I Dream of You and Ice Cream ready for scooping on Xbox

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Port of 2020 allegorical horror puzzler available to download from the Microsoft store

A title like I dream of you and ice cream might conjure up whimsical images of summer fairs and carefree days, but the pixel art horror adventure by Emilios Manolidis is anything but, as Xbox players can now find out for themselves following the game's earlier release on PC and Switch.

All of mankind has been enslaved by a "sinister, doll-like entity." He may look a bit like Woody from Toy Story, but don't let his harmless appearance deceive you. Every day this entity engages in a "potentially lethal process" of questioning "world leaders about aspects of humanity." Elsewhere, tucked away in another complex an "old scientist of unspecified gender" busily goes about constructing an obscure machine while "clinging to a few precious memories" and finding comfort only in dreams. Attempting to complete this project will require solving a host of puzzles for parts each day, but all the while "the clock ticks relentlessly towards a horrifying climax."

Described as an allegorical game "about imperialism, the loss of identity and personal sacrifice," I dream of you and ice cream features a retro pixel art style, simple point-and-click interface, and "speech bubbles, symbols and emotions" instead of spoken or written dialogue. Despite its intriguing premise, the focus here is not primarily on the story but rather on solving puzzles. Challenges comprise a wide variety of puzzle types, and "for every two puzzles solved, players are rewarded with a partial solution which can be used in another puzzle."

Originally released in mid-2020 on Steam and Nintendo Switch, the budget-priced I dream of you and ice cream is now available from the Microsoft Store for Xbox One and Series X|S.