Review: Dreamwalker

Sorry for the delay in this review, despite paying for it, the download was stuck in Sony's "we don't care" loop of uselessness. If I'd had any sleepless nights over it, Dreamwalker (originally a Nintendo DS release) could have helped calm me down.

A simple yet challenging puzzler from Code Mystics, you need to guide a dreaming chap, Walker, resplendent in his pink striped pajamas and floppy hat into the dawn light without waking him up prematurely through a series of cloud-formed mazes.

The early levels are simple, click on a star and you rotate the clouds adjacent to it, creating pathways through the stars for Walker to sleepwalk along. As with most puzzle games, the aim is to do it in the least moves or amount of time as possible, while dodging the increasing numbers of alarm clocks and nightmares that threaten to wake our somnolent pal.

The further you get, the more complex things become with teleporters and different-coloured stars moving in harmony, either making or breaking a well constructed path. Rainclouds can vanish once walked over creating dead ends and other hazards. An additional challenge also has Walker collecting all the sheep in a level, and there are plenty of other quirks and fun diversions along the way.

Always urging you on is the score timer counting down in the background. The early levels take places on a single screen, but soon you're scrolling around looking for the sunny exit and numerous ways to keep the clocks at bay. Screw a level up and you can restart in a flash.

With cheery animation throughout each level, a jolly tune in the background and bite-sized puzzles that make up each of the 50 levels, plus mini-games, this is pure and simple gaming fun with plenty of short term challenge, and quick-play appeal.

Score: 7/10
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Price: £1.99 (PSN)
Developer/publisher: Code Mystics
File size 45MB
Progress: Wake up Boo!