This game is amazing! Currently on chapter 2. Do yourself a favor an get this game now! I purchased the chapter 1 and 2 pack an about 30 mins later bought all the other chapters. Wishing I had just bought the complete bundle lol. I usaually dont play games like this but this game is a gem. I love the story and the art is amazing! Also some very fun an challenging puzzles. Just buy it!

Stinkin' unbelievably creative.

Another drop in the vast ocean of point-and-click adventure games, The Dream Machine stands like a beacon signaling a reinvention of the worn genre. With landscapes and characters created entirely out of clay and cardboard, Erik Zaring and Andes Gustafsson helm this unexpected foray into our subconscious.
The Dream Machine tells the story of Victor Neff, a man who has just moved into a brand new apartment with his pregnant girlfriend Alicia. However, after their first night here, they begin to realize there's something incredibly "off" about this place. They both have strange dreams, the landlord is kind of creepy, and the previous tenant has left a mysterious note of warning. Though the dreams could just be a result of the stress of moving day and the note could have easily been a prank, things just keep getting weirder, prompting Victor to investigate.
The very first thing players will notice about the Dream Machine is its unique art style. In fact, the game was nominated for an award in "Excellence in Visual Arts" at the 14th Annual Independent Games Festival. That's because Cockroach Inc. has taken a different approach to game design: they decided to make all the set pieces and characters out of cardboard and clay. No polygons invited. This coats the whole affair in a layer of imperfection; it's flawed and raw, but in a way that gives it a deeper level of humanity. In fact, the guys at Cockroach have even admitted to intentionally leaving fingerprints on some of the objects in the game to accomplish this very thing.
The story is an admittedly adult tale of new beginnings, represented by both the move to a new apartment and the new life Victor's girlfriend carries in her womb. The Dream Machine's plot draws on basic human fears, but not in a Silent Hill sort of way. Instead, the game plays on real-life day-to-day fears that most people will encounter at some point in their time on this planet. Moving to a new place can be scary. Having a child on the way can be scary. And finding out that your landlord has a video camera in your bedroom is extremely scary.
There is a little bit of music in the game, and it's appropriately dark. Some of it is plain ominous, and other bits of it seem to accentuate certain aspects of the story. Mr. Morton's discordant jazz music fits his personality quite well, for example. Sound effects are minimal, but that sort of goes with the point-and-click territory.
The gameplay here is simple; The Dream Machine adheres to the age-old point-and-click adventure game formula, leading players through a series of puzzles before showing them each piece of the story. Thankfully, puzzles in the Dream Machine are incredibly clever. Too many point-and-click games are full of incomprehensible puzzles with completely nonsensical answers. The Dream Machine, however, has some incredibly well-thought-out solutions that will ultimately make sense. That's not to say they're easy; quite the contrary. Some of these solutions won't present themselves until you've spent a good deal of time just pondering over the things you've seen so far. But when you finally do stumble upon a solution, it's immensely satisfying.
If you have any interest at all in point-and-click games, or need a powerful defense in the "games as art" debate, you should definitely check out The Dream Machine.

The Dream Machine is a twisted, dreamlike, sometimes disturbingly nightmarish point-and-click game done in clay animation style.
Gameplay 7.5 out of 10
The puzzles are mostly point and click some are quite easy to solve and some are a bit tricky and even a bit absurd.
Graphics 9/10
Pure honest hard work done by the hands of “sexy Swedish guys”.9 Points for the unique, morbid style. I really really like the clay graphic style. Two Thumbs up for the game devs for putting such a heck load of work into this game.
Music 8/10
Dreamlike, ominous sounds, which nicely add to the atmosphere
Story 9/10
The story is intriguing and sometimes even a bit disturbing and grim. To make it short, without spoiling anything, you travel through the dreams of various people with the help of the Dream Machine.
I'd say definitely a must buy for all point-and-click gamers and casual gamers. Although a bit grim and disturbing sometimes

I'd never heard of this game when I got it in a bundle. I now think it's the most underrated game in my library, and perhaps the most underrated point-and-click I know of. The story is incredible. It's very imaginative and becomes darker and more intriguing the deeper you go. It reminded me of the early films of Jeunet and Caro (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children) which is no small accolade. The puzzles are decent and never illogical; the few times I cheated I kicked myself when I read the solution. I would recommend The Dream Machine over many other, more renowned point-and-click games. Very glad I stumbled upon this one.

This game is ridiculously good - so much so that I'm actually writing a review. Please PLEASE do yourself a favor and buy it - even full price! It's more than worth it.

I won't go in detail into game mechanics and whatnot (other reviews do the mechanics justice) but suffice it to say the claymation is well-done, the puzzles are interesting and often challenging, and the plot is very engaging. It's a great story! And while it's not a "scary" game, it is a deliciously disturbing one (I mean, it's based on dreams, of course it's gonna be disturbing, especially in the later chapters. I guess I'd say it's a similar feeling as watching one of Tim Burton's films, but with more blood, and a slightly more mature rating.) The only downside to this game is having to wait for the 6th chapter to come out. Rambling aside, 2 thumbs way waaaay up.

I'll start this review by saying that I've only played the first four chapters of this game thus far...that's four outta six, and the sixth isn't even done yet, but having completed two-thirds surely earns me my two cents. Secondly, and simply, I'll just say that this is absolutely, positively, hands-down one of the best point-and-click games that will ever be made, probably in the annals of human history, and unless the devs drop dead in the meantime you can rest at least 99% assured that they WILL finish the darned thing, even if they're taking a bit longer than they initially intended to.

But hey, which would you prefer...a really, really good point-and-click game a year ago, or a truly classic point-and-click game in, say, a couple of years from now? Cockroach Inc ain't dumb...they're in this one for the history books and the betterment of mankind, nuthin' less. And you'd better BELIEVE it, buddy-boy.

Point-and-click games and myself, we don't exactly have a history of getting along that well, but this may well emerge as my all-time personal favourite of the genre. Sure, I've required a few walkthrough consultations to date, but such is be expected with a semi-vegetative brain such as mine. Whatever you do, don't go holding my confirmed stoopidity against the game, a'ight? I'm the idiot, it's the savant. Clever mother-♥♥♥♥ers, them Cockroaches...

Verdict: 9.5/10.

(PS How many games reference - whether deliberately or inadvertently - the sheer brilliance that is David Cronenberg's VIDEODROME? Maybe a bit of EXistenZ thrown in for good measure?! Talk about taste!! Gorgeous ♥♥♥♥ing claymation, too, I might add...)

I'm not usually someone who gets into point-and-clicks - I usually get stuck or bored talking to people and I'm too guilty to use walkthroughs but I made it through the first 3 chapters with only one less-than-ovious head-scratching moment.

It's weird to look at, weird to play and so probably not for everyone but I love it - it's has a great balance of creepy and mysterious and it's quite original in places too.

Puzzles are tricky sometimes but there are no red herrings (tho I've no idea about the bench in Chapter 3!) and everything you need is reasonably easy to find if you look in the right places. There are oo tiny changes in the cursor or 2-pixel-wide items - movement is quick - no convoluted dialogues to dig through - you mostly just play the game instead of walking, talking and so on.

Update: since writing that I've tried Chapter 4 and - unfortunately - I keep running into a crash bug which leaves me unable to continue. This isn't ideal but hopefully the developer will address it/I'll figure out a different way around the problem - and the puzzles do seem a LOT harder in this episode too! :(

First off all: Do you know how trailers play up games and make it seem like it's going be awesome, and then it sort of sucks?
This game is the opposite. The trailer is underwhelming, the game itself is ♥♥♥♥ing incredible. The music, art design, writing, and creativity of this point-and-click, is just lovely. It doesn't get enough publicity, and every chance I get I recommend this game to people.
Aside from slight glitches in the game at times, I don't really have anything to complain about with this game. The puzzles are really unique and satisfying, the music is haunting and ambient, and the character design is creepy, but seriously grows on you. I really love Victor as a character. But if you really need a reason to play this game other than the fact that it's engrossing and downright beautiful, then just know you can be the king of some talking pumpkins.