Garage: Bad Dream Adventure

Are you ready for Garage: Bad Dream Adventure? No. You aren’t. I don’t care if you think you are. You are not. This game is one of the most bizarre, surreal, esoteric, avant garde fishing sim that there ever was. Originally created in 1999, this title is testament to how unique a game can get with its themes and delivery. There is a considerable amount to unpack here, not just in its gameplay, but in its design and its delivery. A special and creative adventure game at its core, this game was clearly made for adults, with a far freer form style than the average point-and-click. I hope you’re ready for me to begin explaining what you aren’t ready for. Let’s get into it.

Gameplay

So, Garage: Bad Dream Adventure is technically a point-and-click adventure game, but it is something of an acquired taste. You take control of the main character, who has entered their inner mind through a psychotherapeutic machine. Waking up in strange an unfamiliar environment, you are in a strange and unfamiliar form. You must explore your surroundings intensely, speak to every inhabitant of this strange place, and play a fishing minigame.

I wouldn’t worry or anything, the fishing minigame is actually quite good. Otherwise, the rest of the game is mostly searching and puzzle solving. As though it were an unhinged mix of Escape from Monkey Island and Abe’s Odyssey, this game has you trying many different things in your attempts to escape. And that’s only if you choose to escape.

Visuals

This game is intimidating. There is no other way to put it. The way it looks, the way it feels, it inspires a terrible feeling in you that you cannot escape from until you have to walk away from the computer. Throughout playing this game, there are many things you will see that you just won’t be able to fully comprehend. Robot’s that are being milked. Terrible half machine half man monsters, and you play as one. Its all so murky and gross to look at, but you can’t pull your eyes away thanks to morbid curiosity.

Everything from the character design, to the user interface; it is all designed to inspire a horrible feeling in you and it succeeds at every step. Looking very much of its time, the game has been remastered which sharpens much of the visuals and makes all the awful things you’re looking at all the clearer.

Music and Sound

The music is just another thing that perfectly encapsulates what this game is all about. The droning of the synths, the monotonous tones that fill up your mind as your playing. Its all been perfectly crafter to illicit and response from a sad part of your brain. I struggle to find the words to describe how utterly inspired the sound design is. It truly feels like you’re playing something that provides a feeling that you will never be able to experience again.

Pros

• Amazing Visuals
• Incredible Story
• Brilliant Atmosphere

Cons

• Creeps me out so much that it can be hard to play