6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Game Review: PROJECTED DREAMS
I spent the better part of the month winding down with Projected Dreams , a casual and comforting puzzle sim from developer and publisher Flawberry Studio. It tasks you with manning a shadow play using all your favorite toys from the '90s and decades prior. Filled to the brim with nostalgia for a time before toys looked more like smartphones than something to be played with, you'll get equal parts puzzles and childhood memories when you cozy up with this one. Brain Teasers That Casually Tug At Your Heartstrings
At its core, Projected Dreams is a puzzle sim. It's casual for the most part, and you won't spend too much time stressing over potential solutions for most puzzles. But with a subtle narrative to drive it along, the game's sentiment shines through and speaks to a collective soft spot for childhood. Even its composition and sound design by Floris Demandt feels hauntingly familiar. (And you'll pick up collectible cassette tapes throughout to commemorate it.)
The story follows Senka, who you get to know as you fill a photo album with snapshots of memorable moments shared by family members from the '50s onward. You'll solve visual puzzles that reflect the focal points of these photographs, using shadows as clues. Your job is to find the right items to build similar images with a variety of toys that were popular in decades past — many of which probably littered your bedroom floor once upon a time.
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Think of it like one big shadow puppet show starring your favorite toys from when you were a kid. From the Game Boy to the Rubik's Cube to Furby, Bop-It and Tech Decks — you'll find them all here, waiting for their return to the spotlight. Depending on the chapter you're working on, different toys can be found lying around. This often falls in line with a larger theme torn from a page in Senka's scrapbook, like Halloween or a very '90s underwater aesthetic. But progression also brings with it new rules to follow. Casual Challenges
Projected Dreams offers a casual gameplay experience to lovers of brain teasers, jigsaw puzzles and the like. Its visual challenges, while charming and undeniably creative, aren't so tough that you'll risk walking away more stressed out than when you sat down to play. A big plus, in my book.
Now, I don't like my cozy games easy, per se. But like many fans of this subgenre, I find myself most invested in those that strike a balance between stimulating and de-stressing gameplay. Projected Dreams often has me scratching my head, but never pulling my hair out trying to find the right object to complete a puzzle. That's what I mean. (Although it can be pretty maddening rotating and flipping a Tech Deck to cast just the right shadow.)
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I'll admit more than a few puzzles have left me stumped. A shadow of a cute cat is a lot tougher to replicate than you'd think. You may need a ghost's help to make an object invisible so you can use it to support other items without casting a shadow. Or you'll need to borrow some sticky goop from an octopus to fuse two objects together. I still haven't found a use for the giant yellow crayon hanging out in the background, but I'm sure that's coming.
Just when you're on a roll, you'll start a new chapter and have to work with a new set of rules and toys. You can always flip through reference photos in the photo album to get a better idea of which toys to try. But if you find creative solutions outside the game's suggestions, that's often good enough to move on, too. Non-Stop Nineties Nostalgia
Six hours into Projected Dreams , I found myself asking, 'Who is this for?' and arrived at my answer almost immediately. While most think of puzzle games as a kids' genre, this one's for the '90s kid in every Millennial and Gen-Z adult, particularly those of us born on the cusp between the two. It repurposes the toys we grew up with to illustrate the foundational role each played in the formation of our most beloved childhood memories and toughest lessons, and how these moments led to our growing up.
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These may seem like somewhat heavy themes for a scrapbook-style series of puzzles, but the nostalgia hidden in each of the projector's shadows is a comfort. Projected Dreams has the old-school charm of the CD-ROMs I'd play on my grandparents' PC anytime I'd visit as a kid. Much like the game's premise, it's like seeing the image of my childhood projected on my monitor in all its simplicity. The only difference is that no one can tell me I have to wrap it up so my brother can play.
There remains some debate about what makes a cozy game, as the subgenre continues to grow, but Projected Dreams certainly has the cozy part down. Folks who like to unwind with a good puzzle or feel called to remember the stuff they loved as kids before the turn of the century may want to add this one to their evening routine.
Projected Dreams is out on PC (Steam) on May 29, 2025.
Cozy Game Alert: WITCHBROOK Olivia Rolls (she/her) is a weekly contributor at GGA, specializing in cozy games, anime and all things horror. Her byline has appeared at publications like The Mary Sue, The Escapist, GameSkinny and more. When she's not writing deep dives on her favorite games, shows, movies or characters, she's probably yapping about the latest pop culture trends or catching up on another Pokémon playthrough.
E-mail professional inquiries to [email protected]. You can also find Olivia on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
