Please be warned that despite this game's appearance it is not intended for children. This game deals with themes that some people may find upsetting or triggering.
When a game claims to take inspiration of such massive heavy hitters as Ib and Yume Nikki, to name just a few, you get a little nervous. Those are some big shoes to fill, and accha is gunning for them big time with her free indie adventure game Dreaming Mary. The game opens with a cryptic warning about dreams, and then starts you in a lusciously sweet and painfully pink bedroom. Use the [arrow] keys to move, hold [shift] to run, use [S] to save, and [Z] to interact with things and make choices. Choice, as it happens, is a key part of the game, both in mechanics and in themes. See, Mary loves to dream, and her dreams are typically very happy, innocuous things filled with friends and magic. But is that really any way to spend your life? And how innocent are her dreams, really? You'll need to play the game multiple times to find the truth and all the endings, which is going to require a lot of exploration, determination, and fast feet. Make sure to talk to characters multiple times, since they might have different things to say!
Despite Dreaming Mary's cotton candy pink visuals, which are gorgeous to behold, it quickly becomes apparent there's something just a little... off about everything. Though Mary's friends assure her all is well, the longer you play, the more unsettling themes will begin to crop up. Some of the imagery and tones are more subtle than others, but even the more obvious bits manage to make you uncomfortable, especially when things go suddenly, shockingly pear-shaped. The game's distinctive style and colour palette make other sequences all the more alarming... and yes, that means you should brace yourself for jump scares. Of course, Dreaming Mary isn't perfect. Interacting with people and things often depends on standing in exactly the right spot, which is a problem when finding the other endings depends on searching everywhere, even in places you wouldn't think to find anything. The pace is initially extremely slow, and the simplistic puzzles won't do much to endear players who don't persevere to find the rest of the content.
Even if you stick with it, Dreaming Mary's ending, even the "good" ending, might be a bit too ambiguous for you, and the subject matter is undeniably dark despite the bittersweet notes. Still, it won't take you long to play once you know what you're doing, and Dreaming Mary is still a phenomenal achievement for one person to have made on their own (excluding music by Trass), and deals with some heavy themes in the process. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into all sorts of symbolism, as well as showing versus telling a story, and if you don't mind a tale that might not have a happy ending, Dreaming Mary is a story worth cracking open.
Windows:
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Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Never mind, figured it out.
Also, since I loved this game so much, I'm going to post a walkthrough for this game.
Dreaming Mary Walkthrough
Notes on Walkthrough
This is the bare bones, non-spoiler (or as spoiler-free as possible) version of the walkthrough. If you want to get extra endings and content, consult the Ending Guide.
General Tips and Hints
Talk to everybody more than once. Sometimes they can have interesting things to say.
The game relies a lot on placing yourself correctly to find some stuff. Remember that.
Sometimes it takes more than one time to prompt something before something happens.
Running with Shift helps a lot, especially in some situations like Foxanne's Hide and Seek challenges.
Save often, and especially before important decisions.
Welcome To The Dream
You start out in a room with a painting, a bed, a radio, and a vase with a lily in it. While the radio does give you hints towards some endings if you listen carefully, it's not necessary to pay attention to it.
You can pick up the lily right now or leave it alone. At some point in the game you will be required to have it.
Go to the door and you will notice that it is locked. There is a chocolate on the bed. Try to eat it, and you will get a Gold Leaf Key to open that door.
Walk out.
Introductions
You will find yourself in a hallway with three doors. Go to the white one (the leftmost one) and enter. Talk to Bunnilda.
After you're finished talking to her, exit and go next door to Penn's room (the middle blue door). Talk to him.
Afterwards, go to the right orange door and talk to Foxanne.
At this point, you can open the door in the Hallway and talk to Boaris, but that isn't necessary.
First Round of Puzzles
Go to Bunnilda and she will ask you to help her by placing some statues in the correct order. The information she provides you is a myth in which two goddesses, one of love and the other of the underworld, fight for love over a man, who ends up being killed as a result of the conflict.
Solution
The puzzle is based off the myth of Adonis, Aphrodite, and Persephone and it all depends on how the statues face towards the middle. From left to right, put down the Confident (Aphrodite), Wounded (Adonis), and Longing (Persephone) statues.
Talk to Bunnilda afterwards when you have solved the puzzle.
Go to Penn. He will ask you to provide a detail on a certain book. Check the bookshelves until you find the book he describes, and come back to him and report your answer.
[The questions he asks are randomized, so I will put down a full list later.]
Go to Foxanne, and she will challenge you to a game of Hide and Seek to win in under 45 seconds. Talk to her again when you are ready.
Solution
She can be found right next to the leftmost stool if you face the wall and counter (up).
Now it's time for the second round.
Second Round of Puzzles
Go to Bunnilda and she will ask you to place the fruits correctly according to the myth.
The information she provides is that after the man died, the goddess of love mixed his blood with nectar to produce flowers. The leftmost and rightmost statues attribute the red fruit to death and the gold fruit to victory.
Solution
The Confident statue (Aphrodite) has the flower for mixing the blood with nectar. The Wounded Statue (Adonis) gets the red fruit for dying. The Longing Statue (Perspehone) gets the golden fruit for claiming Adonis in the end.
Go to Penn. His second challenge is basically his first challenge, except testing on two books instead of one.
He also offers you a hint on an "angel" after you're done with his second challenge, should you talk to him.
Foxanne will challenge you to another round of Hide and Seek, this time under 25 seconds.
Solution
She can be found on the rightmost counter if you face up.
Now it's time to go to Boaris.
Red Seeds and Goodbyes
At this point, if you haven't gotten the White Lily back in the first room, you should get it now, as this segment requires you to have it.
Boaris asks you for three seeds, which all of your friends will show reluctance to give up. They will issue you a last set of challenges. The penalty for losing one is to give up a petal, though they will still give you a red seed in the end.
Bunnilda asks you a question based on the myth she told you, on who Adonis loves.
Solution
This is a trick question; Bunnilda never told you who the man ended up loving.
Penn requests that you find a brown journal written by Ana, and to describe the person it is dedicated to.
Solution (HEAVY SPOILERS)
Don't bother thinking it's one of the books on the shelves. It's located in another hallway entirely. Consult ending guide for further information.
If you haven't found it, Penn makes a second reference to an "angel" you have to find.
Foxanne has you try to find her in under 10 seconds.
Solution
She can be found in the closest silhouette in the foreground, with Mary facing the player (down).
With three seeds, Boaris commends you on getting them so quickly. But you need one last seed to open the door, and Boaris offers it to you in exchange for a petal. Make your choice.
Endings Guide
WARNING. HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD.
Notes on Endings
Your ending depends on certain requirements and items you have.
At the end of every ending you are given the option to exit the game (yes) or continue (no). Continuing allows you to go through the game again and saves your answers to Penn's puzzles. Attaining the Normal ending, the True ending, one of the ??? endings, and the Good ending with a single save will give you a password to unlock a Bonus .zip and some extras.
Normal Ending
Requirements: None
Say yes and give Boaris the petal. Enter the door. Scroll through credits.
True Ending
Requirements: At least two petals
Say yes and give Boaris the petal. Enter the door. Get treated to a little extra cutscene. Scroll through credits.
All Other Endings
This is where most of the spoiler content comes in.
You've probably noticed a painting in your room, with a weird splotch on it.
And guess what? You can also take out the Gold Leaf Key after you've opened the first door by standing next to it and pressing Z.
The radio would have warned you not to go looking for a fourth door in the hallway. Look for it anyways and you should find it next to Foxanne's door. It opens after you prompt it 2-3 times.
Inside you find another painting and a fishbowl with a sea angel inside of it. You can't do anything with the painting right now, but if you prompt the fishbowl four times, you get it to crack and spill over, releasing the angel. There's a password after cracking it, but you don't know it yet. Consult Bonus section for that.
Exit, and you'll get a short cutscene of the angel heading right. Where could it be going?
Head back to the room at the start, and examine the painting. Choose to touch it, and...
THE DARK, HIDDEN SIDE
...you end up in HOLY MOLY THIS CREEPS YOU OUT an alternate version of the room at the start, except much bleaker (and bloodier).
There's a book that tells you to hold Shift to run. HEEP THAT IN MIND.
There's a door to the right. If you have the key, open it with it and advance.
The content in the next room varies based on what you've done so far in the game.
Before Getting Red Seeds
You'll find some creepy music, a sofa with three stuffed animals on it, a stuffed boar's head on the wall, a painting that's the same as the one in the fourth room, and another locked door (which can't be opened). It is SAFE to walk around, mind you.
Check the animals, and you'll find out that they correspond to your friends and the third round of puzzles. The bunny gives you some pages of the Adonis myth, the penguin the journal Penn asked you to find, addressed to
GLENN
and the fox the directions needed to find Foxanne in the third hide and seek round.
After Getting Red Seeds
If you've solved a puzzle in the third round for a friend, you'll find his/her corresponding stuffed animal ripped up. You'll get a brown key if you search.
Walking back from the hallway in the first room will also cause a brief jump scare to be triggered. You can now jump between the "sides" through the hole/painting.
There's also something else to note about the game.
The final decision with Boaris in terms of offering him a petal is pivotal, the turning point of the game.
So SAY NO, and keep on saying no. You'll see Boaris suddenly act up and start acting rather darkly. Images will start flashing now and then.
When you enter "the other hallway," the background starts swimming and "HE'S COMING" is chanted as the background music. Venture a little beyond the sofa, and a man will approach from the right and start chasing you. Run as fast as you can to the left to prevent a scary "SWEET DREAMS" game over.
Continue running to the left even when you're in the first room, as the man will continue chasing you until you manage to get into the hole and back onto the "good" side..
Go to the fourth room and you'll find that the painting in it is flashing. Touch it.
The man will be on you left and the door is open to your right. Run immediately to the right. The next room you enter should have a red painting in it. Continue running as the man follows you and get into the red painting as soon as possible.
You'll now find yourself in a dark hallway. Walk to the end, towards the light.
You'll find a nicer version of Boaris' room, with a double door with three locks. Your ending depends on what you have with you at the moment.
??? Ending
Requirements: At least one petal, at most two brown keys
You don't have enough keys to open the door.
Suddenly, the man appears, and slowly walks towards you...
Scroll through credits.
??? Ending Alternate
Requirements: At least one petal, three brown keys
You finally escape the dream (for real) with all the keys and wake up in the real world.
You can't leave the room, however, as the door is locked. You can only go back to bed. Scroll through credits.
Good Ending
Requirements: At least one petal, three brown keys, Gold Leaf Key
You finally escape the dream (for real) with all the keys and wake up in the real world.
It turns out you've brought the key with you and are able to unlock the door to your actual room.
Congratulations. Experience the credits and the production values behind them.
Bonus Content
Getting all four types of endings gives you a password to unlock the .zip file included with the game. It also allows you to browse Mari's real life room and get some extra information.
Checking the stuffed penguin will give you a card with an odd Street Fighter reference and the "magic word"
SUPERMARY
Starting a new game and unlocking the button in the fishbowl unlocks HADOUKEN MODE. Going to the "other hallway," you can now dispatch the shadowy figure who creeped you out so much in arcade fashion.
The .zip file gives you a link to a bonus gallery, with lots of goodies, dev notes, and CGs.
Posted by: Thaddeus Mage
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April 28, 2014 5:29 AM