STEAM GROUP

Drugoja In The Dreaming DrugoRev

Join Group

STEAM GROUP

Drugoja In The Dreaming DrugoRev

180
MEMBERS

IN-GAME

ONLINE

Founded

6 July, 2021

Language

English

Overview Announcements Discussions Events Members Comments Curator

ABOUT Drugoja In The Dreaming

But who is the Dreamer?

Group's name is inspired by the comic Sandman's The Dreaming being not only a place where people go to dream, but of imagination, creation, art and, above all, a place made of stories. And as Terry Pratchett said: “There's always a story. It's all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything's got a story in it. Change the story, change the world."

And that includes video games. It's a medium with great potential for storytelling and unique expression. That's what drew me to it in the first place when I started playing Point'n'Click Adventures way back when. It was only natural that I'd stumble on Visual Novels eventually, and in between, anything from Story Rich and Narrative Adventures to Choices Matter, Interactive Fiction and an occasional Walking Sim. Genre wise, I'm easily hooked by (psychological) horror, mind-bending sci-fi, existentialist themes and surreal mindfuc|ks.

This is my personal group/curator, a place to gather all my reviews and various other writing. It's primarily dedicated to narrative games of all kinds. In my reviews, I usually focus on storytelling (in whatever form) and tend to emphasise narrative structures, tropes, themes, ideas; I like to dig between the lines trying to uncover what the game is actually saying. "Thankfully, I'm an expert in subtext" 🐛(and reading into things... and overthinking... shh!) So if you're into that sort of thing consider following my curator page 🥰 That way you can see my quick thoughts on curated games while browsing the store.

As for the forum, initially I wanted to use it for various lists of games (hidden gems, potential games for reviewing, a good way to keep track of interesting titles and free my ever growing wishlist a bit). While that is a work in progress, which I neglected a bit, it turns out I started using the forum for more writing. If you venture a bit there, you can find threads with demo previews, the video game music thread, movies and music reviews, full game reviews (those that break steam's character limit) and scattered notes and thoughts on special games that inspire it (those which compel me to keep on writing and writing); with more to come probably...

Feel free to join the group and recommend some interesting gems (be it games/other media), or find something interesting for yourself... or just to say hi 👋

See ya! ✨

PS: Group profile pic - Featherine Augustus Aurora, Endless Witch of Theatergoing, Drama and Spectating, from Umineko

➰ Email: drugoja.dreaming@gmail.com

➰ Reviews
➰ Curator

VIEW ALL

POPULAR DISCUSSIONS

VIEW ALL (11)

RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

🦇👻🎃💀 Flash Halloween Giveaway 💀🎃👻🦇

30 October, 2023 - Drugo⚸a | 6 Comments

Hello there
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9Uh_SqMRm4
*ahem*
A kind member of this group, Sin6ularity, decided to surprise us all with a very fitting donation for this flash✨ giveaway. Thank you By now, a classic among horror visual novels:

The Letter

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/460430/The_Letter__Horror_Visual_Novel/
If you still don't have it in your library, now's the chance. Just write a comment below, and a random number generator will pick the winner tomorrow evening,

on October 31st, around 20:00 (8:00 PM) CET. You know the drill

Good luck!
~Have a nice spooky All Hallows' Eve~

⚰️🧛

PS: If you don't already follow the Curator Page now's as good a time as any

Visual Novel Fest

9 August, 2023 - Drugo⚸a | 13 Comments

I'm sure you're already all over the sale; I bought a few VNs I don't need with money I don't have myself But hey, this is a good opportunity to pitch highlight a few of my favourite visual novels, those that left the biggest mark since I opened the curator, but also some old faves, ones that got me started down this road, and some underrated gems that could use a bit more spotlight All of these, except the old faves, are already on the curator, but I wanted to feature them like this.

I'll keep it short... Lol!

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/904520/Red_Embrace_Hollywood/?curator_clanid=40848670
Surprising no one, RE:H is the first on this totally unordered list. I wrote sooo much about it, so I'll just copy-paste: "Challenged me, kept me on my toes, made me question myself and suffer and delight in equal measure. A soul-purifying journey." Yeah... I won't say perfect, cause that would mean I'm ready to leave it behind Also, nice discount
My review

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/965810/Kara_no_Shojo/?curator_clanid=40848670
The remaster The Shell Part I: Inferno isn't a part of the VN Fest as it just came out recently, but Kara no Shojo is the original, full, uncut release (at its historical low rn) I played two years ago and never forgot. Disturbing, traumatising, intense, but also beautiful and bizarrely enchanting. Simply haunting.
My review

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/702050/The_Song_of_Saya/?curator_clanid=40848670
Another wicked VN most people know about, but not sure how many read it. The (in)famous Lovecraftian "love story" deep within the meat dimension, where love is disturbing no matter which way you look at it and the monster changes with perspective.
My review

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/852910/sweet_pool/?curator_clanid=40848670
A boys' love Saya no Uta, they say, sweet pool is the best yaoi VN I've played so far. Lovecraft-flavoured erotic body horror with lots of blood and throbbing, icky, squishy, formless flesh chunks pulsating like little hearts. The ultimate female horror on many levels.
My review

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/948740/AI_The_Somnium_Files/?curator_clanid=40848670
From the creator of Zero Escape trilogy, AI: The Somnium Files is not just insanely entertaining, but also very tightly knit murder mystery full of twists and turns in form of a playable flowchart. Mind-blowing and emotional sci-fi with a penchant for wacky (and dirty) tonal whiplash ;)
My review

And of course there's a big Spike Chunsoft VN sale

Now, to highlight a few underrated gems I really enjoyed:

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/847680/Pale_Cachexia/?curator_clanid=40848670
Excellently written little Gothic character drama, very intimate and foreboding, oozing with subtle tension and some genuine horror moments. In a word: Beautiful sadness. This and RE:H made me an Argent Games fan.
My review

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1394930/MAMIYA/?curator_clanid=40848670
An introspective, surreal and existentialist story set against dark apocalyptic theme, never losing sight of personal human struggles. A rare all-male cast in a Japanese VN that isn't yaoi. There's an unusually long demo (the whole first part of the game) still available, I think.
My review

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1372800/Gloom_and_Doom/?curator_clanid=40848670
Very fun and overlooked comicbooky, supernatural VN, full of quirky characters, drenched in 90s pop culture (expect references galore and even a trivia quiz), that also tackles some heavy themes. Big, fat discount!
My review

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1777000/Cut_to_the_Core/?curator_clanid=40848670
Body horror comicbook presented as a kinetic novel. Soaked in gory visuals and chilling words, followed by bloodcurdling sounds, piece by piece it sheds its meaty exterior. Terrible and beautiful. It's also dirt cheap, esp. with this... cut, so what are you waiting for, to lose a limb or two?
My review

Special Honorable Mention

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1697700/Whos_Lila/?curator_clanid=40848670
Technically, I wouldn't call Who's Lila? a VN unless I stretch it, but it's included in the Visual Novel Fest, so any opportunity to shove it highlight and praise it is completely fine by me A heaven for a David Lynch fan, and In Heaven... everythiiiing is fiiiine~~ Lila is the self-perpetuating mystery in the purest sense, one designed to be just about solvable, to only swerve you off course... to keep you hooked forever by not giving closure for continued attention. One of the best and most unique games I've played!
My review

Old faves on sale

STEINS;GATE

The first VN I played/read, the one that cast me into the rabbit hole. What use is a clock when dealing with timey-wimey shenanigans? One of the best depictions of time travel mechanics I've encountered, oozing with mystery and wonder, but also makes complete sense, and is used for characters' emotional journeys as well. A classic!

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

The best Danganronpa, imo, in no small part thanks to the outrageously interesting and unpredictable antagonist, who's the purest embodiment of the dual aspects of Danganronpa main theme: Hope and despair. The main driving force, the one that keeps the tension high, characters (and players) on edge till the end. It's a well kept balance where you can understand the twisted logic and all, but still can't predict their actions. Anyway, it's seen a better discount, I think, than the current.

I need to review both of these games properly one day. Ok, there are more (Umineko, why aren't you on sale?) but I said I'll keep it short. Right?!

So... found some good deals? Replenished your backlogs? Tried new demos? Drop a comment, don't be shy ;)

VIEW ALL (76)

STEAM CURATOR

Drugoja In The Dreaming reviews

"All kinds of narrative games: Visual Novels, Point'n'Click Adventures, Narrative Adventures, Story Rich, Choices Matter, Interactive Fiction, Walking Sims and other games that have something interesting to say."

Here are a few recent reviews by Drugoja In The Dreaming

VIEW ALL

31 Comments

view all

< >

Drugo⚸a

31 Jul, 2024 @ 3:26pm

Welcome to the group to all new members!

Hope you enjoy what you find here. Don't forget to also follow the curator when you join. Thank you for your interest in my scribblings and musings

Drugo⚸a

7 Jan, 2024 @ 6:55pm

Anyway... I want to welcome all the new people who joined the group. Thank you for the support. <3 Hope you had lovely Christmas and New Year holidays

(or New Year and Christmas, in that order, like in this part of he world ;D)

Viire 4 Apr, 2023 @ 12:33pm

....Sounds on brand though. I still remember the old steam greenlight... Thanks for taking the time to inform me! I look forward to whatever you review next!

Drugo⚸a

3 Apr, 2023 @ 7:10pm

Hmm, isn't the GOG version censored, as in h-scenes taken out? If so, then it can be done for Steam too. Besides, Wonderful Everyday (Subarashiki Hibi) somehow made it to Steam and there's no chopping that cleanly, unless you cut the whole game... which is what they did. Only the prologue/first chapter is here, the rest (90%) is behind the free patch

I'm not sure Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is more extreme in content, tbh. But then again, Steam has been known to ban VNs for all sorts of random reasons, and let other pass with no problem. Totally inconsistent.

Viire 2 Apr, 2023 @ 8:06pm

To be completely transparent, it's bad enough that I'm actually not quite brave enough to play it myself! ;~;

I've done a ton of reading about it, but there's still a real shortage of those that have actually played the thing and it's apparently good! I don't think I'm a squeamish person, I love the grotesque, Dead Space being a favorite, and I can read stuff like Berserk. But I dunno if I have the strength for this particular dive into the dark, tragic, and depressing. LOL

Viire 2 Apr, 2023 @ 8:00pm

I think it'd be pretty hard to chop it up for steam to feel comfy enough to release it, Song of Saya is probably much easier to censor than this one... It's the Urobutcher and he's very much in his element with this one.

< >

VIEW ALL (180)

GROUP MEMBERS

Administrators