Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator
Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator
Game
Game2022
Dream Cycle
Developer Cathuria Games
Venture into Lovecraft’s legendary Dreamlands and join an epic struggle to save humanity. Master occult powers, unique weapons, and special combat abilities to vanquish powerful enemies. Explore, adventure, survive, and find a way to break the curse that threatens the waking world. From the Steam store page
201 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Aug 29, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
57
Mixed
107 positive · 82 negative
95% range 49–63%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 107 | 82 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
118 of 209 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
56% recommend · 107 yes, 85 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 192 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (158 of 278 positive).
Players praise the game's unique concept and Lovecraftian atmosphere. [1][2][3] Many note that the game feels unfinished and lacks polish. [4][5][6] Some reviewers enjoy the gameplay loop despite its flaws. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [15]
Update, December 2022: Very little has changed almost seven months later. The developers stopped caring. Don't buy it. My actual review was almost 3,000 characters too long. Guess we won't talk about the pros. When I bought this game, I was sold on it for two reasons. The first reason was that it seemed, to me, like a roguelike. The game doesn't tout itself as such, but I can still gleam elements of such from it. …
- [13]
Excellent in concept and combat, but completely let down by the random level generation which barely works correctly, often creating a chaotic mess with furniture, item, and enemy placement that makes zero sense, killing the atmosphere of what would have been one of the most visually striking Lovecraftian-themed games I've ever played. Extremely missed opportunity here.
- [1]
Ironically, Dream Cycle is a broken dream: the result of a team shooting for the stars but not quite reaching orbit because for some reason they had to cannibalise and rebuild their rocket on the way up. What's present in the game is genuinely wonderful. This might be one of my all-time favourite gaming experiences. The feeling of exploring broken, dream-like spaces filled with magic and horror is brilliantly …
- [6]
This game isn't for everyone. This is a game I can recommend for people looking for a modern take on old school adventure titles ala. Tomb Raider or Shadowman. The game lacks polish all over the place and is clearly made by a very small studio that has a vision in mind for a new style of adventure game. What it lacks in polish it oozes in intrigue and great ideas. If you are capable of playing video games without …
- [2]
Dream Cycle is another games based from short stories of H.P Lovecraft, so be prepared for some work of dream fantasy, vision of nightmarish and some sort of otherworldly dimension. At current state Dream Cycle feel pretty bare bone akin to demo and require much need of improvement and polishing; is Early Access after all. Graphic run pretty solid and optimize in my end, with a dated PC like mine I can still run the …
Summarised from 34 of the 204 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Dream Cycle talk about unique and intriguing Lovecraftian dream world; those who didn't talk about procedural generation often creates broken levels. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 201 · most liked firstIronically, Dream Cycle is a broken dream: the result of a team shooting for the stars but not quite reaching orbit because for some reason they had to cannibalise and rebuild their rocket on the way up. What's present in the game is genuinely wonderful. This might be one of my all-time favourite gaming experiences. The feeling of exploring broken, dream-like spaces filled with magic and horror is brilliantly realised. The traversal /movement abilities of the main character, Morgan Carter, are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An interesting concept with what one might generously call potential, sadly burdened with bugs and a rather haphazard procedural map generation system. Remember Starbound back when it was doing the whole "infinite adventures" thing? Millions of stars, about ten actual planet types to explore. Infinite enemy types that all shared four or five attack patterns. My point being, "Infinite!" sounds very good and ambitious, until someone is inevitably forced to ask the uncomfortable question "and how…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We (a 4 persons team) are making an exploration game inspired by Lovecraft's Dream Cycle where you wander through the Nameless City in search of the young boy haunting your dreams. ... And it releases in EA TOMORROW! Wishlists & reposts much appreciated 🩶 #indiegame
positive · AI labelView post →Update, December 2022: Very little has changed almost seven months later. The developers stopped caring. Don't buy it. My actual review was almost 3,000 characters too long. Guess we won't talk about the pros. When I bought this game, I was sold on it for two reasons. The first reason was that it seemed, to me, like a roguelike. The game doesn't tout itself as such, but I can still gleam elements of such from it. Random generation of levels, various perks for creativity and increased…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I dropped out for a while because the game quit working on Windows 7. You should definitely buy it (on sale) if you're into these types of Action RPGs. It's story is a bit thinner and it kind of feels incomplete. But the game feels great to play. Simply climbing that huge tower in the cavern of flames was a lot of fun alone. The combat is good. The loop works and is fun. I really preferred the Alpha story (and the old version of Kaman Thah). It's still way too combat oriented. [Pre Release…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dream Cycle Is Coming Soon! The game is about Nex who discovers an entirely different universe after going to sleep. Nex uncovers many secrets, fights and meets many characters. Join Nex in the dream adventure. 👥 Join Our Discord Community: discord.gg/sN9kguxSge #rpg #indie #indiegame #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →This game has a fantastic premise, and that's about all it has. I could very happily spend a few more hours and buy DLCs if the release actually felt like a release. Instead, they added a bunch of contents to an alpha game (which is still a good thing), and called it a job done. Early game feels tedious and monotonous. Bugs are found left and right. I would not recommend this game to anyone looking to play a finished game right now -- maybe in a few years when it's actually finished. Pros:…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really want to like this game. - Concept/Idea: is awesome! - Story: has potential - Graphics: ok'ish - Skills/Gameplay: has potential (Inventory could be better), maybe they wanted a bit too much (magic, melee, old ranged weapons, modern ranged weapons) Unfortunately feels very unfinished and not really playable. Levels get auto-generated and sometimes do not work (pathways blocked) and one is forced to "grind" levels x times. After playing level 1 three times without the option to play any…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We're creating a sci-fi cosmic horror game with a narrative focus. We're not trying to just call it Lovecraftian and throw slimy monsters at you; in fact, we're more inspired by Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stories than anything else. #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev #horrorgame #lovecraft #lovecraftian
positive · AI labelView post →Excellent in concept and combat, but completely let down by the random level generation which barely works correctly, often creating a chaotic mess with furniture, item, and enemy placement that makes zero sense, killing the atmosphere of what would have been one of the most visually striking Lovecraftian-themed games I've ever played. Extremely missed opportunity here.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game would be more fun if the randomly generated levels worked. There are so many instances where important doorways and such are completely blocked off. The fact that there haven't been any updates in a while isn't great either.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty broken and boring. Needs another year of polishing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An underhanded asset flip (at best) This isn't even a game this is clearly a proof of concept that was most likely intended to be used to find either a larger developer/publisher. Nothing feels thought out, much less implemented well. The starting sequence when you first play it stutters horribly if the game is installed on a HDD, which means the developer didn't even have the forsight to have the game load the prerendered scenes first before playing it. The game shudders to a halt when…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Abandonware, unfinished.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has been abandoned by the dev, who only made it as a cash grab. DO NOT PURCHASE FOR ANY REASONA
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →https://www.reddit.com/r/Lovecraft/comments/14booz9/dream_cycle_the_nightmarequest/ Dream Cycle is an ambitious project with some innovative ideas. However, it backfires spectacularly—a nonsensical procedural system with repetitive stories and random entity placement. Dull gameplay. And a forgettable story. I can’t recommend Dream Cycle.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an unfinished game with a tremendous amount of bugs. Seems to have been completely abandoned by the developer. Don't waste your money, I wish I hadn't.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Being a huge fan of Lovecarft's work, especially the Dream Cycle corpus, I really wanted to like this game. The concept and story are truly intriguing, and the mechanics presented are parts of a whole that COULD be fun. However, I cannot recommend this game. The repeated objectives, same three enemy types, and copypasted environments soured my mood quick. There's not much more to say, really.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is such a cool game but holy moly it does not feel good to play. It's quite floaty, confusing, wayfinding is weird, you can't climb ladders (!), assets poke through walls, tutorial messages are annoying and sometimes unclear. I fought a boss who was stuck behind scenery. This has potential to be really good, but it just feels hastily put together and unfinished.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dream Cycle is a low-budget rogue-lite experience with frustrating gameplay and poor optimization. Gameplay is very Dark-Souls like, which I do not prefer. When you die, you are placed way back in a central hub area to start all over after losing your progress and weapons. There is no proper manual save. Objectives are also confusing and I spent most of my time trying to determine where a white locator circle was directing me. There are also random frame rate drops and a white vertical line on…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great concept, had a couple hours of fun. But it's maybe half of a game, and appears to be dead in the water. The story is barely there, I'm not really even sure what I'm supposed to be doing. Basically feels like I'm grinding for unclear goals.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dream Cycle is another games based from short stories of H.P Lovecraft, so be prepared for some work of dream fantasy, vision of nightmarish and some sort of otherworldly dimension. At current state Dream Cycle feel pretty bare bone akin to demo and require much need of improvement and polishing; is Early Access after all. Graphic run pretty solid and optimize in my end, with a dated PC like mine I can still run the game pretty smooth on High with average of 55-80fps but the cell shaded style…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When a dream remains a dream... Dream Cycle is an exploration and adventure game. You play a young woman named Morgan trying to break the time loop she is in and find her lost friend. The gameplay is very interesting and dynamic, you get a taste for it pretty quickly. The customization of perks, the choice of weapons and abilities are also quite varied. You will find in the game a lot of different maps to explore with quite original and strange landscapes at the same time, which immerses you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its got potential but been abandoned and needed more money
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a decent concept pitch, but I wouldn't call it a game. It feels extremely incomplete. To me it seems about 70% of it is a platformer. If you don't have the right skills setup on the character than you simply can't do a lot of the scenarios. The lack of any kind of player saves makes it very frustrating. Miss that last jump out of 30? Then you fall and start over ( if you survive the fall ). The concept has been abandoned so don't expect it to get any better. I really tried my best…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The parts I like Lovecraft Open world platformer The parts I hate 1 difficulty is thru the roof/no way to to change difficulty (just stop trying to make everything souls like its getting old) 2 all terrain is proceduraly generated so theres no obvious way to go 3 since everything is procedurally generated platforming suffers greatly (lots of places where you cant get out of, items you'll never be able to get, get to the top of a difficult climb and there's nothing at the top) 4 controls are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was not ready to leave early access, nor do I think it will ever reach an acceptable state. Very disappointed to see such a unique premise wasted by yet another studio biting off more than they could chew.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is a world in which a massive action adventure game, existing within Lovecraft's Dreamlands could exist, but unfortunately, in its current state, this game is not it. As someone who has worked as a Narrative Designer in the games industry for some time now, I must admit, I am a little biased when it comes to story in games, but, with that in mind, I believe a game that utilises the Cthulhu Mythos as its starting point, really needs to focus on storytelling first and foremost. This game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally a Loveceaftian game with focus on the Dreamlands / Randolph Carter stories. It's still a bit rough, and because of the procedurally generated nature, objectives can sometimes be stuck inside terrain. But it's already shaping up nicely, stealth kills are super satisfying, and update 2 brings huge improvements both graphically and gameplay wise.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried to get used to this game but it wasn't fun after a while. I have played other rogue-like games and enjoyed them. I couldn't get used to the mechanics. Not being able to save in an instant and dropping one weapon and replacing it with another, losing all weapons as soon as you leave an instant. When I tried to save in an instant and it says I keep my items, I didn't keep them. I lost all my potions I had in inventory when returning to the cavern. Inventory is not really inventory as you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Everything about the game just feels off. The camera is too tight in third person, but melee combat sucks in first person. The weapons feel weak. Multiple times the only loot I found was literally the basic sword that I was already using. I've leveled up multiple times without being able to spend my skills points on anything. Changing spells is a hassle in combat, so the only thing worth while is the teleport spell. You can't have spells attached to hotkeys, you only can have one spell readied…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The idea is amazing, but the execution is so so bad. I really want to love this game. It needs a whole lot of polishing, though. It came out of early access in August 2022, and there hasn't been an update to the game since that same month. It's a shame, because there's such a great game buried in there somewhere.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is actually really fun but it's nearly unplayable because of the terrible procedural map generation, first map went fine, were a few odd things here and there but nothing that ruined the game, the second map however.. It just made a bunch of large stone spikes which i thought were the edge of the map first, so of course i ran out into the flat part in front of me which turns out was actually the edge of the map, now this got me mad enough to quit the game and here i am... Again the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I couldn't even get through 20 minutes of actual gameplay. The UI is super unfitting, the environments feel put together ina slapdash fashion (I imagine because it's randomly generated? i'm unsure). The gameplay itself feels jank and kind of unpleasant. The actual 'loop' appears to be 'hit ghost button to see if you can spot a hint to where you're going' 'pick up and read note (or ignore it because the font is kind of killer and it's giant pages of text)' 'go to circle that appears when you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game looks and runs horribly, its a unreal game and lives up to the reputation of unreal games. The melee system is horrible in first person and apparently good in third person, bloom is badly done, it asks for first or third person at the start which is weird as most games just let you change the perspective mid-game and the developer couldn;t even be bothered giving the game a icon leaving it with the default unreal logo on the task bar. The stealth combat is just the same stealth attack…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly, despite somewhat decent core mechanics, the game is absurdly repetitive forcing you to replay the same general levels (with randomization - sure, but nowhere enough of it to make it feel like it's anything original and worthwhile) over and over and over again. Then there is obviously a matter of some questionable design decisions of just bringing so many wildly different assets, where at times this starts to feel like and asset flip. Shame, really... shame.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After playing the game extensively in early access and post-release, i can't recommend it. I would prefer to vote "Wait to buy" or "Just Okay" rather than "thumbs down". A lot of unique work went into this game. But the fun parts aren't enough to outshine the not-so-great parts. I wrote an entire document of ideas about how the game could be improved. But, i'd first want to know what Cathuria Games' vision is for Dream Cycle. If there's no long-term vision, and what we've got is all there will…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I began playing when the tutorial actually ran you through a mission with a fixed map and it showed you how to do things and actually had a story as you went along the tutorial (like Thief 3). After reaching the "hub" area where you used currency and talked to a statue you could select a grid space to play, best way to describe it. For the most part these story missions seemed to have fixed maps with LOTS of stuff to do and (maybe?) some procedural maps somewhere (only ever saw maps that seemed…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game isn't for everyone. This is a game I can recommend for people looking for a modern take on old school adventure titles ala. Tomb Raider or Shadowman. The game lacks polish all over the place and is clearly made by a very small studio that has a vision in mind for a new style of adventure game. What it lacks in polish it oozes in intrigue and great ideas. If you are capable of playing video games without scoffing at every minor bug or inconvenience and aren't put off by smaller…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, this is a tricky one. First off, I despise the notion of procedurely generated anything. Craft the world you want and stop making randomized garbage. Second, there need to be more dangerous and creepy foes and EVERYTHING needs to feel more grounded and less video gamey. Last, add some text and lore to this universe or a better variety of notes for the people that are in need of rescue or others that are a part of this dream world. Have something besides a few goons just standing around.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very janky unfun game with interesting lores. This review was made when the game is in Early Access version 1.2.27. Story/lore This is where the part where I don't have any complaint whatsoever. The characters talk in lingo that you don't know (yet), but I'm fine with this because stupid vague lore is my jam. I also quite like the protagonist, Morgan. That accent is music to my ears (accent fetishism lol), she's quite a first-person smartass, and you can't go wrong with that hooded…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly I cannot recommend this game. First of all, a point which doesn't count in my review : a part from the tags, it was not mentioned or show that it was a rogue-lite game, and by that I mean loosing your weapons when you die. Probably more equipment/gear/stuff later one but I only played 2 hours to be able to refund it. I hate rogue-lite/ like games, so no thank you. Now, to the review. The game starts really well. You wake up, do not know what happen. Short hallway showing you the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a nerdy side note - I am not sure where the cover art comes from, but it does not represent the game very well. Cthulhu is probably Lovecraft's most famous creature, but Cyclopean is based on Lovecraft's Dream Cycle, which is a very different kind of story...
neutral · AI labelView post →I want to give this a thumbs up, I really do. My issue isn't the game play, which I've found really enjoyable. My issue is bugs and how they wreck my progress. When you start a map, if you don't complete it and you leave the game without saving, you lose anything you've gained while on said map. The first bug I encountered what a tutorial tip popping up and not going away, thus blocking a large part of the center of the screen. I had to alt f4 out of the game. When I came back in, I was at the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall I find it actually hard to say whether I'd recommend this game or not. It's a cheaper game and has its fair share of bugs and lack of polish but it can be enjoyable at times. I know I personally am not someone who typically enjoys rouge-likes and this one is just another in a long list of those that I've tried that I didn't find particularly interesting. I think there's some good design in there that a certain audience could enjoy, but it's not for me. Don't expect greatness and if this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A few heads up; Full controller support is not accurate. What they do is enable controller style gameplay. But, no menu items respond to anything except moving the cursor. A list shows up, normal controller games the D-pad up/down will move the cursor. Not here. They are a KB/M dev. Somebody put in the controller support, but it is, at best, incomplete. It does function reasonably well in combat. Next up: The tutorial, try to get out of the game prior to completing it is a PITA. I wasted a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Degenerate, repetitive and bloated, but not content wise, only length wise. The main thing you do is repeat stupid, often way too vertical (vertical movement is not very fun at all, the only thing you can do is jump off janky mountainsides or spam a teleport spell upwards) levels. You find notes that reveal dungeon entrances, chests and mechanisms that open dungeons (levers, keys). Once inside a dungeon you seek out an altar, read a note near it and activate it to call a boss, waves of enemies…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow after years of the same battle royal, co-op, souls like xy action RPGs finally a refreshingly different game. For that alone, everyone who loves games should buy it. Of course it's EA still has bugs and is incomplete but that's to be expected. I always find it ridiculous when people buy EA games and write bad reviews because of it. Good work devs and bravo for the courage not to follow the mainstream.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have 1H in game so this may change along but I can say for now there is a very good game somewhere in this but it's still very early access and needs a number of tweaks. It's a mix between Dishonored and Shadow of Mordor, movement-wise and a very, very light RPG combat-wise. I'll start with the goods : - the design is great, which, for a Lovecraft - and especially this part of his work - fan like me, is enough for me to enjoy the game to a degree. So they nailed this point - the gameplay…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →don't bother, the game was abandoned.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quote with what you are currently reading, here’s mine! #booksky 💙📚 For #spooktober I've got a bunch of horror novels. Just finished Christine and the Damnation Game, and right now I've got Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's not good, not good at all. The game resets my progress every time I exit, and the game play itself isn't good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It can be pretty rough and repetitive. Progression feels a bit glacial at times and nearly 9 hours in I don't feel any actual progression in the narrative at all. The worlds can be very confusing to navigate and some of the larger bosses are difficult to fight due to being obscured by buildings sometimes. But the spirit of exploration and a pretty solid game play loop have got me pretty hooked. I am not a souls fan at all and I usually don't play these kind of games but I havent gotten…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While I can understand the hard feelings some reviewers have, I think this game deserves more leeway than they are offering. Is it perfect? No. Is it free from jank? No. But the core gameplay is actually quite solid, and though basic, the bones are fun and engaging. Set your expectations a little lower, and you've got a solid action game here. My favorite part is the exploration. The world is a mess of buildings and rocks smashed together, which is fitting for the ethereal nature of the world…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really promising game, developers act quickly to fight with bugs. Love the setting, combat pretty good. Map generation is a bit of a mess, but with abilities and understanding of the game, it's not a problem. Hope devs will be able to refine this game to what it should be.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic beautiful game, well made, a little janky, controls have a great feel. Truly has potential to being great if the Devs keep updating it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i know that i only played this game for 30 mins so take this as you will. This game when i was looking at it seemed to be a story driven game that had an open world (think shadow of mordor) i was excited and ready for this game, however what i found (apart from small bugs and such) was an instance dungeon that could be reset and made harder (reminded me of D&D Dark alliance) now does this make it a bad game? No. This game is just not something for me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is about the new Open Beta with a pretty big overhaul. Biggest Plus: the ugly and unnecessary cell shading is gone! It looks soo much better now. I never played it much before because it looked so weird. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2715652223 Interesting and now very flexible movement/gliding system. Even though you can get pretty much everywhere (you're not supposed to), so far no stuck, bug or glitch issues with that (good thing because of the ussual…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept of Dream Cycle is an amazing one. Presenting itself with an incredibly unique story with equally engaging gameplay is putting this on my current favorites. However there are some major problems I have with this game that are keeping me from playing further until they are fleshed out. Most notably: - The sword size is ridiculously small, walking animation for the sword in first person isn't present and it looks incredibly goofy. - That sun! It is repulsively bright, I can feel my…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had an absolute blast streaming it and playing it, the game is super addicting and unique! Props to Cathuria Games! definitely can't wait for more updates on this pearl! 1.0 is HERE! The procedural scenarios are pretty impressive, the combat is simple yet satisfying, i would love better sounds for some of the weapons but overall good experience so far! Story wise still need to get a grip of whats going on !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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