemies to learn their weaknesses”. Huh. Okay. Turns out there are different elements to consider, along with weaknesses and resistances. You have multiple weapon types to choose from, including ranged weapons and magic. There’s a crafting system with various different materials to help you create useful buff items, potions and more. Bosses and even certain normal enemies possess a variety of unique mechanics and attack patterns. I could go on. Sure, it feels a bit clunky at times, but it’s a good start. A promising start.
Faraway lands
In terms of environments and variety, Bygone Dreams: Prophecy once again proves itself competent. After what I can only assume was a tutorial zone, the game then went on to introduce two additional areas to explore – one reminiscent of a Prince of Persia level, with colorful architecture and mythical creatures, and another with mechanical beasts and a decidedly steampunk-ish aesthetic. They both had their own styles, their own identities, and I found myself stunned by just how much of an improvement they were compared to the opening act of the adventure with its painfully milquetoast fantasy forest. These new areas are also where the game introduces some light puzzles: at times, I had to position lasers to open a path, at others, I was dealing with color-coded gates that had to be opened in the correct order. You won’t need a PhD to complete them, of course, but they were just engaging enough to provide a bit of a breather from the combat, and they sort of made me go “you know what, this game is actually pretty neat”, which is always a nice reaction to have.
Getting stuck
As far as negatives are concerned, I’d say the game’s lack of polish is one thing that I hope will be improved in the future. One particular bug caused my character to constantly get stuck on objects in the environment (forcing me to restart from a previous checkpoint), while another nearly made me unable to continue with the main story until I figured out what caused the issue in the first place. I also wasn’t particularly blown away by the narrative, as it seems to be yet another “save the world” type of scenario, but since we’re dealing with a demo/prologue here, I’ll have to reserve my judgment until the final release.
Worth a try? Right now, I’d say yes
Overall, though, I’m impressed with the project so far – it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but it’s a well-put-together 3D action-adventure romp with vibrant visuals, quirky characters and dreamlike landscapes that combines exploration, combat and puzzle-solving into an enjoyably solid package. I certainly look forward to seeing more of it.
Bygone Dreams: Prophecy is available for free on Steam; the full game, titled Bygone Dreams, will be launching this June.
