In many of its modern iterations, the dungeon crawler genre is full of innovations. We’ve seen entries with incredible roguelike narrative structure, marvelous microcosms and use of time, robust, animal-based class systems, and even open worlds as of late. Every game adds more and more. How refreshing it is, then, to have something that goes back to basics. Something simple, paying its dues to the original inspirations while still forging an identity of its own. Something like Reverie: Sweet As Edition.
From developer Rainbite, Reverie: Sweet As Edition is a Zelda-inspired dungeon crawler that wears all of its influences on its sleeve. Most notably, New Zealand! The fictional island of Toromi is steeped in Kiwi culture. The most prominent overworld collectibles are bird feathers, all from species native to the country in real life. The central narrative is a riff on the legend of Maui and the Giant Fish. Little nods to indigenous culture are everywhere, right from the very beginning—the first thing protagonist Tai encounters is a sign saying “Haere Mai,” meaning “Welcome.”
And welcome we are, as Tai is greeted by his grandfather and immediately sent on a mission. The five restless spirits of Heke and his brothers, the founders of Toromi, are wreaking havoc on the island. Initially armed with nothing more than a cricket bat, we set off to Reverie’s first dungeon: Grandpa’s basement.
Reverie’s gameplay begins in earnest here. The first dungeon offers a good taste of things to come, with simple puzzles and combat. Most enemies die in two or three swings of the bat, health and coin drops are both plentiful enough, and, after a few lock-and-key puzzles, a boss awaits at the end. Bosses boast a slightly more complex moveset than the rank and file found in the dungeon they guard, but there’s enough challenge to make each fight a fun encounter. With each dungeon and bits of scripted overworld exploration, Tai gains more and more abilities, including a yo-yo, dart gun, and even a pet rock. Simple as these might seem, they’re ingeniously used to gradually introduce more complexity into Reverie.
The yo-yo is initially used to stun enemies. As I progressed through the second dungeon, though, I found more and more switches that I simply couldn’t reach with the tools I found in the room before me. Enter the yo-yo, able to reach through walls and hit those hard to reach switches. Later on, I found a floor switch that would perfectly suit the pet rock, but no easy way to get it there. Using the rock in tandem with the gun and some bumpers built into the level, however, let me get it where I needed without putting Tai in an awkward position. Figuring it out felt sublime.
Each tool presents new options, and each dungeon in turn forces the player to look at puzzles differently. I enjoyed this most during my playthrough. Reverie does not always make explicitly clear which abilities help where, but little context clues in each room go a long way. Even in its late game puzzles, headscratchers as they are, I picked up on these cues. Be it tool trickery or fun bits of dynamic level design, the dungeons consistently find ways to keep exploration fresh.
These fun evolutions extend to the overworld and boss fights, too. Following a short questline with a girl on Toromi’s beach, she and Tai collect what they need to build a massive sandcastle. It’s a good bit of exploration, a tidy intro to Toromi’s desert biome, and also the third dungeon. Yes, we craft a sandcastle so big it becomes the third dungeon. Now that’s worldbuilding. This brief foray into architecture eventually leads us to Reverie’s third boss, which is where I started leaning forward in my chair. Not because of a sudden spike in difficulty, but because this is where the mechanics really started getting spicy.
The sandcastle dungeon introduces the diving goggles, allowing Tai to swim through bodies of water and even take a short dip when he needs to get underneath something. This dungeon’s boss, Inky, is a giant octopus who alternates between tentacle slams and projectiles in a pattern. Using a combination of my bat, dart gun, and the newly acquired goggles, I zipped across the boss arena and swiftly took Inky down, phase by phase. It was good, simple fun that made use of different mechanics in a way that genuinely felt intuitive.
The same can be said of the remaining bosses. They make great use of the space they’re given, and incorporate enough different mechanics to add a light layer of decision making into the usual button mashing. This all comes to a head with Heke, the final boss (secret sixth dungeon aside), who acts as an impressive gauntlet of every mechanic Tai picks up by endgame. I made frequent use of my weapon wheel to switch between key tools, and had a blast rising to the challenge.
Another feather in Reverie’s cap is its length. I managed to storm through all of its dungeons in about five hours, completing the first four of six in my first bit of playtime. While there are overworld minigames and bits of exploration to add playtime if you wish, focusing the dungeons doesn’t take all that long. Given their simpler nature, this length works in the game’s favour. Later puzzles will make you think for a second, but never overstay their welcome.
Reverie’s art style is decidedly retro, and makes no major efforts to modernise classic designs in any way. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but for a game that already leans into well-done simplicity with gameplay, it would have been nice to see more ambition in the looks department. While none of the music is particularly memorable, credit must be given to the sound design. Sound effects have a retro feel to them, but are still crisp in a way that makes most actions gratifying to do.
Ultimately, Reverie: Sweet As Edition is an easy recommendation to dungeon crawler rookies and veterans alike. It’s a tight package, offering good fun, interesting puzzles, and a satisfying sense of achievement when all is said and done. Sweet reverie, indeed.
Sarim played Reverie: Sweet As Edition on PlayStation 5 with a review code.
