Projected Dreams review – What we do with the shadows

There’s a lot going on in the world right now. With so much depressing news and the associated risk of doomscrolling, you might be looking for a “lighter” form of escapism – something feel-good, stress-free and, ideally, featuring a built-in sense of accomplishment for a bonus pick-me-up. Cosy games are a good option, offering people a break from everyday anxieties, along with the mental stimulation absent from a more passive activity like binging a TV series.

From Swiss developers Flawberry Studio, PC game Projected Dreams ticks all those boxes. A tender narrative about childhood imagination stitches together a series of puzzles centred on shadow play. While a few labels and letters provide context, this is a mostly wordless story about a young girl, Senka, who discovers a window into her mother Lisa’s past when she finds the latter’s photo album/scrapbook. It turns out the women have a fun family tradition of creating shapes out of shadows, and by matching children’s toys to mystery silhouettes, through rotation, stacking and so on, players gain access to bittersweet memories and dreams.

The greatest selling point of Projected Dreams is, in fact, its puzzles. Best enjoyed with the comfortable manoeuvrability of controller over the somewhat cumbersome movements facilitated by keyboard and mouse, the challenges manage to feel both straightforward and sophisticated, which is an impressive accomplishment. They’re pleasing on multiple levels, from their credible physics to the chilled accompanying score. There’s even a dash of the Hidden Object genre as you click around the environments, uncovering items you may need along with interactive elements you’re encouraged to play with.

Best of all, the puzzles advance in complexity with the addition of new mechanics. Things start out simple enough before you’re required to overlap toys via different light sources, and gain abilities like glue and vanish, which are useful if your shadow creation needs to defy gravity.

Much like A Little to the Left, Projected Dreams features a level advancement system measured in stars. You only need to fill in one star to unlock the next stage, meaning you can progress quite quickly through the game, even without consulting the hint system. You may even be able to complete it in a single 60-to-80-minute sitting. However, if you have your heart set on three-starring each challenge – finding the perfect solution – that will take you a lot longer. That said, Projected Dreams doesn’t lock players to one answer, celebrating creative use of the many objects available to you.

Personally, I would have preferred a greater diversification of toys as the game goes on, as they tend to be the same throughout Projected Dreams. However, their consistency does mean a useful familiarity. After a while, you can mentally break down a shadow into items as soon as a new level loads.

The gameplay and puzzles of Projected Dreams are considerably more satisfying than the game’s narrative. There’s nothing wrong with the central storyline – which unfolds through a series of photos, and is bookended by 2D cutscene images and some delightfully wild crayon illustrations – but the game’s anachronistic creative choices are distracting.

Lisa is born in 1955, and dated photos help indicate the passage of time as she grows up, but there is nothing in character fashions and locations that convincingly convey the relevant period. Doing the math, Lisa is also apparently in her fifties during the game’s “present day” Noughties setting – but doesn’t look it. Simultaneously confusing matters are the many distinctly 1980s and 90s toys that you’re using as tools. The game delivers a hit of nostalgia for players who were adolescents during those eras (when was the last time you saw a Glo Worm?), but on closer inspection don’t really fit the timeline, unless you accept they’re Senka’s. As a result, you wish that the game makers had left out its dictated chronology, and let Projected Dreams exist outside of time. Because, these gripes aside, the game is a charming mix of relaxation and cerebral rewards – just what the mood doctor ordered.

Released on 29 May, Projected Dreams is out now for PC through Steam.