After 12 years, one fan has faithfully recreated the PS1's weirdest walking sim

Walking sims might have only gained widespread attention (and a name) in the late 2000s, but non-violent artgames that focused on exploration have been around for decades. One such example was the oft-forgotten 1998 PS1 game LSD: Dream Emulator, which has now been lovingly restored in a fanmade version.

LSD: Dream Emulator came from the mind of Japanese multimedia artist Osamu Sato, who wanted to push back on the idea that games were simply entertainment products. In response, he created arguably the weirdest thingamajig on the PS1, taking players through psychedelic dreamscapes without any concrete objectives. LSD's surreal, hallucinogenic levels and uncompromising vision have since made it a cult classic, despite failing commercially upon release.

The subsequent online love for LSD was so strong, that one fan made it their goal to remake the game. Indie developer Figglewatts began the fanmade remake all the way back in 2011, and while the new version, LSD: Revamped, has been playable for years, a recent update brings it closer to the original than it has ever been.

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“A new version of LSD: Revamped has now been released, featuring all of the interactive objects from the original game,” Figglewatts announced on social media earlier this week. “The game is now very accurate to the original.” The project now only has two more updates left in the oven before it’s fully feature-complete, according to the project's website.

LSD: Revamped is now available to download for the affordable price of $0 over on Itch.io. I’m more than interested in experiencing the surreal gem for the first time, especially as a sort of interactive history lesson after falling in love with other walking sims and indie experiments like OK/Normal or Paratopic. 

For more games that fly under the radar, check out our upcoming indies of 2024 and beyond.