DreamWeb

DreamWeb is a cyberpunk adventure developed by Creative Reality and published by Empire Interactive in 1994. The game is drawing heavy influence from the 1986 fantasy-action film, Highlander.

Cyberpunk is not a new concept. People have always wanted to live in a darker dystopian future run by machines in a chaotic future with too little or too much order. Blade Runner and The Matrix popularized a cyberpunk aesthetic, but DreamWeb drew inspiration from the former as the latter was not around when the game was released.

Speaking of game release, DreamWeb was one of the first games to come with its fair share of controversy. A scene early in the game showed a bit of full-frontal male nudity. Of course, any game controversy automatically means it would be banned in Australia. A couple of seconds worth of nudity is a weird thing to be stressed about during a game full of murdering people in a bloody fashion.

However, the bloody action is limited to a small screen within a screen where you're mostly watching the main character, Ryan, whose portrait is just imposing on the left side of the screen the entire time. It's not like the DOOM guy in the original DOOM games, where his portrait would change depending on his health. If the graphics aren't off-putting, then the slow start, predictable puzzles, and limited inventory space might throw off the average gamer. However, those who want one of the original stories of the generation will enjoy this top-down adventurer clicker.

It might be a little tricky finding the uncensored version of the game, but those who are into retro gaming might find enjoyment from making a quick run through DreamWeb if they can get through the confusing gameplay. However, if you're going to give DreamWeb a try, then don't expect to give it more than one playthrough as there's absolutely no replayability. It's like a movie you enjoyed but can only watch once.