Dream Hills

Bullies are still a reality almost everywhere around the world, especially when it comes to schools or small neighborhoods. There are many ways they can be dealt with, ranging from peaceful to downright psychopathic, but it depends on each individual situation. Granted, it feels oddly satisfying to see a bully get what he deserves, but maybe more violence is not a good solution.

Dream Hills is an open-world adventure game with sandbox elements and a third-person perspective, in which your goal is to take on all the bullies from the neighborhood and teach them a lesson. It’s surprising to see an indie production that features such a detailed game world and polished gameplay, not to mention the fact that you are free to approach the missions as you see fit.

The story puts you in the shoes of a boy by the name of Timmy, who has a self-esteem issue and is obviously quite shy and lonely. Things get a lot worse for him when he moves to a new town, because it turns out that his neighborhood is full of bullies that target him from day one. Hence, one of these bullies tries to steal his teddy bear, but only manages to tear one of its ears and run away with it.

Since you are free to explore the environment from the first second of gameplay, you quickly notice just how much work went into the map itself. There are playgrounds, houses, yards, cozy streets and many other things to really make you feel like you are part of the experience. As far as the gameplay is concerned, your character can move, jump, as well as use his slingshot to take down enemies.

It’s also possible to collect a variety of random junk along the way, which can then be combined to obtain interesting contraptions that help you in your quest. Every bully has a unique approach when he attacks you, so this keeps the experience from getting repetitive too quickly. Lastly, the graphics are very nice as well, although it must be mentioned that the loading times are a bit too long for this day and age.

In the end, Dream Hills is a very polished adventure game with engaging action sequences and a great exploration component to keep you busy. The sandbox elements help a lot with the atmosphere, since you really feel like a kid with all the spare time in the world.