Dreamweb Review (DOS)

[@Squelds]

Michael, Thanks for the review, brings back a lot of memories of creating this soundtrack... more importantly up all night in a hazy, dark lit room trying to finish the music. Sadly back then I didn't have the technology around nowadays and the whole soundtrack was produced on an 8 track tape machine, to a tight budget. So quality even of the masters I have here is still not brilliant... perhaps one day I might get around to remastering or if someone out there wants to take on the project please find me ?? Anyways good to see that my creation is still being enjoyed even now. Music to me was always something that came from the heart... with feeling and passion.. and I hope that I portrayed this throughout the whole soundtrack. Was fun to make, albeit a little frustrating at times, but like I say it brings back some good memories, and thanks for reminding of them. Keep up the good work! Matt Seldon ;-)

[@g0skill]

Squelds I must thank you so kindly for creating such a beautiful and inspiring music. I played Dreamweb recently and could not believe what of a great game is it. Once again thank you Milan

[@henson2k]

25 years later I remember this soundtrack...

[@johnhank6721]

You are awesome

[@peppermillers8361]

I hope you still considered remastering the soundtrack if the opportunity arises for you.

[@Nazgarn]

hey mate just wanna say thanks, i absolutely adore the soundtrack and i would listen to it most days at work.

[@MultiplayerMario64]

Oh wow, it's always nice to see a review for a hidden gem like this, and even more so when the review is done to this standard of enthusiasm and where the reviewer has clearly sank his teeth into the subject. Awesome review once again!

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

Thank you :D I've complete this game at least twice, and research the heck out of it. I wanted to do this game justice and thanks to your comment i think i done that ;)

[@mephisto40]

This was an excellent game, the atmosphere was great back in the 90's. This and Darkseed were so creepy

[@ribenasquash]

I think Hotline Miami was based on this game's aesthetics. I got a cd of the soundtrack from a Virgin store for free and I played it loads. Love the ambient/techno/reggae vibe. I believe the composer was Swedish iirc. It's long gone though and I seem to remember if was very scratched. One of my favourite ost's in a game ever! If you liked this game, you might enjoy Fascination.

[@MXK84]

I played Dreamweb in '95 and i finished it. To this day I think that this is one of the best adventure games that i played in my whole life! The plot, the music, even the graphics are set in the right mood. Comparing the new games with superb-modern-fireworks to this one is not fair, because the new titles doesn't have "something" that old games has - the soul. Great review Man! From me: You should try this point'n'click adv. games: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, Quest for Glory 4 (great adv game with rpg elements), Rise of the Dragon, Call of Thculu, Prisoners of Ice, Gulity... and much more :)

[@SavageArms357]

Awesome review Michael! This is probably one of my favorite games of all time. Played it a few years ago, and was just absolutely blown away at how immersive it was. The soundtrack just oozes with atmosphere, the story is wickedly cool...And unlike a lot of adventure games, it wasn't boring! The action scenes intermingled with the tense, intriguing story, really gave this game some properly good pacing. So yeah, highly recommend it! :D

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

Thank you :D this game has to be in my top 100 games of all time.

[@Gamingbeast82]

Great review man. I startet playing it but Ill get the version with the voice acting. This top down perspective is interesting and has been as you said mostly used for RPG's and strategy games, but I remember the first two GTA games having it too. The music is definetly good. I started playing it when I saw that you are going to Review it but I got stuck at using the computer. I assumed you would need a manual, or in this case the main characters diary. 4 hours is quite short for an oldschool point and click adventure, but it might be an awesome 4 hours. Thanks for making such great reviews man, it really helps me choose the games I want to play. Ill definetly play this one through, just like I have no mouth but I must scream. Keep up the good work! :)

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

your very welcome :) thanks for watching. you could make do without the diary if you had a good guide, but half the enjoyment of this game is reading the diary. even at 4 hours this is one of the best short games I've ever played, and at the price of noting the short play time really isnt an issue, even if this was sold on gog.com for a few $ dollars i still wouldn't free cheated.

[@Gamingbeast82]

I agree a GOG version would be great, and they have free games with all the goodies, like Beneath a Steel sky and Tyrian 2000. I wouldnt mind paying some money for the game.

[@NAWKtoons]

This game definitely looks like one that I need to add to my bucket list! Very nicely done!

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

Thank you ;) I've got quite a few games on my own bucket list too

[@deadnerves]

i played it back in the day...i was a kid back than but i left a lasting impression on me...one of my favorite games

[@Nazgarn]

i freakin love this soundtrack, i used to listen to it everyday at work lol

[@ItsTheLondonFella]

Good review, mate. Well produced and easy to follow. The character on the left of the screen reminds me of the characters in the Crusaders music demo: Bassomatic. The graphician (artist) went by the name of Bustman, so I wonder if it's his work? Would be interesting to know. Talking of the Amiga, I've started to think about Speedball 2 which was really big at the time. One game I loved on my ST (I moved over from the ST to the Amiga, for obvious reasons) was F119 Stealth Fighter ... I put quite a lot of time into that game, considering the time. Anyway, nice one ...

[@1luarluar1]

I was noticing the animations, they have a very incredible mysterious look...kind of slow motion...I believe those animations are giving the game a unique feeling.

[@BrooksterMax]

Owned the Amiga version, one of my few originals! Remember being shocked at the sex scene as a teenager yet looks so tame now seeing it on your vid. Hope others get to enjoy the game too as a result of your review.

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

i would of loved to played the amiga version. the dos cd version is good and has nice music, but you cant beat amiga music. even now i was a little shocked at the sex scene lol what people must of though of it back in the day :D

[@darkfalzx]

The game had tracker music in the Amiga and the DOS releases, but the music itself was very different, with the DOS one being superior IMO. The "sex scene" scene was censured for the US CD re-release, which is really odd, considering all other messed up stuff in the game.

[@ideitbawxproductions1880]

@@darkfalzx typical US censorship. You can shoot up an entire city and no-one will bat an eye, but God forbid if someone's getting laid! 🤦

[@BMGameplayer]

May I just say that your reviews are the best things i have ever seen on KZbin. I get all excited when a new one is released. Could I make a vid suggestion? I would like to know your top ten GBA games

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

wow Thank you :D also thanks for the suggestion, i'll add it to my ideas bin of potential projects to do ;)

[@Jacobc2693]

Great to see you back Michael. Awesome review as always. According to reviews for this game critics hated it, I don't get why they would hate it the game looks really interesting. Anyway keep up the good work. =)

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

thank you it's good to be back ;) i was planning to talk in the review about how most of the critics didn't like this game, but in the end i decided just to focus on the game.

[@wireydave]

Thanks for reminding me of a game from my youth Michael, i'll be doing a Dreamcast self booting Scumm VM imagine very soon, i remember playing this loads and loving it, but can't recall if i finished it. Also i got Shadow Of Memories just the other day! I really enjoy your videos, Alone In The Dark and the Mickey Mouse illusion series reviews especially, they reminds me of so much, old friends who i still game with and old friends who have past away memories that put a smile on my face, oso keep up the good work :)

[@elcondor7627]

Make sure you finish it. The end is mind-blowing! (did'ya in the meantime?) ;)

[@timmytatoe4248]

I would love a remake of this game in the style of MGSV in that you're in an open world all you have is the info of who to kill and you can do it however you see fit.

[@peppermillers8361]

I think making it open world would be overkill, just letting the player solve the puzzles with multiple items would be enough.

[@RetroGameView]

Nicely done. I love games that have a deep, rich story. That's one of the things I love most about graphic adventure games, is their story.

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

Thank you. i love a game with a deep story too, but i am fussy and like my story based games to let me drive the story forward. I think gaming as a form of story telling still has a way to go, but dreamweb is a perfect example of story telling in gaming :D

[@3agram]

Ever wondered what would happen if you dropped your gun before the last kill you make at the end of the game, just a thought as the last sequence should be affected by this action.

[@1300l]

The early till late 90s was the golden era of games for me, specialy on the PC. The cyberpunk pc games "scene" of the time is so unique that we never seen anything like it after. Great review of such an amazing game...forgoten...but maybe for best since its away of the remakes, reboots and angry reviews.

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

as much as i would like this game to get more attention, the game is find being an obscure classic waiting to be discovered :) I agreed the early 90's was a great time for cyberpunk pc games ;) i'm glad you enjoyed this review and thank you for your comments and for watching this review :D

[@fmsyntheses]

Inspired by Blade Runner yes, but also and possibly more importantly by Videodrome.

[@SegaCDUniverse]

+1 for using the Dreamcast X D

[@TheJamieRamone]

Future Wars also had the zoom box.

[@SegaCDUniverse]

wow I remember this game =) I downloaded years after it's hay day. It seemed great from what I remember seeing.

[@elcondor7627]

"Today was not a good day!" See who gets the reference :D

[@MizfitZer0]

didn't take as long as originally thought from your facebook post? playing now. i know it's guna be awesome

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

Thanks man ;) i through the upload was going to take way longer then it ended up taking.

[@JamesScholes]

Of course, the TRUE star of this show is that amazing cardigan you wear...

[@1300l]

Have you try Blade Runner the game for Windows 9x PC? If not its a MUST, it is based on both the movie and the book, the story is right when the movie storie was going on (so it link to the movie events) but you play as another Runner who is more based on Dekard from the book. Visuals are amazing faithfull to the movie and the game is amazing, every time you start a new game it choose by random who is and isnt a replicant, so it is aways a diferent play, with 13 diferent endings if i recall right. Amazing game, it is my favorite of all times. Snatcher for the SegaCD is cool too for who like (as i do) Blade Runner :)

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

yes i have played blade runner :D it's an awesome game and i still have my game disc's for it from years ago. i just love how the game stayed true to the film, but also tells a new set within the evens of the film. yes! snatcher is awesome too and i have a copy for my mega cd ;)

[@1300l]

Michael's Retro Game Reviews Nice, hope you plan to review then, since your reviews are one of the best on the web;

[@op2hudson]

Great review . have you played the point and click blade runner game ? if so what did you think of it ?

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

Thank you. Yes i have played blade runner and i loved it. i'm a sucker for anything blade runner. the thing i loved about that game was it's replay value

[@TheJamieRamone]

Y didn't u just run it under an Amiga emulator?

[@TheJamieRamone]

4 hours is on the SHORT SIDE?! Dude, most point'n'click clocked in at around 2 hours!

[@DoctorBadSign]

I get what you mean about modern games and their stories. All too often it feels too 'on the rails' even when there are choices to be made in the game. I think a good exception to this has been the Walking Dead games by Telltale Games, have you tried those out? You're actions seem to have a bigger impact on the story and how the characters treat you.

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

I have played the first season of the walking dead and it's fun piece of interactive video game story telling. I love how your always screwed, and no matter how well intended your actions are, there are always consequences.

[@DoctorBadSign]

Michael's Retro Game Reviews yeah I havent got round to season two yet either. I didn't get the impression that the choices you made ultimately affected the story, but it was nice that how the characters reacted to you and who survived etc was affected by your choices, it definitely made them have more of an impact

[@coldskyclouds7188]

"diary of a mad man" sounds like confirmation that he is crazy and its not a real "destiny"

[@Trialwolf]

Very interesting game, I don't think I've ever seen this one when it first came out. Review did make me go and vote for it in the Community Wishlist at GOG.com

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

after reading your comment i went and voted for this game too on gog.com :D. i hope this review does help to get this game some more votes.

[@Nemesis2K]

But... Dreamweb doesn't have any voice acting :/

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

Yes is does! If you play, or check out a lets play for the DOS CD version of Dreamweb then you will notice the voice acting :)

[@Nemesis2K]

Michael's Retro Game Reviews good god your right! and its horrible. I only ever played the amiga version.

[@willmistretta]

Hilarious DOS sex and nudity. Gotta love it.

[@kuppamato]

you have to mention that the game takes longer than 4 hours if you dont use any guides etc.

[@bannor216]

it's my favorite game.

[@yellowcougar18]

Strange how divisive the reviews for this game are. Some love it, others hate it...Really weird.

[@RetroMatter]

+YellowCerberus18 Probably because overhead view and imprecise graphic, like already have been said in review "pixel hunt" . This is enougt to scare off some players. Still... they don't know what they missed... because it's a masterpiece . Cheers

[@GeorgeSlayer03]

Like!

[@davidhass3lh0ff]

:D thanks