Little does he know that the real source of his nightmares is a demon that has usurped control of his mind. The included novella, by Rupert Goodwins, explains all the events that lead up to Steve's hospitalization and also establishes the grim yet facetious tone that makes this game so memorable. Click to enlarge After a short snippet that shows the main character's inexorable fall into his subconscious, players are unceremoniously plopped into a cotton candy machine - this is where the game begins. Once players find their way out of the machine, they find themselves in the middle of a carnival, where they are immediately chased by an enormous wasp into a room full of mirrors. From there, they have to enter unbroken mirrors and solve the puzzles on the other side to fix broken mirrors and open up more levels.
Nothing is ever as it seems.
For instance, that smiling little girl who looks as if she wants to play catch is really a knife-wielding maniac, and you can't even trust the large soccer ball she holds. Click to enlarge Weird Dreams is a short game, but it takes forever to finish because it's so unfair. Something terrible always lurks inside the serene backdrops or hovers just outside of view, waiting to strike if you take too long solving the game's absurd puzzles. Standing one micron to the right or left of where you're supposed to be on the screen always results in a gristly death, and all the scenes that require jumping or combat demand the reflexes of a gnat. Weird Dreams was released in the days when games that relied on reflexes and repetition instead of wits and guile were the norm and were still considered too frustrating by most players.