Dreadwine

You are at a cafe with Sandra and O’Brien. You can trust Sandra, but not O’Brien.
An ancient castle looms large on the horizon. There is a glass of wine in front of you. You really need to get out of this town.

Based on one of the author’s dreams, Dreadwine is a short and surreal game about trying to escape from a totalitarian government. You and your friend Sandra must find a way to leave town together before you both are arrested and turned into wine.

On one hand, the game can be frustrating. There is very little that you can interact with and the locational details are often inconsistent. For example, a building might be described as a barber shop at one point and a brothel at another point. Sandra serves as your companion NPC, but she proves to be more of a hindrance than a helper.

On the other hand, I suspect that the frustration is mostly intentional. Dreadwine is based on a dream after all, and dreams are often confusing and disorienting. That feeling of frustration also ties in well with the game’s themes of hopelessness and paranoia.

The game features two endings, but they both share similarities.

While I didn’t find the gameplay of Dreadwine to be very engaging, the surreal and oppressive narrative more than made up for it. Fans of weird fiction will find a lot to enjoy in this interactive nightmare.

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