Analog horror Surreal horror Horror walking simulators Psychological horror

Dreamcore

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Get lost in endless dream pools, a looping suburb, a hotel out of time and a dead mall.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Stores: Steam, Epic
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (89% of 1,960 reviews); 4.67 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (2,212 ratings); Metacritic 56 on PC (6 critics)
Length: about 5 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Montraluz
Released: 2025

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

No. 11 of the suburban horror games · No. 15 of the maze horror games · No. 17 of the hotel horror games · No. 8 of the liminal space horror games · No. 8 of the mall horror games · No. 5 of the swimming pool horror games

Get it on Steam Epic Games Store PlayStation Store Xbox

What frightens You wander huge, silent liminal spaces with no HUD and no guide: endless tiled pools, a suburb of identical houses, empty children's playrooms, a hotel unstuck in time and a dead mall. Nothing attacks and there are no jumpscares, but the stillness, the feeling of something watching and getting lost do the work.
Content: no jumpscares or monsters, esrb everyone: mild fantasy violence, pegi 7: fear, grainy vhs-style filter and fisheye blur, easy to get lost; no directions.

A first-person exploration game set in vast liminal spaces from the Backrooms tradition. Each of its five maps, from the Dreampools and Eternal Suburbia to the Playrooms, a Liminal Hotel and a Dead Mall, is a huge empty place you find your own way through, with something always just out of sight.

About Dreamcore

Dreamcore is a first-person exploration game by Montraluz, published by Tlön Industries and released on 23 January 2025 on Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. It launched with the Dreampools and Eternal Suburbia, and the other maps came later as free updates for owners. Its makers call it a psychological horror game built on liminal spaces: places that feel familiar, empty and wrong.

Each map stands alone. The Dreampools are a maze of tiled pools, ramps and stairs where the only sounds are dripping water and your own footsteps. Eternal Suburbia is a neighbourhood of identical houses with a full day and night cycle, jazz from hidden speakers by day, and paths that lead back to places you have already been. The Playrooms strip children's play areas of people and sound: padded rooms, plastic castles, ball-filled corridors and netted tunnels. The Liminal Hotel is a take on the Backrooms meme Level 188, floor after floor reached by elevator, its style drifting further back in time as you go down. The Dead Mall turns an old shopping plaza, its arcade, food court and car park into something uncanny.

There is no HUD and no map. Signs, symbols on the walls, odd music and audio cues are the only hints, and sometimes you need an item to go on: early in the Dreampools a dark room will not let you in until you find a flashlight, and where it lies changes from game to game. The default look is grainy and soft, like a VHS recording. Nothing chases you and there are no jumpscares; the unease comes from scale, silence and objects that feel wrong, such as the giant smiley-face balls that sometimes seem to turn and look at you.

Players on Steam and PlayStation rate it highly, while critics are split: some praise the atmosphere and level design, others found the endless, similar rooms a chore. It suits players who loved Pools and Backrooms videos and want hours of quiet unease; Steam even sells the two together. Those who want monsters, a story or quick progress will find it slow.

How to play Dreamcore

Buy it on Steam or the Epic Games Store for Windows, or on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S; on PC there is a free demo on Steam.
Choose a map; each one is a standalone level.
Explore in first person with no HUD, reading signs, symbols on the walls and sounds for clues to the way on.
Find what a level asks for, such as the flashlight a dark room needs in the Dreampools, and reach its end.
Come back for the other maps; new ones are added for owners at no extra cost.

Screenshots

Dreampools: an empty flooded tiled pool room with a white spiral staircase rising through the ceiling and a dark round opening

An empty white-tiled pool room with a dark tunnel opening, pale green water and a yellow smiley-face ball by the steps

A dark tiled pool room lit by a faint red glow, with metal ladder rails at the edge and arched doorways into blackness

Eternal Suburbia: a lone beige two-storey house in a dry grass field, with picket fences, a water tower and distant houses under a blue sky

An empty street of identical grey buildings under a blue sky, with a yellow NO EXIT sign

Playrooms: an empty pale blue tunnel room with rainbow and cloud decorations and coloured balls on a green floor

Liminal Hotel: an empty, warmly lit corridor with orange damask wallpaper, wood panelling, pink carpet, a leather sofa and a lamp

Tips

Wear headphones; music and audio cues are often the only hint of where to go.
Pick landmarks and keep track of them; many rooms look alike and paths loop back on themselves.
The flashlight in the Dreampools is in a different place each time, so do not rely on a guide's spot for it.
On PC the game needs a graphics card with ray tracing for its lighting; without one some areas can render black or broken, so try the demo first.
Set aside time; the makers put a run at around five hours, and one map can take an hour or more.

Questions

Is Dreamcore scary?

It is eerie rather than frightening: vast empty places, strange objects and the feeling of being watched, with no monsters chasing you and no jumpscares. It is rated ESRB Everyone and PEGI 7.

Is Dreamcore a Backrooms game?

It is built from liminal spaces and the Backrooms aesthetic, and its Liminal Hotel is a take on the Backrooms meme Level 188.

How long is Dreamcore?

The makers say a run typically takes around five hours, depending on how you explore, and players on TrueAchievements put the base game's achievements at four to five hours.

Is Dreamcore on PS5 and Xbox?

Yes. It came out on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on the same day as on PC, 23 January 2025.

Is there multiplayer?

No, it is single-player only.

Is there a story?

Very little; each map is a standalone place to explore with a light goal.