“Walking sim” was once a pejorative.
Later, it was a helpful genre label on Steam.
Now, liminal horror is leaning into its strengths.
People who are into games today generally know the term “walking sim.”
That was true ofDear Estherand many games since then.
One would use it to say, “This game lacks gameplay.”
I like them, too, though I’ve always had something of an asterisk attached to my enjoyment.
They didn’t work as horror games, despite many attempts.
Typical horror games have not shown an ability to do that effectively or consistently, in my experience.
This has ruined countless horror games for me over the years.
But one new game,Dreamcore, is helping solve it.
Dreamcore seeks to provide a similar experience as other recent genre hits such asPoolsandThe Complex.
They are walking sims at their heart, but they succeed where other similarly designed horror games often fail.
It promises no monsters, no health bars, no chase sequences, and no fail-states.
They feel like places I ought not to be and can’t easily escape.
So why does it work so well as a walking sim?
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why that is.
Its second level is based on a popular segment of liminal horror lore online,Level 94.
You may have seen images like it in movies such as Toys or Vivarium.
An endless stretch of similarly shaped houses decorate rolling, green hills.
Everyone wakes from their dreams and senses the memory of them withering away.
But Dreamcore and the ever-expanding liminal horror genre give us a chance to stay asleep, in a sense.
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