Dreamslide Plus Review

Fast-paced and with a certain rhythm to it, Dreamslide Plus takes a lot of practice to truly succeed at. It occasionally misfires, leaving you wondering if it's really worth the effort, but for the most part it's kind of fun.

Combining line drawing, physics, and the sensibilities of an auto-runner, Dreamslide Plus will seem both familiar and alien. Rather than traveling by tapping or swiping, as with usual auto-runners, you have to draw a line to guide your little guy (called Little John) from the start to the finish of each level. He snags onto these lines and makes his way a bit nearer to his destination, so momentum is key. There's no point in drawing a steep line as it'll just impede John's progress.

It takes practice. At first, I found myself making an utter mess of things, losing the momentum and leaving John floundering at the bottom of the screen. Dreamslide Plus tells you how to play the game but isn't exactly forthcoming with advice on how to do well, leaving you to figure things out through plenty of practice.

Gradually though, it does start to click. That's when you focus on trying to not just complete levels, but also achieve a good score by collecting plenty of stars along the way. The main issue here, however, is that levels can feel a little samey despite being partially randomized, with a sense that you're still mostly doing the same thing as you did at the start. They can feel a touch long too, especially if you lose momentum and slow down a bit.

Things like that will mean you probably won't stick with Dreamslide Plus for the full duration. There's potential here, though. The basic concept works pretty well. It just needs a little refinement to truly make it gripping. There's certainly some satisfaction to be gained from pulling off a series of great combos.