It’s always impressive when a creative new game comes along and spawns a whole new subgenre in the process. In recent memory this has happened plenty of times, with titles like Vampire Survivors, Slay the Spire, and PUBG leading the way for all sorts of other success stories following in their footsteps. Another game that captured the hearts of players and developers alike was Hades, and for me this has been the year of the Hades-like. Hades 2 may be releasing in full this year, but games like Lost in Random: The Eternal Die and now Shape of Dreams are making sure you don’t have to wait for Supergiant to get your Roguelike fix.
When you jump into Shape of Dreams one thing is immediately clear: this is a game with some serious depth. With eight different characters to unlock and play as (each with all sorts of build options and perk trees to play around with) the first glance at the menu is pretty intimidating. Before you panic though, there’s a tutorial you can head into to teach you how to slash and dodge roll, and once you get into the game itself you’ll immediately see what this cracking Roguelike has to offer.
Each character in Shape of Dreams has a basic attack which will deal a little chunk of damage to an enemy, and depending on who you pick these work in different ways. Whether you’re shooting foes or slashing them though, the real power lies in your Memories. These are essentially your special attacks, and you’ll have four of them assigned to the shoulder buttons. Each Memory has a different cooldown to worry about alongside wildly different effects, and finding the right combination of these is what will make a successful run.
My first good run came when I played as a spellcaster, who started with powerful energy ball attacks and the ability to summon meteors to deal with all those nasty early game spiders. One of the first additional dreams I found was a dash that summoned homing missiles when used to deal damage and escape incoming attacks, and when combined with a beam that healed as it dealt damage I had the full setup to beat all the bosses that lay ahead. The variety of Memories you’ll find on runs is really impressive, and it always feels like there’s some new synergy waiting to be discovered.
Alongside all the different attacks you’ll gather on your attempts to beat Shape of Dreams, there are also modifier gems you can apply to them. These can make or break a build, because their effects can be so powerful. Adding a bit of healing to an offensive dream will ensure you stay alive longer, or maybe you’ll find a damage buff that boosts a certain element more which you happen to be using. They add the perfect amount of depth to each run, and ensure you regularly feel rewarded for clearing out a room of baddies.
Runs of Shape of Dreams are split into different levels, which are made up of rooms of enemies. You can move between them by using rifts, which teleport you around the map that’s made up of little modes and shows you where to go to progress. This would be an ideal setup for exploring if not for the hunters, which are devilishly tough enemies that chase after you on the map after your first two movements. You’ve got to really plan to visit all the places you need to visit to get stronger, because let me tell you those hunters are no joke.
There are so many ways to build that power you need to take on the tough bosses of Shape of Dreams, from stores to buy new gems and memories to wells where you can upgrade the ones you’ve got. You’ll usually be told what you can find in a room before teleporting to it, be it helpful items or tough foes. Some rooms even have effects that modify your memories, making them have wildly different cooldowns and forcing you to adapt on the fly. Shape of Dreams really ensures that each run feels unique, and it keeps me coming back again and again.
The other aspect of the game that kept me hooked was the progression between runs, which is absolutely magical. There are so many unlockables from whole new characters to starting memories, and there are also stat buffs you can unlock with a currency you gather on your adventures. Each character has a tree you can fill with these buffs if you level them up, and you can even save multiple loadouts of these for a bit of variety. All of this ensures you always feel rewarded after a session of Shape of Dreams, and could be playing it for years to come.
Just in case you needed another reason to keep coming back to Shape of Dreams, it is also fully playable in co-op. With a squad of up to four you can really combine your abilities in wonderful ways. Roguelikes are one of my favourite genres to be able to play with pals, and getting to heal each other and use complementary attacks really makes the game sing whether you’re with randoms or besties.
Shape of Dreams is an exceptional Roguelike that hits closer to Hades than anything else I’ve played, but it has a few things that hold it back. There’s a lack of enemy variety especially in earlier areas, for example, which makes replays feel a little repetitive when you jump in for the tenth time in a night. It also has very little in the way of story, and the vague bit of setup you get at the start isn’t exactly exciting. This is fine of course if you’d rather just get into the action, but modern Roguelikes have shown it’s possible to weave intriguing narratives between runs.
Shape of Dreams is a deep and rewarding Roguelike which you could easily sink hours into for years to come. The memories and perks you can apply to them are so varied and fun to experiment with, and the amount of content wrapped in this package is rather astounding. Whether you’re planning on playing with pals or on your own, Shape of Dreams is so much more than just another Hades clone.
