Oneiros Impressions (XBox Series)

In Greek mythology, dreams were personified as Oneiros, something I didn’t know going into this game but now that I’ve completed it makes perfect sense.

In Oneiros you play as Liam. Liam wakes up late just like any other day, but something just feels different. Doors to his room are locked, the laptop’s hacked, the phone’s broken, and something just doesn’t feel right. The place definitely looks like his room, but at the same time, it just doesn’t feel like it is, anymore. He just had the weirdest dream ever, feels like his head is about to explode and he doesn’t remember what he did yesterday. Find out what’s going on and help Liam escape.

Oneiros is a first-person, surreal puzzle adventure game that combines escape-room, classic adventure, and crafting/building mechanics into a single narrative-based, surreal experience filled with psychedelic visions.

So to simply describe what the game is, it’s a walking simulator with some puzzle mechanics. In fact, some tough ones in certain spots. I often enjoy these experiences as a great pallet cleanser in between longer games so I am always down to play one of these. Visually the game looks very well done, with lots of little details, various environments that actively feel different, and a great sense of whimsy throughout. While unraveling what is going on you explore various landscapes including your room, a movie theater, mazes, etc. With random flashbacks and memories that seem out of sort as you try to figure out what is going on. My personal favorite part is an interaction with a foul mouth pigeon who thinks he’s a parrot. There are pieces of narrative that help you put together the story hidden throughout the levels, when you see floating blue triangles that look like broken glass, if you stand in them there is a dialogue that takes place that helps you realize what is going on in the game.

While relatively short ( I believe my playthrough was around two hours), I found Oneiros to be different enough from the other walking sims I have played with its mechanics, story, and gameplay. I don’t think it’ll be up for any game of the year nods, but I found it to be an enjoyable experience for sure.

Oneiros is available on Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.