When I was 15 or so and I first discovered this game by way of AzuriteReaction throwing his controller at a CRT over a low-poly dragon slowly floating towards the screen, I think it would be a while before I actually appreciated this game for what it was, an ambitious, way-ahead-of-its-time, baffling and insanely creative piece of interactive art.
LSD: Dream Emulator, to this day, is one of the most confounding and strange experiences someone can have playing a video game. It's purposefully confusing and obtuse, its a bit of a clunky mess controls wise, and the dated, low-poly, jaggy graphics might put some off, but honestly, to me, they only add to how surreal the experience of playing this thing is.
Think about it though, this is a true to form walking simulator decades before that would even become an accepted term, and a really good one too, honestly. The atmosphere ranges from chipper to darkly surreal on a whim, there are tons of random events and oddities to stumble into, the game gets more and more gleefully warped as you progress, and despite the limitations, this game is graphically speaking, perfectly ugly-beautiful.
Did I mention the soundtrack? Not even joking when I say the LSD and Remixes CD that originally came with the game might be one of the best IDM albums of all time. Banger after banger.
If you ever get the chance to play it on an actual PS1 or decide to set up an emulator for it, I think it's a game that everyone into more experimental games should experience at least once, it's perhaps the first example of its kind and it deserves its reputation as one of the most gloriously twisted games ever made.
LSD: Dream Emulator, to this day, is one of the most confounding and strange experiences someone can have playing a video game. It's purposefully confusing and obtuse, its a bit of a clunky mess controls wise, and the dated, low-poly, jaggy graphics might put some off, but honestly, to me, they only add to how surreal the experience of playing this thing is.
Think about it though, this is a true to form walking simulator decades before that would even become an accepted term, and a really good one too, honestly. The atmosphere ranges from chipper to darkly surreal on a whim, there are tons of random events and oddities to stumble into, the game gets more and more gleefully warped as you progress, and despite the limitations, this game is graphically speaking, perfectly ugly-beautiful.
Did I mention the soundtrack? Not even joking when I say the LSD and Remixes CD that originally came with the game might be one of the best IDM albums of all time. Banger after banger.
If you ever get the chance to play it on an actual PS1 or decide to set up an emulator for it, I think it's a game that everyone into more experimental games should experience at least once, it's perhaps the first example of its kind and it deserves its reputation as one of the most gloriously twisted games ever made.