The Butterfly Dreams by Ave Q Production
Ren'Py - SuNoFes 2024 Play the Game Read other Reviews
The Butterfly Dreams is a sci-fi game introducing the next big gaming tech: a virtual reality machine that brings the whole of you inside the game. No more clonky accessories or heavy headsets that give you nausea, just stick some patches to your head, and off you are to Dream Land. And while this invention, appropriately named Fantasia, is not yet available to the masses, you along with six other brilliant individuals from various fields are one of the lucky few to not just test it, but create.
You are introduced to each individual, through a short conversation (where you discover your name, Tom/Thomas), about who they are, their personality, their view on Fantasia, and what they might end up creating during this workshop. Through forced proximity, relationship blossoms and thoughts turn into concrete ideas. Or so your inner thoughts tell you, as the story doesn’t linger enough for you [the player] to experience it yourself.
Still, the story must continue, and you “play” through everyone’s creations, each relating pretty closely to their respective identity: the chef creates a virtual restaurant to test out ideas, the children’s author bring her characters to life, and the gamer revive old forgotten games. Of course, nothing goes without a hitch, with one of the characters essentially breaking the machine (hinted at, but it didn’t marinate enough to punch…). But things are swiftly swiped under the rug - there are still creations to test after all, including yours!
And this is when the “twist” appears. I use quotes here, because it really came out of the left field. This whole time you were playing everyone - with your identity and background never revealed, you could have been anyone, it just so happen you’re a conman for some reason. The complete change of tone between your thoughts and the confrontation feels to disjointed, I kept wondering if I’d missed a whole section. During my first playthrough, I didn’t see any reason for Tom to be inculpated with some crime - you are so bland and boring, and no one ever ask you any question about yourself. So I went and checked out the other options of the few choices (only because others mentioned hints in comments), and still, the vibe felt the same. Maybe once? there was a whiff of you having some sort of plan? idea? but you could easily chalk it off as “well, he’s just thinking of what to create for Fantasia”. The only thing I can think of is Layna being curt and distant towards you. But that’s not enough to make a mystery interesting.
It’s a shame, really, because simulations concepts, dream within a dream, and dystopian/cyberpunk-y takes on technologies are really fun, and you can make compelling critiques of society through those. Even conspiracies of nefarious agents using technology for evil is a tried and true trope. But you’re not given enough time to explore the setting here (exploring a whole mansion and being caught touching something you really shouldn’t be touching, or finding someone doing just that), to interact with the characters and learn more about them (maybe even pit them against one another?) , to have them interact with you so you learn more about yourself (oh, why are you here, Tom? why are you special?). And in general, give time for the mystery to settle.
