Playing with shadows has come up as a mechanic in gaming a few times since the advent of the 3D game. Shadows have been used as platforms, a separate playable character, places to hide from evil forces, so on and so forth. But I don’t think anyone has tried to take a slower, perhaps “cuter” approach to light—making puppetries with random objects by casting their shadows against the wall. Developer Flawberry Studio’s decides to take on that mantle through this casual puzzler by the name of ‘Projected Dreams’, a game where players look back on the past of family going through growing pains and bouts of happiness.
In Projected Dreams, we’re tasked to recreate specific imagery from each of the 40 or so pictures available in the photo album. As we fill in the dots, the images come to live and reveal the Miller’s story from over the last 50 or so years. It’s all voiceless but you get the gist that things aren’t always as happy as you’d hope they be. But a cosy game like this can’t end on a sour note or anything like that—it’d kill the lovely visual scheme and music that accompanies your shadow-making skills. All in all, the story does its job and is told through excellent and even some rather funny drawings.
As for the shadow-making, it’s quite simple: you have three control schemes to work with (mouse and keyboard or mouse-only/controller) and your job is to look for objects within the environment to rotate and place together to fill the dotted outline on the wall. Objects are scattered across a number of drawer and boxes (even coffins) in what I can only ascertain to be references to old-school CD-ROM “find the missing object” adventures. I quite liked this presentation, even if it meant that a lot of my time trying to complete objectives ended up being spent trying to find objects in question to slap together.
Each puzzle has a solution with a specific set of objects that you can always refer to on the back of the photo if you’re stumped. But as long as you can make other objects fill in the dotted area, you’re as good as gold. Some levels also offer gimmicks that you can use to complete certain shapes, like making an object invisible or sticking them together. Personally, I took my time slapping together as many or as few items as I could to finish a level. I even tried to cheese a few and you definitely could although you’ll likely not meet all three-star requirements. But as long as you can fill in just one star, you can complete a level and move onto the next. It’s a short game, fully completing it will run you a little over three hours or so, but it’s a calming time those few hours.
Except for the moments where physics don’t work as you’d want them to as you helplessly watch all the items on the table bounce all over the screen. Sometimes objects can fall behind your working space too, but as it didn’t fall off the table it won’t be reset, forcing you to throw your work away to start from scratch. Mild nuisances really, I don’t think I’ve ever had physics go my way in either games or real life.
There’s a pleasant puzzler in Projected Dreams, thanks to its visuals, music, and simple game design. Who knew making shadow puppets could make for an enjoyable afternoon? An easy recommendation for everyone. ◼
Projected Dreams
Played on
Windows 11 PC
PROS
- Core gameplay is fun! All about manipulating angles.
- Lovely visuals and sound.
- Puzzles are balanced - nothing will drive you crazy.
- Bittersweet story.
CONS
- 3D rotating funkiness.
- Searching for objects can be annoying.
