Action · December 4, 2023

Picayune Dreams (2023)

trophy140 achievementsextension1 DLClocal_offer-40% current discountgroup100k–1M ownersrecommend3.5k recommendations
Lost in the endless expanse of s̴p̵a̶c̵e̵, you must fight off endless hordes of inter-dimensional beings t̷o̶ ̸c̵l̵a̷i̵m̵ a few more brief moments of life. P̸̯͛i̸̲͌c̶̖͝a̵̙̔ý̵̥u̷̱̒n̸͖̓ḛ̸̔ ̷̣̕D̵̢͑r̵̰̕e̶̘̓ã̴̧m̶͉̈s̶͓̄ will challenge your skill, endurance, and perseverance through a m̸i̴n̷d̴ ̵w̴a̶r̶p̷i̶n̵g̸, psychedelic, bullet hell nightmare. Survive hordes of nightmarish creatures. This game does not favor passive builds, and will require you to stay on your toes, weaving through enemies and incoming attacks, while collecting resources and upgrades when and where you can. Modify your runs with limited elements of roguelite progression. A gauntlet of Bullet Hell bosses will test both your defenses and offenses. These high-octane, punishing battles are be driven by a pulse-pounding, glitchcore soundtrack from Milkypossum. Immerse yourself in a psychedelic atmosphere, filled with secrets, that will keep you guessing at every turn. The more you think you know of the story, the more layers you'll find to peel back. The story elements are largely option, but will provide depth and context for players who wish to explore every corner of Picayune Dreams. Inspirations Taking inspiration from a varied collection of our favourite games: Vampire Survivors (roguelike horde survival), Touhou (true bullet hell), Yume Nikki (surrealist visual stylings and secrets), and Diablo (power scaling and item visualization).

Action releases from 2023

223 Action titles launched in 2023 — top 6 by review volume.

Peer Action titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Bullet Hell · 177
  • Psychedelic · 170
  • Action Roguelike · 164
  • Space · 160
  • Lore-Rich · 160
  • Transhumanism · 152
  • Procedural Generation · 147
  • Pixel Graphics · 146
  • Arena Shooter · 146
  • Action · 142
  • Rogue-like · 142
  • Sci-fi · 138
  • Surreal · 132
  • Female Protagonist · 119
  • Futuristic · 113

Position in Action

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume3.2k Steam reviewsTop 76% in Action
Positive rating99% positiveGenre average: 83% — this title sits in top 0%
Engagement hours9 h averageTop 49% for session depth among Action

Press Quotes

“Picayune Dreams does more than enough to avoid being another Vampire Survivors clone. The narrative is very intriguing, there’s a nice mixture of upgrades, the gameplay is a lot of fun and the soundtrack is superb.” AlphaBetaGamer “This rendercore shoot 'em up is the first Vampire Survivors riff to really make me feel something” PC Gamer “While it leans on a few key influences, the game’s creators are making something that feels unique in an over saturated niche ...but it…

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

9h

short (5–15 hours)

Median

9h

Typical completion time

2-week avg

1h

Current engagement

Achievements

140

Steam unlocks available

Release & Availability

Release dateDec 4, 2023
DeveloperStepford, Andyland, milkypossum
Publisher2 Left Thumbs
Base price$2.99 -40%
DLC / Add-ons1 released
PlatformsWindows
Estimated owners100k–1M
External linksOfficial site · Support

Reception Metrics

Steam community

99%Overwhelmingly Positive · 3.2k reviews

3.2k positive · 32 negative

Curator recommendations

3.5k

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Cloud

Input & Comfort

  • Full controller support

Other

  • Single-player
  • Family Sharing

Editions & Packages

  • Buy Picayune Dreams