Let’s take a look at the whimsical demo for Dare to Lucid Dream, a visual novel by Ghost Penguin debuting for Steam’s Next Fest. This casual drama promises a fantastical story with multiple endings depending on your choices and LGBTQ+ content, with gorgeous anime graphics. But is the demo tempting enough to pull you into the full game? Let’s find out.

When Dreams Become Nightmares

You play as a high schooler with unusual ability. Sonny regularly has lucid dreams, where he can control himself, and even fly, with total awareness. However, he cannot control what happens around him. Dare to Lucid Dream’s demo starts you flying in a gorgeous, technicolor pastel city, the very picture of what any of us would love to do in a lucid dream.

Then for the first time in years, Sonny encounters someone he knows within his dream: a boy from his school whom he has never spoken to in real life. Over the following days, more familiar faces begin to appear in his dreams, and Sonny realizes that the actions and words from his dream world are mirrored in reality. Ostensibly that realization ends the prologue and thus the demo, and it’s as horrifying as it is wonderful. I won’t spoil anything, but the set up could easily develop Dare to Lucid Dream into a psychological thriller or horror as much as a daily life drama.

The game-play centers on interacting with the narrative to progress the plot, making key choices along the way. Your decisions do not change the demo over much, just adding or removing flavor text that makes the story more interesting or complex. However in the main game these decisions will shape Sonny’s relationships with other characters and ultimately determine the story’s outcome.

Fantastical Worlds and Genuine Relationships

As I mentioned, the art for the dream world is beautiful and just the sort of step-off reality you would expect from the subconscious. The music, too, is stellar with layered piano tracks and a low-fi feel. The anime style has similar motifs for the characters, giving several of them cute swooping pastel bangs I half-expected to vanish in the real world. Nope. That’s Hawk’s real hair, alright. The only difference in character art between the sleeping and waking world is the depth of Sonny’s eyebags. Being conscious apparently really messes with your sleep cycle.

A standout feature of Dare to Lucid Dream is the characterization of its major players. While several characters can be over the top and quirky, there is a depth to them and their emotions, the way that they interact with you and each other that grounds them. I particularly enjoy Sonny and Fable’s relationship. She’s like a kind aunt, taking care of you and making sure Sonny keeps his head on his shoulders. Plus, her whole thing with books and her crush on Sam? Completely relatable. I love. 

Do You Dare to Play?

As a game that promises a major focus on building your character’s relationships, knowing that it has a solid writing and narrative foundation is a massive plus. With the art and music style, most of the game is going to have a very calming, chill vibe that will be easy to sink into. However, Dare to Lucid Dream has that bit of spice. There’s not a lot hinting at it on the store page, but right from the start of the demo the mystery sinks its claws in. Clearly Ghost Penguin wants us to find out about it for ourselves, but I am certainly looking forward to whatever twists the full release has to offer.

Dare to Lucid Dream’s demo is available now, during Steam’s Next Fest.