Not sure if anyone mentioned yet, but to ease your mind: The Wrench does have a purpose. You can use it instead of the Wire Cutters to open the gate of the church.
Getting a message that you're fired, showing up to work and telling your boss you didn't see it even though you did, being so pathetic that they chicken out on firing you, but also such a mooch that you then ask for 2 weeks pay up -front. Man, modern Hollywood can't write characters this complex! lol
I have to wonder if that was a sort of deliberate choice by Ryan to lie about not seeing the message. Maybe if you just pretended hard enough that there was no message and apologized for being late he wouldn't get fired afterall or something. It is probably just the writer covering for the case if the player didn't in fact read the message, but its fun to add extra layers of loser-dom onto Ryan here.
Man it's always so disappointing to me when people try to prop things up by putting other things down. Seriously, you could have just left it at the first sentence and it would be a great compliment to this game. But nah, gotta give an ice cold take on the quality of Hollywood writing also.
@@donovanfaust3227 I agree!! My theory for this script and the ridiculous character actions/lack of consequences is... coke was literally fueling the entertainment industry in the '80s & '90s 🤫😅 that's how we ended up with that film where Sylvester Stallone has to win an arm wrestling competition to, like.. prove to everyone that he loves his son and teach him to be honest or something (?) and the theme-song is like "-to the limit, PUSH it to the LIMIT!!" 🤼♂️ and its so sick and I forgot what I was commenting on now
The thing about this game you may not realize, they made the puzzles have several solutions - So if some items you didn't find a use for seem to indicate they're useful, they are probably one of the alternative solutions to a different puzzle.
I was thinking about that when he mentioned the wrench. I guess it is helpful for when you may have missed an item but once you have found a solution you are probably going to use that same solution. Games like the early King's Quest game would have multiple solutions but they were tied to a scoring system and there were better solutions that awarded more points.
Pretty much the opposite of Sierra's approach to adventure, where if you forget to grab all items, you later gett stuck and have to restart all over again
Seven magic things holding world in one peace, that have a human keepers, randomly selected after previous keeper's death, who's will and mind shapes the reality, added to seven madmans... It's a point-and-click cyberpunk Blood Omen!
Well that flash of the Warhammer Dark Omen cover, that early rendered CGI artwork of a green guy made me think I was looking at Vorador (the Omen title also threw me too) LOL. But I'm also getting vibes of someone wanting to make a video game adaptation of some rock band's concept album story "Operation Mindcrime" anyone?
It honestly makes the Keepers look like massive pricks. He does them a solid (something they probably could have done themselves with all their "great mystical power"), and after all that they just leaving him holding the bag. How's that for gratitude?!
@@cartooncritique6625 Maybe death is just the beginning for Ryan, and his sould or whatever plays a role in the Dreamweb afterwards. Or the Keepers are completely alien beings that only look like Humans and thus have no concept of morality as we know it.
When Eden "disappears" she's in the bath. This was one of the first DOS games I got up and running in 2004. And for all its faults I absolutely loved it. I feel kind of lucky I played a version without voices but I ate up that soundtrack. Before I had a copy of it I used to crank up the sound on my computer and zone out. Thanks for covering this! Dreamweb needs love!
Imagine going to take a bath to take your mind off things, losing track of time and coming out just in time to hear your boyfriend getting hit by a firing squad.
In the second portion of the game Eden moves into the bathroom in the 'southern' part of her apartment. You can chat with her but I don't remember how it goes. But afterwards yeah she's pretty static in her dialogue.
Cool to see you diving into these lesser known old games. The thing that struck me was how much this feels like an inspiration for Hotline Miami. The similar aesthetic, the bits of hyper violence, the grim story about a possibly delusional person believing they’re being commanded to commit murders. I googled and couldn’t find anything from the HM devs, only many other people pointing out the possible connection and wondering the same.
I remember asking one of the HL Miami devs on reddit or via eMail about this and he denied it. I believe he mentioned that he never even knew about Dreamweb. Not sure if I would call the aesthetics similar; HL Miami's looks a lot less pixel-arty.
Well, it isn't the only Cyberpunk Aesthetic game to be top down, you have things like Loaded, GTA 2, Smash TV and so on. They may have taken from any of them, or none at all.
Hearing Ryan's voice after years of rewatching Yahtzee and Gabriel's Let's Play of it is incredibly surreal. He sounds exactly like I thought he would. Great video! Subscribed :)
It really felt like a game where they had this great expansive story but either they ran out of time or ran out of disk space (it was an Amiga game after all, so not designed for a hard drive) and so just did the main beats at the end. It's a shame as if this had more content, and it avoided the cop-out ending - or at least made that a bit more involved - then it would have been an all-time classic.
I'm guessing the "Diary of a (mad?!) man" was based on the original concept for the game, and was probably close to what they intended but didn't get done. Real shame, even if it is very much 90s edge-lord tropes
I'm a more inquisitive player today than when I got around to playing DreamWeb as a young lad. But to be honest, I don’t mind all the game's loose ends and inaccuracies: after all these years, it still holds that enigmatic, heavy and dense feeling of insanity, which is kind of a miracle. So thank you for making this video, it was a more than welcome trip down the memory lane. Keep up the good work 🙌
"Ryan's a real squirrely dude." Lol And he looks and acts a lot like a guy I know IRL named Ryan. Real life Ryan is also a squirrely dude who's prone to blackouts. So much so, that I had to download this game and show a mutual friend. I showed him the giant portrait on the side of the screen and asked, "Who does this kind of remind you of?" Immediately, he said, "Hey, it'a Ryan!" It was even better when I showed that the game even named Ryan, Ryan.
I have a very special memory of this game. As a teen, I bought it one Christmas as a present to myself because I was feeling rebellious. I read the diary on Christmas Eve at my grandparents and spent the whole day after playing it, basically completing it in one session. I even ended up mailing the walkthrough to a gaming magazine (they didn’t publish it). I didn’t feel cheated out of my money, it was quite an unique experience!
Thank you for sharing your memory I love reading about stuff like this. Getting new video games on Christmas was so special, so much that as an adult I still watch tons of content about them on youtube (like this video lol) even though I don't play video games anymore.
I remember going to a small gameshop with my cousin and deciding on what to buy. The choice was either Flight of the Amazon Queen or Dreamweb. While the former would probably have been more fun, I am glad we chose Dreamweb for it's atmosphere.
The moment the game said "THE SEVEN", I knew there was NO way you were going to actually kill seven. That's classic indie scope creep. 4 at MOST was my bet and they would rush the ending. But it was technically FIVE (despite them being real cheap). So, I was wrong. 10/10 game, perfect!
That's actually classic in almost form of media, there's always one who gets killed by another member of the group, then the one that gets killed by a important secondary character, or others that just kinda give up
seems like one of those games that would've taken up a lot of space in my head if i'd played it as a teenager. instead the SNES version of Shadowrun did that.
I gotta say, the top-down perspective, the excessive gore, the environments REALLY remind me of Hotline Miami. I can’t help but wonder if the HM devs used this game as as inspiration.
I remember asking one of the HL Miami devs on reddit or via eMail about this and he denied it. I believe he mentioned that he never even knew about Dreamweb.
The "traveling" theme from this game always stuck out to me as oddly ethereal and ominous, worth a listen if anything. probably the only highlight of the game for me.
I still have the original Diary of a (Mad?)Man from Dreamweb on my bookshelf. It's fantastic. I read through it sometimes. I was obsessed with this game as a teenager. It was so atmospheric and so different from other games.
I could be way off but the person who steals the sneakers really resembles Beckett. They both wear a similar grey tank and both have a pink light associated with them (the pink whip and the lights in the subway room). Only issue is the guy at the beginning looks beefier than Beckett and they wear different pants.
One of the big problems with straight top-down games like this, especially at low resolution, is that all characters basically look like blobs most of the time, with a couple of pixels for the head and shoulders. That being said, the artists did a good job on creating a variety of different character sprites.
One day i stayed home sick from school and found this game in my brothers room loose in a pile of CDs on his shelf. I quickly found myself in a dark, fascinating game. One of my fav gaming moments
I did some research and apparently the open ending was left like that because the devs had plans for a sequel to the game and the priest had apparently survived since he escaped through the hole so it is sad that we never got to see what they had envisioned for a 2nd part
I believe in the game it is said that the priest escaped indeed, but not in the physical sense; he transcended his mortal flesh and his soul, essence or whatever has reached another plane of existence.
fun fact, ryan's password is a reference to stephen marley's literary character chia black dragon, protagonist of a series of fantasy novels heavily inspired by chinese history and mythology
I'm really glad to see you make this video. Dreamweb gets really slept on, there aren't any good videos (or weren't) on the game, which it sorely deserves.
Used to leave on Yahtzee and Gabriel's Let's Drown Out of this game to go to sleep. Kinda surreal to see someone else cover it. Thank you so much for giving this hidden gem so much love!
I've been craving for a deeper dive on this game since I played it back it 2016/17. I'm glad someone finally made a good video about it. Can't wait to see what you cover next.
i got recommended your channel by chance and I'm glad I clicked I've been obsessed. I never grew up with a PC or any of the more unique gaming consoles as a kid (had like, ps1 and n64) so I love seeing these obscure games. It's such a shame this game fell so flat it had so much potential like you mentioned. Love going through your backlog of videos and hope to see you hit 100k soon.
I love how tight and intimate the environments are. it feels like the characters are little duplo figures in chunky block environments and i think that's really fun and cool especiallly contrasting with how dark the content is
I really like the voice acting in this game. Has a natural yet off-putting energy. Kind of like the original Silent Hill games. The bar patron conversation felt so genuine.
Aesthetically, it gave off a look of what Hotline Miami could've been if it was an adventure game. Would honestly love something like that. For whatever else there may be to the game, I really like the art and art direction they went with. Solid review too, hope to get more videos like this in the future!
I love watching your channel. You cover a lot of games I wanted to play back in the day but couldn’t so it’s very nice finally getting to see them. So thank you!
As a non confrontational person, it was actually very relatable to me when Ryan lied about not reading the message saying he was fired and showing up to work despite that. Playing ignorance can definitely help when it comes to interacting with people whom you believe don’t care about you. Good thing his boss was actually a swell guy in the end though
I love the story of this one. Man, I feel like you could maybe make a movie out of it as it's written. It'd be a downer, sure, but I dunno. I'm a sucker for depressing cyberpunk stuff like this, and I like how it was written here. Maybe it's because it's got the DOS graphics and it makes me feel strangely nostalgic (I didn't grow up playing DOS games because my parents had Macs) for some reason. I dunno, it's one of those stories that I wish was expanded upon a bit.
See to me, Ryan killing the old security guard seemed perfectly natural given everything up to this point especially with the context of his journal. Even if the supernatural stuff going on is real and he really is being sent on a mission for the good of the world he's been having these horrible nightmares and getting very little sleep for what, months, years? He can both be on a supernatural mission *and* insane at the same time, they're not incompatible. Combined with how he murdered Crane's security detail who were just doing their jobs in a very brutal way, yeah I totally buy that the solution to the security guard at the TV station is to shoot him. Ryan is not a good nor sympathetic person in my eyes. He may only be that way due to being given horrible supernatural nightmares but having a reason for why you're awful doesn't make you any less awful. Yeah, of course you shoot the security guard to get to the TV station, you gotta stop the apocalypse!
I agree with you, but I feel that giving the player multiple solutions via items would’ve been better. Ryan overusing his gun really feels either run out of idea or just REALLY wanted to animate some ultra violence.
@@peppermillers8361Oh absolutely. I just wanted to point out another point of view regarding his willingness to use violence since Dungeon Chill seemed to be quite surprised at it being the solution.
Just wanted to say I love your videos and was happy to see a new one this morning. I found your channel a few days ago through the Galerians video which unlocked forgotten childhood memories of renting it from my local Blockbuster 🌚 It's so fun learning about all these obscure games!
I'm a new viewer and I just want to thank you for making such interesting videos on games I'll probably never have the chance to properly play. I really enjoy your style and how you cover as much as you can.
There's also an online version of the game so you don't have to download it and you can play it on a macbook. It's not the version with the voiceovers unfortunately but not deal breaker. Actually Eden isn't gone...she nude in the bath..lol. And yes that gun is way too powerful, except when you think you might need it. They might have had to rush this game to finish it.
There is these two rare games on Saturn called Quo Vadis and Quo Vadis II. Hope we get videos for them. only say this becasue we got a video on Wachenröder. I thought i was the only one that knew about that game or loved the artist that made the character designs. I also love Serial Experiment Lain.
In of your videos you cited Raganarox as an inspiration. In my opinion you're already much better and I love the game you choose to cover. Please continue.
I love this game and I love this video. Thank you so much for covering this in so much detail. I never had any idea what I was doing back in the day! I never had the voiced version either. By the way… That wrench actually does have a use.
Owned this game back when I had more space for big box PC games. All of the supplementary manuals and in lore items really help to sell Ryans descent into madness.
Interesting game. Probably not one I'll play myself; seems a bit too granular for my tastes these days. But it's always fun to learn about weird little relics like this, one of the reason's I've been greatly enjoying your channel. The bit about Louis on the toilet reminded me of that Mythbusters episode where they did the toilet bomb scene from Lethal Weapon 2, where they have to freeze the bomb, and Riggs has to pull Murtaugh off of the toilet and into the bathtub under a ballistic blanket before it can go off. I remember when they tested that part, they had to bring in a medical expert to confirm that it would actually be safe for Jamie to sit on the john for that long and then get up suddenly. Turns out it can be done, but there is an elevated risk of blood clots, and Louis doesn't look like the healthiest guy, so he might be in for a rude surprise when he finally gets up. Anyway, great video as always. Keep 'em coming and I'll keep watching.
Ok, 8 minutes in and I'm pausing the video and downloading the game, see you in couple of days, my currently favorite RUclipsr. [Update] Dude, this game doesn't have moon logic, it has murderous psychopath logic. [2nd] Update, well, I guess it was more like couple of hours, great game, though anyone wishing to play it from the link Dungeon Chill provided be advised that you'll need the manual (or simply a walkthrough) to figure out computer passwords, and a certain late in game puzzle,
I had the demo of this from a coverdisc; it stopped after you get past the guards on the first assassination so ive always wanted to know where the game went. Thanks for this hinest and thorough look at it!
My favourite game of all time. The puzzles rely on the multiple items which do nothing. Instead of the typical adventure game where you figure out which weird item to use on another weird item, you are presented with many options and have to narrow it down and make a decision based on the environment. It's the best feature of the game but ran out of stream after the Crane assassination when they didn't seem to have to add that level of detail I every screen.
A game you might take a look at is Kowloon Highschool Chronicle. Its an absolutely wild ps2 title. Ancient Aliens JRPG, dungeon crawler, visual novel. Craziest game I've played
This game is one of my all-time favourites, in spite of its flaws. The soundtrack is incredible (although short - there's also a bonus track on the CD), and the atmosphere is great. One thing that was really cool on my original playthrough is that when I shot the parking lot security guard, the gunshot sync'd up perfectly with a thunderclap, and I had thought it was scripted that way to hide the gunshot. But on my second playthrough it didn't happen that way. Regarding the phone message: The transition to/from the Dreamweb are through electrical devices (microwave, phone, subway rail, etc), which causes those devices to activate, so when Ryan entered through the phone it presumably tried sending junk data through theline, resulting in the operator message. The same happens in the epilogue; Ryan's energy enters through a ticketing device, causing the ticket to spit out. Oh, and the solution to symbol puzzle in the church is scrawled out in one of the pages of the Diary. That, and the call codes, acted as the game's copy protection. Anyway, thanks for the video!
@@kakizakichannel nice! I only know about "Dreamweb" because of Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation lol. He did a lets play with his friend. The soundtrack for that game is fire
The spitting on a fan thing was probably a reference to Roger Waters doing the same thing at a Pink Floyd concert, apparently the fan has the same reaction.
This was a great review, ive fondly loved this game ever since Yahtzee Croshaw did a lets play of it. This gave so much more detail and explored things that they didnt while playing. Thank you!
This kind of subversion of a typical story, especially in a point and click,, was really ahead of its time. Only Spec Ops The Line makes you actually question what your player character is doing as much as this game. By the end you literally do wonder if anything you did WAS for the right reasons.
Amazing atmosphere. I wish I had the patience to play this or really any adventure game. Say what you will, but I enjoy this voice acting and writing more than any modern game I can think of. Heavy-handed and melodramatic is just what I like.
Not sure if anyone mentioned yet, but to ease your mind: The Wrench does have a purpose. You can use it instead of the Wire Cutters to open the gate of the church.
Thank you.
Getting a message that you're fired, showing up to work and telling your boss you didn't see it even though you did, being so pathetic that they chicken out on firing you, but also such a mooch that you then ask for 2 weeks pay up -front.
Man, modern Hollywood can't write characters this complex! lol
Pretty much what the main character of Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing' does, except he also gets his workplace burnt down... and still gets paid
That's not even a joke.
I have to wonder if that was a sort of deliberate choice by Ryan to lie about not seeing the message. Maybe if you just pretended hard enough that there was no message and apologized for being late he wouldn't get fired afterall or something.
It is probably just the writer covering for the case if the player didn't in fact read the message, but its fun to add extra layers of loser-dom onto Ryan here.
Man it's always so disappointing to me when people try to prop things up by putting other things down. Seriously, you could have just left it at the first sentence and it would be a great compliment to this game. But nah, gotta give an ice cold take on the quality of Hollywood writing also.
@@donovanfaust3227 I agree!!
My theory for this script and the ridiculous character actions/lack of consequences is... coke was literally fueling the entertainment industry in the '80s & '90s 🤫😅 that's how we ended up with that film where Sylvester Stallone has to win an arm wrestling competition to, like.. prove to everyone that he loves his son and teach him to be honest or something (?) and the theme-song is like "-to the limit, PUSH it to the LIMIT!!" 🤼♂️ and its so sick and I forgot what I was commenting on now
"In my restless dreams, I see that wrench."
-John Dungeon Chill
You promised to use me for a puzzle someday... but you never did.
The thing about this game you may not realize, they made the puzzles have several solutions - So if some items you didn't find a use for seem to indicate they're useful, they are probably one of the alternative solutions to a different puzzle.
I was thinking about that when he mentioned the wrench. I guess it is helpful for when you may have missed an item but once you have found a solution you are probably going to use that same solution. Games like the early King's Quest game would have multiple solutions but they were tied to a scoring system and there were better solutions that awarded more points.
Pretty much the opposite of Sierra's approach to adventure, where if you forget to grab all items, you later gett stuck and have to restart all over again
Seven magic things holding world in one peace, that have a human keepers, randomly selected after previous keeper's death, who's will and mind shapes the reality, added to seven madmans... It's a point-and-click cyberpunk Blood Omen!
Ohhhh! Nice connection.
So I'm not the only one that saw it!
Exactly what I thought the first few minutes in.
Well that flash of the Warhammer Dark Omen cover, that early rendered CGI artwork of a green guy made me think I was looking at Vorador (the Omen title also threw me too) LOL.
But I'm also getting vibes of someone wanting to make a video game adaptation of some rock band's concept album story "Operation Mindcrime" anyone?
There is a post credits scene of the MC's soul disappearing into the machine next to his body, hinting that what he was experiencing was real.
It honestly makes the Keepers look like massive pricks. He does them a solid (something they probably could have done themselves with all their "great mystical power"), and after all that they just leaving him holding the bag. How's that for gratitude?!
Yes! There's to much insinuations and everyone writes it off.
I left a comment as well on this near the top just recently.
@@cartooncritique6625 Maybe death is just the beginning for Ryan, and his sould or whatever plays a role in the Dreamweb afterwards. Or the Keepers are completely alien beings that only look like Humans and thus have no concept of morality as we know it.
When Eden "disappears" she's in the bath.
This was one of the first DOS games I got up and running in 2004. And for all its faults I absolutely loved it. I feel kind of lucky I played a version without voices but I ate up that soundtrack. Before I had a copy of it I used to crank up the sound on my computer and zone out.
Thanks for covering this! Dreamweb needs love!
Imagine going to take a bath to take your mind off things, losing track of time and coming out just in time to hear your boyfriend getting hit by a firing squad.
I’m surprised they programmed in Ryan blinking when you can put on sunglasses and never see his weird stare again.
Would you rather have him…
Never stare 😂
Or use the wrench on his eye and it'll swell it shut.
I love it. It really nails the no way back plot
In the second portion of the game Eden moves into the bathroom in the 'southern' part of her apartment. You can chat with her but I don't remember how it goes. But afterwards yeah she's pretty static in her dialogue.
*"Ryan, please. I'm taking a shit"*
@@CopebrooShe probably heard about Ryan's antics in Loius' apartment.
The conversation with Eden in the tub went like this:
ruclips.net/video/9uRr450-uLQ/видео.html
Cool to see you diving into these lesser known old games. The thing that struck me was how much this feels like an inspiration for Hotline Miami. The similar aesthetic, the bits of hyper violence, the grim story about a possibly delusional person believing they’re being commanded to commit murders. I googled and couldn’t find anything from the HM devs, only many other people pointing out the possible connection and wondering the same.
Always thought the same thing and couldn't a find a single connection either.
yeah ive come across this game on abandonware sites and thought "Hotline MiamI RPG?" as well, knew nothing about it
I remember asking one of the HL Miami devs on reddit or via eMail about this and he denied it. I believe he mentioned that he never even knew about Dreamweb.
Not sure if I would call the aesthetics similar; HL Miami's looks a lot less pixel-arty.
Well, it isn't the only Cyberpunk Aesthetic game to be top down, you have things like Loaded, GTA 2, Smash TV and so on. They may have taken from any of them, or none at all.
I've always had a soft spot for old games, thanks for diving into these old gems from the past.
Hearing Ryan's voice after years of rewatching Yahtzee and Gabriel's Let's Play of it is incredibly surreal.
He sounds exactly like I thought he would.
Great video! Subscribed :)
Nice to see you here!
I still miss the dads
@@hemangchauhan2864 The feeling's mutual! 😄
It really felt like a game where they had this great expansive story but either they ran out of time or ran out of disk space (it was an Amiga game after all, so not designed for a hard drive) and so just did the main beats at the end. It's a shame as if this had more content, and it avoided the cop-out ending - or at least made that a bit more involved - then it would have been an all-time classic.
I'm guessing the "Diary of a (mad?!) man" was based on the original concept for the game, and was probably close to what they intended but didn't get done. Real shame, even if it is very much 90s edge-lord tropes
*cop-out ending*
i see what you did there
I'm a more inquisitive player today than when I got around to playing DreamWeb as a young lad. But to be honest, I don’t mind all the game's loose ends and inaccuracies: after all these years, it still holds that enigmatic, heavy and dense feeling of insanity, which is kind of a miracle. So thank you for making this video, it was a more than welcome trip down the memory lane. Keep up the good work 🙌
"Ryan's a real squirrely dude." Lol
And he looks and acts a lot like a guy I know IRL named Ryan. Real life Ryan is also a squirrely dude who's prone to blackouts. So much so, that I had to download this game and show a mutual friend. I showed him the giant portrait on the side of the screen and asked, "Who does this kind of remind you of?" Immediately, he said, "Hey, it'a Ryan!" It was even better when I showed that the game even named Ryan, Ryan.
Blackouts? I hope your Ryan is okay.
I have a very special memory of this game. As a teen, I bought it one Christmas as a present to myself because I was feeling rebellious. I read the diary on Christmas Eve at my grandparents and spent the whole day after playing it, basically completing it in one session. I even ended up mailing the walkthrough to a gaming magazine (they didn’t publish it). I didn’t feel cheated out of my money, it was quite an unique experience!
Thank you for sharing your memory I love reading about stuff like this. Getting new video games on Christmas was so special, so much that as an adult I still watch tons of content about them on youtube (like this video lol) even though I don't play video games anymore.
I remember going to a small gameshop with my cousin and deciding on what to buy. The choice was either Flight of the Amazon Queen or Dreamweb. While the former would probably have been more fun, I am glad we chose Dreamweb for it's atmosphere.
The moment the game said "THE SEVEN", I knew there was NO way you were going to actually kill seven. That's classic indie scope creep. 4 at MOST was my bet and they would rush the ending.
But it was technically FIVE (despite them being real cheap). So, I was wrong. 10/10 game, perfect!
That's actually classic in almost form of media, there's always one who gets killed by another member of the group, then the one that gets killed by a important secondary character, or others that just kinda give up
You kill 4. You kill Crane, General, Sartain and the woman.
The train kills the last guy.
seems like one of those games that would've taken up a lot of space in my head if i'd played it as a teenager. instead the SNES version of Shadowrun did that.
I want to cover the SNES and Gen versions of Shadowrun sometime later this year.
💯 I rented and re-rented Shadowrun SNES from Blockbuster and I still love the game. That teaser at the end for a sequel is still a punch in the gut.
I gotta say, the top-down perspective, the excessive gore, the environments REALLY remind me of Hotline Miami. I can’t help but wonder if the HM devs used this game as as inspiration.
I remember asking one of the HL Miami devs on reddit or via eMail about this and he denied it. I believe he mentioned that he never even knew about Dreamweb.
@@HerrCherno Yeah, it's not surprising. This isn't the only top down Cyberpunk game, there's Loaded, GTA 2, Smash TV and so on.
New Dungeon Chill = 🍿🥤😎
I've played and finished this game three times in my life. Something just draws me back to it.
The Dreamweb has you
Great atmosphere and a seriously amazing soundtrack.
The "traveling" theme from this game always stuck out to me as oddly ethereal and ominous, worth a listen if anything. probably the only highlight of the game for me.
I still have the original Diary of a (Mad?)Man from Dreamweb on my bookshelf. It's fantastic. I read through it sometimes. I was obsessed with this game as a teenager. It was so atmospheric and so different from other games.
I could be way off but the person who steals the sneakers really resembles Beckett. They both wear a similar grey tank and both have a pink light associated with them (the pink whip and the lights in the subway room). Only issue is the guy at the beginning looks beefier than Beckett and they wear different pants.
I totally thought that's where it was going too!
One of the big problems with straight top-down games like this, especially at low resolution, is that all characters basically look like blobs most of the time, with a couple of pixels for the head and shoulders. That being said, the artists did a good job on creating a variety of different character sprites.
The animation in this game is really nice. The sequence with two guards makes me wish for an urban fantasy Hotline Miami knock-off.
One day i stayed home sick from school and found this game in my brothers room loose in a pile of CDs on his shelf. I quickly found myself in a dark, fascinating game. One of my fav gaming moments
I did some research and apparently the open ending was left like that because the devs had plans for a sequel to the game and the priest had apparently survived since he escaped through the hole so it is sad that we never got to see what they had envisioned for a 2nd part
I believe in the game it is said that the priest escaped indeed, but not in the physical sense; he transcended his mortal flesh and his soul, essence or whatever has reached another plane of existence.
@@HerrCherno he was meant to be an antagonist for a possible sequel though, that's why they left his fate open to interpretation
When Ryan gets knocked down and just lays there, he looks like Douglas Levison who is trained classically and contemporaneously.
I feel like Ryan's next job after the bar was a detective position at Scotland Yard.......
Underrated comment
And running up a tab at Al's Pitza Palace.
fun fact, ryan's password is a reference to stephen marley's literary character chia black dragon, protagonist of a series of fantasy novels heavily inspired by chinese history and mythology
You had me at "Cyberdork"
Dork is a almost houseclean slang for dick... and Dreamweb got you covered there lol
I'm really glad to see you make this video. Dreamweb gets really slept on, there aren't any good videos (or weren't) on the game, which it sorely deserves.
Used to leave on Yahtzee and Gabriel's Let's Drown Out of this game to go to sleep. Kinda surreal to see someone else cover it. Thank you so much for giving this hidden gem so much love!
I've been craving for a deeper dive on this game since I played it back it 2016/17. I'm glad someone finally made a good video about it. Can't wait to see what you cover next.
i got recommended your channel by chance and I'm glad I clicked I've been obsessed. I never grew up with a PC or any of the more unique gaming consoles as a kid (had like, ps1 and n64) so I love seeing these obscure games. It's such a shame this game fell so flat it had so much potential like you mentioned. Love going through your backlog of videos and hope to see you hit 100k soon.
I love how tight and intimate the environments are. it feels like the characters are little duplo figures in chunky block environments and i think that's really fun and cool especiallly contrasting with how dark the content is
I really like the voice acting in this game. Has a natural yet off-putting energy. Kind of like the original Silent Hill games. The bar patron conversation felt so genuine.
Aesthetically, it gave off a look of what Hotline Miami could've been if it was an adventure game. Would honestly love something like that. For whatever else there may be to the game, I really like the art and art direction they went with. Solid review too, hope to get more videos like this in the future!
I dunno. Feels more like the likes of Loaded, GTA 2, Smash TV and so on aesthetically.
Loving the videos, especially the longer ones. I love the history of the developers the most
The pauses between lines makes the voiced dialog early 90s gold
Isn't it obvious that Shoe Bandits were in cahoots with the Wrench?
I need that Always Sunny meme with Charlie in the mailroom.
This DreamWeb is being bled like a stuffed pig, and I got a Network cartridge trail to prove it.
Ryan sounds like he's the main character of a Star Wars, and everyone else sounds like a pro voice actor from 70s cartoons.
Thanks for reviewing this game! Brings back memories of listening to Let's Drown Out.
This is my second re-watch of this video; this is already a Dungeon Chill instant classic.
Your scripting and editing is so tight and funny- You're the chill stoner brother to Grimbeards older goth brother.
it might not be the best game ever made. but it's certainly my favorite of all time
I get it. Respect ✊
Same here. Absolute all-time favorite, and it's not nostalgia, I played it first in 2012.
@@FornaxVoid 1996. and ONLY played it completely zooted. junior year. it was a time.
This game is one of the first games I played that really hit home the idea that games are works of art. Glad to see people still talking about it.
25:50 is definitely giving me Frasier vibes. Now I'm just trying to imagine Niles netrunning and Frasier with cyber implants
I love watching your channel. You cover a lot of games I wanted to play back in the day but couldn’t so it’s very nice finally getting to see them. So thank you!
As a non confrontational person, it was actually very relatable to me when Ryan lied about not reading the message saying he was fired and showing up to work despite that. Playing ignorance can definitely help when it comes to interacting with people whom you believe don’t care about you. Good thing his boss was actually a swell guy in the end though
I love the story of this one. Man, I feel like you could maybe make a movie out of it as it's written. It'd be a downer, sure, but I dunno. I'm a sucker for depressing cyberpunk stuff like this, and I like how it was written here. Maybe it's because it's got the DOS graphics and it makes me feel strangely nostalgic (I didn't grow up playing DOS games because my parents had Macs) for some reason. I dunno, it's one of those stories that I wish was expanded upon a bit.
I've never known of this game, but man do I love these. So much more creativity and variety back then...
'The one on the navigation screen is also a vibe' Instantly transported to the cyberpunk dreamscape!!!
Yay new video. Perfect Saturday morning, thank you!
12:57
Patrick Bateman voice: "I like the news. It gives me information about what's going on in the world."
Man this was an excellent video. Thank you for this. I love how in-depth you go into your videos.
What up @st1ka ! Thank you so much. I’m a big fan of your videos too. Much love, my friend.
@@dungeonchill haha thank you!
See to me, Ryan killing the old security guard seemed perfectly natural given everything up to this point especially with the context of his journal. Even if the supernatural stuff going on is real and he really is being sent on a mission for the good of the world he's been having these horrible nightmares and getting very little sleep for what, months, years? He can both be on a supernatural mission *and* insane at the same time, they're not incompatible. Combined with how he murdered Crane's security detail who were just doing their jobs in a very brutal way, yeah I totally buy that the solution to the security guard at the TV station is to shoot him. Ryan is not a good nor sympathetic person in my eyes. He may only be that way due to being given horrible supernatural nightmares but having a reason for why you're awful doesn't make you any less awful. Yeah, of course you shoot the security guard to get to the TV station, you gotta stop the apocalypse!
I agree with you, but I feel that giving the player multiple solutions via items would’ve been better. Ryan overusing his gun really feels either run out of idea or just REALLY wanted to animate some ultra violence.
@@peppermillers8361Oh absolutely. I just wanted to point out another point of view regarding his willingness to use violence since Dungeon Chill seemed to be quite surprised at it being the solution.
Just wanted to say I love your videos and was happy to see a new one this morning. I found your channel a few days ago through the Galerians video which unlocked forgotten childhood memories of renting it from my local Blockbuster 🌚 It's so fun learning about all these obscure games!
Ima steal your cigarettes but I'm not a monster, I'll leave you one
You're a real gentle soul, brother.
@@misterkefir just because of that, I'll leave you two
@@misuvittupaa8068 Much
@@misuvittupaa8068 Nice. Appreciated.
I'm a new viewer and I just want to thank you for making such interesting videos on games I'll probably never have the chance to properly play. I really enjoy your style and how you cover as much as you can.
There's also an online version of the game so you don't have to download it and you can play it on a macbook. It's not the version with the voiceovers unfortunately but not deal breaker. Actually Eden isn't gone...she nude in the bath..lol. And yes that gun is way too powerful, except when you think you might need it. They might have had to rush this game to finish it.
I'm loving your content- thanks for putting out so much hi quality content, so quickly!
The combination of your recording and video style, with the game’s uncanny valley world and voice acting, gives this video a hypnotic vibe ~.~
Eden is in the bath when you go back to her place.
I never actually played this game, but I do listen to its absolutely killer soundtrack sometimes. Great vid!
There is these two rare games on Saturn called Quo Vadis and Quo Vadis II. Hope we get videos for them. only say this becasue we got a video on Wachenröder. I thought i was the only one that knew about that game or loved the artist that made the character designs. I also love Serial Experiment Lain.
Would love to see Dungeon Chill cover Shadowhearts. One of my favorite old RPGs man.
I love cyberpunk stuff, I remember downloading this as a teen!
In of your videos you cited Raganarox as an inspiration.
In my opinion you're already much better and I love the game you choose to cover. Please continue.
First video of yours i watched. Great content and delivery. Keep the weird ones coming my guy.
I love this game and I love this video.
Thank you so much for covering this in so much detail. I never had any idea what I was doing back in the day!
I never had the voiced version either.
By the way… That wrench actually does have a use.
He's like the world's saddest Terminator.
The PC soundtrack is incredibly atmospheric, I love it.
One of the best OSTs ever made... there's also a remastered version on Bandcamp.
Dreamweb is an amazing game and more people need to know about it
Owned this game back when I had more space for big box PC games. All of the supplementary manuals and in lore items really help to sell Ryans descent into madness.
Love that time when cyber punk was all over pc games.
Grew up with it, now I'm forever crazy😅
Interesting game. Probably not one I'll play myself; seems a bit too granular for my tastes these days. But it's always fun to learn about weird little relics like this, one of the reason's I've been greatly enjoying your channel.
The bit about Louis on the toilet reminded me of that Mythbusters episode where they did the toilet bomb scene from Lethal Weapon 2, where they have to freeze the bomb, and Riggs has to pull Murtaugh off of the toilet and into the bathtub under a ballistic blanket before it can go off. I remember when they tested that part, they had to bring in a medical expert to confirm that it would actually be safe for Jamie to sit on the john for that long and then get up suddenly. Turns out it can be done, but there is an elevated risk of blood clots, and Louis doesn't look like the healthiest guy, so he might be in for a rude surprise when he finally gets up.
Anyway, great video as always. Keep 'em coming and I'll keep watching.
Imagine an sandbox game in this world, where you have to locate,tail and kill targets on your own. Or be one of the 7 even.
oh man that one brings back memories... Dang, somehow, the graphics seemed better than they actually are xD
Ok, 8 minutes in and I'm pausing the video and downloading the game, see you in couple of days, my currently favorite RUclipsr.
[Update] Dude, this game doesn't have moon logic, it has murderous psychopath logic.
[2nd] Update, well, I guess it was more like couple of hours, great game, though anyone wishing to play it from the link Dungeon Chill provided be advised that you'll need the manual (or simply a walkthrough) to figure out computer passwords, and a certain late in game puzzle,
The game I always wanted to play since it was released and I read about in magazines... one day!
I had the demo of this from a coverdisc; it stopped after you get past the guards on the first assassination so ive always wanted to know where the game went. Thanks for this hinest and thorough look at it!
Ah, come everyone…LETS DROWN OUT this game
My favourite game of all time.
The puzzles rely on the multiple items which do nothing. Instead of the typical adventure game where you figure out which weird item to use on another weird item, you are presented with many options and have to narrow it down and make a decision based on the environment. It's the best feature of the game but ran out of stream after the Crane assassination when they didn't seem to have to add that level of detail I every screen.
Nice walkthrough and commentary. This was a fun video.
A game you might take a look at is Kowloon Highschool Chronicle. Its an absolutely wild ps2 title. Ancient Aliens JRPG, dungeon crawler, visual novel. Craziest game I've played
I actually own that on Steam. They released a port a couple years ago. I’ve played a bit of it. Definitely something I’m interested in covering.
Very interesting, my uncle had this game on his shelf when I was a kid and I was always fascinated by it.
This game is one of my all-time favourites, in spite of its flaws. The soundtrack is incredible (although short - there's also a bonus track on the CD), and the atmosphere is great.
One thing that was really cool on my original playthrough is that when I shot the parking lot security guard, the gunshot sync'd up perfectly with a thunderclap, and I had thought it was scripted that way to hide the gunshot. But on my second playthrough it didn't happen that way.
Regarding the phone message: The transition to/from the Dreamweb are through electrical devices (microwave, phone, subway rail, etc), which causes those devices to activate, so when Ryan entered through the phone it presumably tried sending junk data through theline, resulting in the operator message. The same happens in the epilogue; Ryan's energy enters through a ticketing device, causing the ticket to spit out.
Oh, and the solution to symbol puzzle in the church is scrawled out in one of the pages of the Diary. That, and the call codes, acted as the game's copy protection.
Anyway, thanks for the video!
YOU COVERED DREAM WEB????? YOU FUCKING GOD. I know ONE other letsplay and that was WAAAAYYYY back when.
I'm afraid it's been.... Ten years...
@@kakizakichannel nice! I only know about "Dreamweb" because of Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation lol. He did a lets play with his friend. The soundtrack for that game is fire
Yahtzee's LP?
@@tarnetskygge Yea! From his channel! Him and his friend used to play old adventure games together!
@@vampireunangel6261 Hell yes, I love that whole series of videos 😀
The whole game feels like an act 1. Set-up for a second half that doesn't exist.
The spitting on a fan thing was probably a reference to Roger Waters doing the same thing at a Pink Floyd concert, apparently the fan has the same reaction.
When I saw the last of "the Seven", he looked like the guy who mugged those shoes to me.
Besides different pants, yeah, they’re pretty similar. Would make the final confrontation hilarious.
This was a great review, ive fondly loved this game ever since Yahtzee Croshaw did a lets play of it. This gave so much more detail and explored things that they didnt while playing. Thank you!
This kind of subversion of a typical story, especially in a point and click,, was really ahead of its time.
Only Spec Ops The Line makes you actually question what your player character is doing as much as this game. By the end you literally do wonder if anything you did WAS for the right reasons.
Damn 3rd video of yours I’ve watched. Good work mate 👍🏻
Good to know where Hotline Miami got its Inspiration from
That evil laugh sound effect is the one Dracula uses in Castlevania Dracula X on SNES.
Amazing atmosphere. I wish I had the patience to play this or really any adventure game. Say what you will, but I enjoy this voice acting and writing more than any modern game I can think of. Heavy-handed and melodramatic is just what I like.
I would love to see a modern remake of this game. Keep the pixel style, just expand the story. 🤔
Thanks for covering this 😁
Fantastically atmospheric game. A real (very) flawed gem.
Great stuff.
Hello friend
@@cyberninjazero5659 Hey, hey, hey - my fellow man of culture.