Night Reverie review

Exceptional

by Friðrik Ágúst Egilsson

I went into this game completely blind. I knew nothing except that it was short, and that it was called Night Reverie. Throughout the game, I had theories on what the theme was. There will be some spoilers ahead. First, I realised quickly that this game would be dark. But whether that was horror or tragedy, I wasn't sure yet. As you progress through the game, you meet a few characters. To me, those characters clearly represented isolation, loneliness, guilt, anxiety, uncertainty, anger and fear - while our character was the shining light that alleviated those feelings. At that point, I had already realised that the game is a tragedy, specifically one about traumatic loss and grief.

Even knowing that, I did not see the ending coming. I won't elaborate further. You need to play it.