I love a good point-and-click adventure game. Strangely enough, I’ve actually played an impressive streak of them lately. Titles like Röki, Happy Game, Backbone, and The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark were all extremely enjoyable. So when I saw the trailer for Night Reverie, a borderline hallucinatory adventure, I jumped at the chance to play it. Would my streak of good luck continue or would I have to say good-night?

Night Reverie is the debut game for indie developer Somber Pixel. After wishing on a shooting star, Matt, our young protagonist, finds his house has changed into something found within a dream. His sister, Emma, is missing in this realm and he goes on a quest to find her. Before long he’s joined by a small flaming spirit named Sparky, and the two team up to discover out what is going on.

The majority of Night Reverie is lighthearted and whimsical, with you following Matt along his adventure throughout the house. Along the way Matt will come across various anthropomorphic creatures who he will have to help in order to gain knowledge of Emma’s whereabouts and what is going on in this dreamlike world. Each character has their own specific personality and hardships to overcome, which makes them stand out more. There’s a true sense of fulfillment after helping each one and understanding what their personal hurdles represent.

On the surface it’s a child’s fantasy tale, but there are themes of a deeper nature present as well. The subtext is subtle through most of Night Reverie, but the game takes a pretty dramatic turn near the end. While the direction does make the game much more profound than I was initially expecting, it does make the experience feel a bit unbalanced. It’s the kind of tale that sticks with you long after you’ve finished playing it.

In terms of the gameplay, Night Reverie is your classic point-and-click adventure with puzzles to solve throughout the journey. I was pleasantly surprised by the puzzles too. None of the solutions were overly complicated or needlessly difficult. Every step I had to take made sense and felt organic to the story. Overall, it delivered a nice, somewhat casual experience, with just enough challenge to keep the game engaging. There was also a surprising amount of variety to the puzzles, which is always appreciated. I love when a game can keep itself feeling fresh throughout its runtime.

The pixel art style in Night Reverie works well for the type of game it is. Because of its childlike nature, high definition graphics aren’t needed. The pixel art is clean and everything is easily decipherable. The character models are adorable and there is some great imagery present in every room of the house. The vibrant color palette and creative use of multicolored lighting throughout the house adds to the feel of being in an otherworldly plane of existence.

The sound design was also a lot better than I was expecting. There’s no voice acting, but that’s not really needed in a game like this. The sound effects are minimal, but serviceable. However, the soundtrack is where the sound design really excels. The various melodies throughout Night Reverie fit the tone and theme of each situation very well, often selling the true emotions at play. Like the visuals, the score has the perfect blend of whimsy and otherworldliness.

All in all, I loved Night Reverie. It’s an extremely accessible game, with its puzzles successfully walking that fine line of being clear enough to solve without getting frustrated and still providing just enough challenge to stay interesting. Their variety keeps the game feeling fresh the whole time as well. Underneath its adorable aesthetic and cute characters is a surprisingly deep story that I didn’t see coming. Night Reverie provides an experience that you won’t soon forget.

 

Graphics: 7.0 The pixel art is simple yet beautiful, with everything clear and easily decipherable.	Gameplay: 9.0 A point-and-click adventure game with puzzles that are fun and not overly complicated. Each solution makes sense and the puzzles types are varied.
Sound: 9.0 No voice acting, but the soundtrack fits the theme and tone of the game well.	Fun Factor: 8.5 The majority of the game is lighthearted and charming, but there are deeper themes running throughout. The ending takes an unexpected turn that feels profound, yet slightly unbalanced from the rest of the game.
Final Verdict: 8.5

Night Reverie is available now on PC.

Reviewed on PC with an i7-9700k, RTX 2070, and 16gb of RAM.

A copy of Night Reverie was provided by the publisher.