Bygone Dreams Review

2025 is already halfway over, and things are just warming up for the gaming scene. Studios are rising, and others are falling, and a select few are changing direction. It's all a matter of perspective; Prime Time is the current example of why a little perspective is all it takes to see what's going on. They've been around since 2003, and while their initial focus was on animation and film production, they started venturing into game development.

Their first release, Ragtag Adventurers, which was released in 2017, seemed to have slipped by under the radar, which is never a good sign. However, this didn't deter the developers, as they continued working on their next release, Bygone Dreams, which was released on June 20. This might be a redemption arc, or maybe it's the start of something much bigger; it's just a matter of patience and seeing what comes out of the woodwork.

The world of Bygone Dreams is far from what you'd expect. Lume, the seemingly dream-based land, is threatened by a Nightmare, and its guardian deity isn't strong enough to hold it back anymore. You'll be taking on the role of Wa, a warrior spirit with endless potential and a strange arm that houses another spirit. Your goal is pretty simple: save Lume from the nightmare, but you'll have to reunite the four guardians of the Dream first. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, and things start going downhill.

Bygone Dreams will initially play like a fun little RPG with how everything is laid out and the sheer whimsy surrounding the environment. However, combat changes that very quickly, and it starts leaning towards trying to be a souls-like with some unnecessary extras. It goes without saying that there is an overabundance of potential for what could be a great game, but it seems that potential is wasted in some of the worst ways.

Starting off with the most glaring issue, navigation and exploration. Being able to explore Lume as you see fit is nice, but it's so easy to get lost or end up jumping to an area for a much later chapter. Words can't even begin to explain how badly Bygone Dreams needs a map or any kind. Now, you do, on occasion, get directions as to where you need to go, but those directions aren't always clear, which just adds to the overall confusion of navigating Lume.

Confusing navigation aside, things only seem to go downhill a little more in Bygone Dreams as it tries to be a souls-like… And somehow, it doesn't quite hit the mark. It is mentioned in-game that you need to look for openings during the first boss fight, and it is somewhat forgiving; the same can't be said for further boss fights, though. You'll be forced to decide between tanking some really bad damage to deal damage or poking from a distance.

Taking a closer look at combat, there is endless potential in how weapons work. Aside from your usual damage, you'll also need to keep elemental damage in mind to exploit weaknesses and status effects. However, there is a fine line between being needlessly flashy and style. Bygone Dreams seems to lean more towards the former with melee attacks, and it will definitely bite you sooner rather than later. The reason behind this is because of combos; they look great and can do great damage, but they leave you open to taking damage, too, and they tend not to really be worth the effort.

Combat does have one extra thing to offer, and it comes in the form of blocking/parrying. Naturally, a fight would never be complete without some way to block or parry; you'll have access to a shield that will drain your stamina with each shot it blocks… Sadly, maybe a little too much stamina. You know, the same resource you need to fight, sprint, or dodge, and it runs out fast. So much so that blocking isn't really an option unless you want to try and parry, though that's a level of timing that would make Dark Souls look like it rides the short bus.

Life in Bygone Dreams isn't all melee combat, though; you'll also have access to ranged attacks through a bow or ranged weapons. However, the damage is really negligible to the point where you're literally poking anything bigger than a bug; adding to the drag is the fact that ranged attacks require mana. It does make sense, but then it at least needs to be worth it, and it's far from the case here.

Luckily, there is one small saving grace when it comes to combat: consumables that will boost your damage or even add a different damage type to your attacks. Granted, consumables aren't infinite or easy to come by unless you get unlock alchemy. Just as you think there is a silver lining, Bygone Dreams will make it a little harder to see it because your major mechanics, like crafting, upgrades, and alchemy, are only unlocked through major story events. In other words, you'd have to find, defeat, and recruit each major guardian in the story simply to gain access to mundane mechanics.

There's no way of knowing if this was intentional to stretch the game's content a little further, but it does make progressing an absolute drag. Simply jumping ahead and going for something like crafting and upgrading isn't that simple either, since those story milestones are technically further along, and you'll have an extremely hard time managing without better gear or a few extra levels.

Progression in Bygone Dreams is just too slow to actually hold any interest. Sure, there's a variety of different areas to explore, and the small mechanics add some good diversity, but you'll still be stuck getting what you need at a snail's pace. A little grinding with some payoff or some speed in the right places would make a world of difference in the overall gameplay; even a mysterious trump card would make life a bit more fun. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like anything like that will happen unless the developers decide to rework almost everything.

To save the most interesting part for last, Bygone Dreams might have proven to be a drag so far, but it does have a gem system of sorts… Or Curios. These artifacts can be slotted into your gear for some helpful passive bonuses, and the way it works is, so far, the only game-changing aspect to look forward to. This is because Curios can give passive bonuses once slotted into your gear, but you'll get further unique bonuses if they're slotted into the correct items.

On the visual side of things, Bygone Dreams is a bit of a mixed bag, to say the least. The vastly different environments you'll get to explore highlight the attention to detail and how each guardian has their own way of doing things. However, cutscenes and interactions between you and NPCs will likely come across as a bit dry… Most of the game is nicely animated, but cutscenes are more closely related to still images.

While Bygone Dreams might be severely lacking on the gameplay front, there's definitely no shortage of whimsy when it comes to the soundtrack and sound effects. Both of these build so much atmosphere and tie in brilliantly with the environments, even if they are a little overbearing. Unfortunately, it's not quite enough to save the rest of the gameplay, but if you're a fan of fantasy music, stay a while and listen (-Deckard Cain).

Overall, Bygone Dreams has endless potential to be amazing, but none of it is being put to good use. Between combat being a drag and some of the more interesting game-changing mechanics being locked behind major story milestones, you're likely looking at a very long and arduous trip through Lume. In the end, there's a good chance this game might get shelved, like so many others, as it just needed a bit more work.