Retro-styled horror games from indie developers feel bigger than ever nowadays, with new ones continuing to emerge here in 2026. Earlier this month, Japanese developer Room410 released Restless Dreams, a new PS2-inspired first-person horror game focused on psychological horror.
Restless Dreams is a short experience, but Room410 aims to make the most of its runtime with a personal narrative focused on chasing dreams. Developer Room410 focuses on the protagonist exploring her inner thoughts displayed in an almost horror-like world, focusing heavily on environmental storytelling. Cutscenes share some narrative context, with most coming from reading different documents and interacting with items throughout the apartment. The idea of leaving nothing behind without any achievement to show for it is a feeling I think many players can relate to. For the most part, Restless Dreams does a solid job of approaching this topic in interesting ways. Some pacing could be better, but it does its job as the focus for a two-hour runtime.
Gameplay is focused on walking around and exploring the space, with the ability to interact with objects in the environment and pick them up to solve puzzles. There are no direct voice lines in the game, relying on text in cutscenes and with interactables to build the environment and narrative. You’ll encounter puzzles frequently that require you to pick up items, place them, and combine them in some instances. It’s very familiar to systems found in the Silent Hill franchise.
While there was engagement to be had with the interactables, things did start to get monotonous after a while. Restless Dreams mostly takes place inside an apartment with one bedroom and bathroom, with a few select areas appearing in between. Most of the game, you’re tasked with running around the apartment, looking for items to locate and use for puzzles. This gameplay loop could have worked better with greater location variety. It’s worth noting that a few of the later puzzles, specifically the room with many doors, fell a bit flat for me. While this sequence is clearly tied to the themes and narrative, it resulted in an action loop that felt repetitive rather than purposeful. I did greatly enjoy the maze puzzle, however, which featured menacing creatures lurking in the hallways that I had to avoid.
The art style is not something the genre hasn’t seen before, but this is a great visual showcase nonetheless. I was impressed with the various setpieces, especially those outside of the apartment where most of the game takes place. This space changes lighting over the course of the game, and it was interesting to watch how different lighting can rapidly transform and create tension in a space. Additionally, the last few areas were very eerie, providing a great sense of atmosphere.
This is a game that clearly wears its references to other horror giants on its sleeve. References are a great thing—almost every game has them—but there is certainly a line where it begins to feel a bit uncanny. In the case of Restless Dreams, this is a game heavily inspired by Silent Hill 2. For example, one cutscene has the main character pulling off the iconic mirror scene, and it left me a bit distracted, if I’m being honest. It did not do anything for the narrative, just acting as essentially a 1:1 recreation.
Restless Dreams manages to create a tense atmosphere, but it failed to truly captivate me by the end. I wavered in and out of interest, with the pacing not clicking as much as I’d hoped. The obvious references to Silent Hill 2, especially the sink scene, were a bit much at times, but I still think this is a game that some players will resonate with. There has been a ton of passion put into the art style, puzzles, and overall atmosphere that do enough to carry the experience through its short runtime.
If anything, I’m most interested in seeing what’s next for Room410. As the developer’s first project, there are several strong ideas here that can be built upon in a future game, alongside clear areas for improvement.
Disclaimer: Restless Dreams was reviewed on PC via Steam.
