STACK #196 Feb 2021

GAMING FEATURE

visit stack.com.au

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)

We learn from an early age that dreams usually make absolutely no sense at all. This month sees the release of Little Nightmares II , in which yellow raincoat-clad little girl Six (no relation to Eleven) finds herself once again in an eerie, monster-filled dream world. This time she’s helping a young lad, Mono, navigate this very strange place. In celebration, here’s a nod to the land of nod in some of our favourite dreamy games – some nice, some nasty… Words Amy Flower DREAM A LITTLE DREAM

From humble beginnings as a Super Mario Bros . clone to something quite lovely to look at (and challenging to play), the sisters each live in their own worlds – and we’re not talking of the mind. World goes nasty, world goes nice…

Nights into Dreams (Saturn, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

A delightful SEGA salad of racing, flying, collecting and time attacking, with a touch of cross-country platforming. You’re a harlequinish jester thingy named NiGHTS, who’s let loose in quite beautiful dreamscapes. Rayman Origins (PC, Mac, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, Vita, 3DS) Rayman doesn’t just get legless, he gets

Alice: Madness Returns (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

in order to get his homework, well, in order. From Indiana Jones homage to Bartzilla and bloodstream battles, it’s a trip (man!).

Catherine (PS3, Xbox 360, Vita, PS4, Switch) You’re perma-gaping Vincent Brooks in this

refreshingly original adult- oriented tale of infidelity, consequences and, erm, boxes.

If Lewis Carroll’s original wasn’t dark, twisted and messed up enough for you, then here’s your ticket to nightmare city. Alice’s black adventures are pure splendiferousness – for goths and non-goths alike.

Oh, we forgot to mention the creepy falling dreams, in which if you die, you’re dead. Eep!

limbless – he means it, maaaaan! When Granny Underworld lets loose a big shop of horrors upon the idyllic Glade of Dreams, he sets out to save the babes, in possibly the best-looking classic platformer ever. Rise of Nightmares (Xbox 360) Made by SEGA specifically

D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die (Xbox One, PC) Gloriously and inspirationally bonkers – as you’d expect from its creator, SWERY – you’re an amnesiac detective trying to stop your wife’s murder. Huh? Well, you’ve gained the ability to time travel…

Bart’s Nightmare (Mega Drive, Super Nintendo)

Lob right in the middle of a ten-year-old’s brain as Bart Simpson battles a bunch of minigames

for the Xbox 360 Kinect (remember that?), this

trip into the macabre and bizarre was definitely the most adult thing for the accessory – and

a surprisingly playable cheese dream to boot.

10 FEBRUARY 2021

jbhifi.com.au