Levelhunter #4!

Hey guys, and welcome to Levelhunter #4!
The game we'll be reviewing today is...

"The Everloom" by Lucas Paakh is a chilling, retro style RPG with graphics similar to games like Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, and Secret of Mana 3. (Phew, thinking about how emotionally powerful this game was makes me shiver!) In this short adventure role-playing game, you assume the role of a man up in his bed at night, troubled by his dreams. You play the role of the man as you walk through his dream, a pristine island high in the sky, unsure whether or not this is reality or a dream world. As you progress through the game you encounter more NPCs, more who have landed upon this hidden dream in the sky, stranded.

As you run into an ice cream vendor, a girl with a monstrous frog, and a man and wife who own a blimp, you go through many mini quests to help the NPCs escape this dream world. Although some argue that the addition of ice cream vendors and blimps, along with mini-quests that chop up the storyline, destroy the genuine "fantasy" feel, I present my counterargument that Paakh, by adding these little blips of quests and NPCs, did a wonderful job of recreating both the familiar sensation of a dream while capturing the hazy, otherworldly, imaginative explosion that a dream gives to humankind.

And that's not it. We haven't talked about the whole entire AESTHETIC sense of it.

Just a mere, quick glance at the images of the game and its art wells up a funny nostalgic, powerful emotion inside me. This game is a stunning work of art, and none of the tiles in the game have seams. The clouds in the background are outstanding, complementing every little nook and cranny of the game's concept of a "dream world". Some puzzle-like gameplay also enhances the experience, although the difficult puzzle seemed to have been forced into the easy, movie-like style of the game a little bit.

Although only a short exhibition, this game is undoubtedly the beginnings of a masterpiece. As I expect a massive project greater than this one, I wait with high hopes that one day, his name gets recognized through all pixel art and retro RPG enthusiasts. :) A must play.

Final Rating: 9.5/10