The American Dream Reviews
The American Dream runs out of steam towards the end, and the later levels reflect that.
Once you get past the hook in The American Dream, there is a decent VR shooting gallery to enjoy; but even that is derailed by the pacing, with the best bits too few and far between.
With a message that is guaranteed to piss off half of the American populous in a hilariously vicious way, The American Dream is one of the most entertaining games in the virtual reality space. What it lacks in longevity, it makes up for in snappy writing, unique aesthetics, and excellent voiceover. Come for the gunplay, stay for man's best friend, Buddy.
The American Dream presents a slice of Americana in which guns are fetishized to their idiotic maximum; guns for cooking, guns for dancing, guns for marrying, and guns for childbirth. While The American Dream's action is adjacent to conventional VR shooting galleries, its vicious political commentary satirizes gun culture and leaves no survivors. The obliteration of reality appears to be a natural side effect of defending the indefensible.
Strap in and shoot your way through a satirical look at 1950s America and its absurd gun culture
Guns are stupid and so is this game.
The military-industrial complex need not be worried...
The American Dream VR is a decent take on gun culture in the USA. It really does lampoon some traditional American experiences very well, the only issue is that the game only really has one joke. While the joke absolutely works, it also wears thin. The game does try to bring more elements in near the end, shifting the focus to the nature of capitalism rather than the second amendment. However, this felt tacked on and was never properly explored. The gameplay is generic enough that it will get you through each area without a lot of effort or without you feeling bored. Luckily Michael Dobson’s Buddy Washington absolutely pulls you through the game. If you go into this looking for something fun with guaranteed laughs you will be pleased. If you’re desperate for some absolutely biting satire that digs into the roots of the problems in the United States of America while also getting to play an over the top action game like Far Cry, you’ll be disappointed.
Far too blunt with its message to be taken seriously, The American Dream's increasingly grating brand of satire becomes its downfall.
I honestly can’t decide if I enjoyed this game or not. It’s a fun fair/mini-game collection that develops into something weirdly political. I think Samurai Punk have a huge vendetta against the American ways and are using this game as a vehicle for that opinion. I found myself wondering why I’d actually played the entire thing and I won’t be going back through it. But then again, it was a unique experience with fun minigames and some interesting gameplay. I feel like there’s an incredible game under there, somewhere but it was muddled by gun politics and weird level settings, perhaps Samurai Punk need to set their mind to something else. It’s about 2.5 to 3 hours long which isn’t much for £25 (£20 if you’re on PlayStation Plus). Obviously there’s a degree of re-playability, the ending actually loops you directly back around to the beginning, but I can’t imagine you’ll play this over and over. This may be worth picking up in a sale In the future, but I wouldn’t say you need to rush to buy it.
The American Dream takes the traditional shooting mechanics of a virtual reality title and does something completely different with them, offering an experience that blends together a humorous narrative with a wide range inventive little scenarios. From the outside it'd be easy to see it as just another shooter, but it's so much more than that – it's a hell of a lot of fun too, and a surprisingly meaty experience. It does have some issues here and there, with the game forcing me to restart a few chapters during my initial playthrough, whilst the overall message behind it all might not necessarily be for everyone. If you enjoy dark humour with a satirical twist, creative shooting mechanics and a personality-filled world though, you won't want to miss out on The American Dream.
The American Dream is a game that could be seen as quite divisive when you consider the current climate. It’s definitely a weird thing that does its best at poking fun at America and it’s gun culture. However going forward this is certainly not going to provide any answers for the gun debate, no matter how satirical it may be.
The American Dream is silly from start to finish. Its over-the-top commentary will no doubt rub some the wrong way, but for those of us with a modicum of intelligence, The American Dream is a silly gallery shooter that just happens to mock American gun culture.
The American Dream is a VR experience worth playing through. It’ll make you laugh and occasionally, a little embarrassed too. It’s a strange game but one that no VR owner should miss. There are many reasons to own a PlayStation VR and The American Dream is yet another one.