Projected Dreams fully materializes on Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Cozy silhouette narrative puzzler about growing up available now for download on Windows and Mac

Ever made silly shapes with your hands in front of a light to create shadows of familiar objects on the wall? It's a fun activity for children in particular, and it's this concept that lies at the heart of Flawberry Studio's newly released cozy narrative puzzler, Projected Dreams.

Players assume the role of Senka, who lives with her mother and has just moved into a new house. Her mother's job doesn't leave time to continue their shared bedtime tradition of animating stories on the wall with shadow figures, so Senka decides to do so herself using a photo album as inspiration. Unfortunately, the pictures are blurry except for the silhouette of a missing object in each. An outline of these objects will appear on Senka's wall, and it's the players task to use the various toys and items in the room to complete the projected shadow by recreating the item on the table in the foreground. Once finished, the photo clears up and "the lines between reality and fantasy blur" in Senka's imagination, while the room itself "evolves, reflecting Senka's growth and the bittersweet journey of growing up." 

Promising a "short and wholesome puzzle experience," Projected Dreams aims to tell a wordless, heartfelt story about "buzzing summer nights, the importance of friendship, and bittersweet goodbyes." It's presented via a simple but charming first-person aesthetic, filled with elements meant to evoke nostalgic childhood memories from the 1990s. While each puzzle has a defined solution, it's up to you how you wish to approach it. With "unlimited solutions" you can use whatever items you like to "rotate, place and stack" in order to complete your desired silhouette. You'll progress "as long as the outline of the shadow matches the given one" in the photo, though quality does count as the accuracy of your creation will be "graded with one to three hearts." It pays to be diligent, too, as you may even "discover hidden levels and achievements that reward exploration and experimentation" along the way.

Conceived as a prototype for the Brackeys Game Jam in early 2022, Projected Dreams has since been updated and expanded for commercial release by its indie Swiss developer, and the completed game is now available on Steam for Windows and Mac.