Solo developer ant_game_projects has released the first public demo for their upcoming surreal action roguelite DREAMFEAR. Available now on Steam, the dev has also released a new gameplay trailer showing off the game’s combat, bosses, upgrades, and increasingly unstable dreamscape.
In DREAMFEAR, dreams exist as a parallel layer of reality outside our universe, unstable and prone to glitches. Realizing that you are asleep can leave you trapped there, with death only waking you back inside the same dream. The only way out is to reach the center.
The enemies and locations in DREAMFEAR are inspired by fears and phobias, with each run taking place inside a dream that changes after failure. The nightmare reflects the protagonist’s fractured psyche, with the game’s breakcore soundtrack driving the pace of each run. The pixel-based visuals are accompanied by rotoscoped cutscenes that take a cue from FAITH: The Unholy Trinity, and reflect the game’s surreal horror aesthetics.
The current demo includes two full locations with procedural room generation, with a boss at the end of each level. You’ll have two playable characters to choose from, along with 20+ upgrades that can create synergies such as bullet splitting, energy shields, and support entities.