Hypnagogia 無限の夢 Boundless Dreams Reviews

If you're a surrealslut like me then this is peak

i eed to play more, does the style very well. worth considering for one of the biggest hidden Gem indie things in recent years

A charming and atmospheric first person adventure game, with a consistent concept. It's a good mix of genres with some levels being platform-heavy, some envolving light puzzles, and some are definitely leaning towards horror. There is some sort of bigger plot, but it mostly works perfectly as a compact, level based story in which each level has different characters and tell a different narrative. Some are plain dream nonsense, but some are full of clear metaphors, like criticism of corporatism, consumerism and so on. The designs are marvelous, each level has a theme based on real dreams of the developer. Visually it's nothing more than a N64-PS1 inspired title, but the amount of details on the models paired with an incredible sound design create a truly dreamlike atmosphere. The progression is perfect and I'd highly recommend to explore the secrets in each level. Most levels have a complete new secret level hidden within, and the experience without them is not the same. My favourite level is a secret one, and it was one of the most terrifying experiences I ever had on a video game. Even if a bit short, Hypnagogia: Boundless Dreams is gorgeous and deserves way more recognition. It's a passion project through and through.

Goated game with an equally goated soundtrack. Hidden levels are gas also.

i love me a dream simulator and liked the one that was one itch.io too got some very nice environments and atmospheres also i wanna kiss the rock lady...

Hello folks, I felt compelled to write down my thoughts on Hypnagogia 無限の夢: Boundless Dreams—not just as a review, but as a thank-you. NOTE: Before we continue, HEAVY SPOILERS to those who haven't completed the game. This game is more than just visually striking or mechanically enjoyable—it’s the first game I’ve managed to finish in a very long time. That alone means more to me than I can easily put into words. From the moment I stumbled upon it during the summer sale, Hypnagogia wormed its way into my head. The surreal visual style, the variety of dreamworlds, and the genuine sense of reward for exploration captivated me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And despite being tight on funds, I knew I had to have it. Little did I know, that purchase would lead to over 45 hours of nearly non-stop playtime. There’s a reason I spent so long in this world besides just being fascinated. I have a visual impairment—I can partially see out of the left half of my right eye. Colors don’t look quite the same to me anymore. That said, I still have a bit more to do: I’m currently hunting down the secret world in the Ice World, and still stuck in the Forest and Water dreamworlds. I may need help from YouTube… or someone with fully functioning eyeballs. I just can’t quite see where to go in those areas. But despite these challenges, Hypnagogia clicked with me. It encapsulates everything I loved about my favorite era of gaming—the '90s aesthetic, the dreamlike logic, the raw creativity. Even when I had to rely on a guide, the mystery and wonder never wore off. One standout moment for me was the tonal shift—from bright and whimsical to something darker, almost nightmarish. Those final stretches of the game pulled me in even deeper. The Haunted World’s story arc was my personal favorite. There was so much content in that dream—so many layers, so many corners to explore—I kept returning, trying to uncover every secret. The hidden Candy World, tied to the haunted mansion, left a lasting impression. The darkness made things harder for me visually, but I pushed through because the payoff was worth it. I even found the hidden character gallery. I had to jump onto what to me was completely invisible platforms using nothing but trial-and-error and muscle memory, aided only by AI-generated image descriptions I uploaded from screenshots. That experience was ridiculous, frustrating, and honestly kind of magical. I only just discovered there’s a first Hypnagogia game, and you can bet that’s next on my list. Final notes / Feedback: I was disappointed there were no cloud saves. I’d love to continue this on my Steam Deck without starting from scratch. I use a screen reader and OCR to help read text. Unfortunately, a lot of the dialogue didn’t OCR cleanly, so I had to rescan the screen several times. It’s not a dealbreaker, but I wanted to flag it. Even basic TTS or robotic character voices would go a long way for accessibility. None of that takes away from the core experience, though. So once again: thank you. Thank you for making a game with character—something most modern games sorely lack. Thank you for giving me a journey I could truly get lost in. I’ll be waiting to see what you do next.

To the very end I believed I would give a thumbs up review to this game. It would be closer to a "mixed feelings" one but due to the dichotomous nature of Steam's grading system and in spirit of general appreciation to the game's core idea I would recommend it. But the ending killed this hope for me. Hypnagogia is essentially a walking simulator and I knew this perfectly before buying. A game of this sort absolutely must be interesting to explore what good would all that walking be for otherwise? It's easy to read the double nature of Hypnagogia's dreamscape: first you explore some bullshit weirdo worlds, then come the nightmares. I came here for the latter, I must have been expecting a 3D Yume Nikki. There surely had been some potential for it. Stomaching the first half of the game turned out not to be worth it, though I will admit I saw a glimmer of hope when the horror part started. Unfortunately, it ended way faster than it should failing to compensate my sacrifice so I really feel like I wasted my time. The bottom line is this: the best dish turned out to be a dissappointment. DAMMIT, THE WHOLE GAME SHOULD BE LIKE THAT MALL LEVEL. Or the abandoned school. They really were awesome and I was taken aback by how insignificantly the dev seems to have thought of them. Make more puzzles, do some chase segments ([spoiler] more than one[/spoiler]), make a cool psychological horror, show your best! All the dream stuff just begs for it. As it stands around 30% of all the content is somewhat interesting, maybe less. Stunning how uninspired the rest is. You can't possibly have me believe someone actually came here to explore the damn mushroom world. Or to do that clunky platforming, press W for 5 minutes, talk to those generic (YES! of course generic) NPCs and repeat. And there comes the final blow: Hypnagogia has you talk with all those damn NPCs in a pretentious scene in the endgame where they share a piece of "wisdom". WHAAAT?! Where did you derive all this from?? I thought it was all a fun, "look-how-weird-our-land-is" tourist simulator, when did it get philosophical??? So you decided to go full generic. Begone. I'm not even going to regret being this harsh. I would have some mercy but the dev showed that they could deliver a very fine Yume Nikki - inspired masterpiece. But I'm being teased with pure potential instead. I resume my search then. Play s[spoiler]h[/spoiler]ita ni fools.