Dream Quest

Card

Ratings

Age

9+

Card

Languages

English

Latest Version 1.12

Sun Aug 20 2017

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

Update for iOS 11.

Minor bug fixes.

Dream Quest is a roguelike deck-builder that challenges you to survive the ever-changing landscapes of your own mind. Choose from dozens of classes, each with unique cards and abilities, and battle through three floors of increasingly difficult enemies. With a permadeath system that rewards you with permanent unlocks, the game offers thousands of potential strategies. Don't let the simple graphics fool you—this is a deep tactical experience that has inspired an entire genre of mobile card games.

Dinsun Expert Review

Our Expert Score

91/100

Dream Quest is arguably the most influential 'ugly' game you'll ever play. Its hand-drawn, MS Paint-style graphics are a notorious barrier to entry, but once you look past the visuals, you'll find one of the deepest, most balanced roguelike deck-builders ever created. Long before Slay the Spire became a household name, Dream Quest was perfecting the loop of exploring a grid-based dungeon and carefully pruning a deck to survive brutal boss encounters.

Every class—from the Thief to the Professor—plays with a completely different mechanical identity. The way the game manages the 'Fear' mechanic and the interaction between mana and actions is brilliant. It rewards deep knowledge of enemy patterns and punishes greed with cold, clinical efficiency. It is a game designed by someone who truly understands card game theory. If you value mechanical depth and infinite replayability over graphical polish, Dream Quest is a mandatory experience that will consume hundreds of hours of your life.

Dinsun reviewed on: Fri Feb 27 2026

Features

Dozens of unique playable classes

Over 300 cards to collect and upgrade

Procedurally generated dungeons and enemies

Permanent progression system with massive unlocks

Tips & Walkthrough

Managing Your Deck Size

The secret to winning Dream Quest is knowing when *not* to add a card. Use the 'Forget' spots on the map to remove your basic Attack cards as early as possible so you can draw your powerful class-specific abilities more often.

Gameplays

Enemy Knowledge

Each enemy has a fixed deck. Tap on an enemy to see what cards they likely hold. Knowing that a boss has 'Counter-spell' allows you to bait it out with a low-impact ability before playing your finishing move.

Screenshot

Q&A

The game was designed as a solo project focusing entirely on deep gameplay mechanics and balance rather than visual art.

Ratings & Reviews

The best roguelike on the App Store!

Sun Aug 04 2019 AlpineBroAlpine

Slay the Spire was TOTALLY informed by Dream Quest. Like another reviewer said, I too have passed by this game dozens of times while searching for a new rpg/roguelike fix. I finally took a chance after playing dozens of others and bought it. Holy crap, this is hands down the best rpg/card/roguelike game on the App Store, and it’s far better than any of the others! I am a person that loses interest very quickly in games, especially mobile games, but this one has the staying power of the old final fantasies and legend of Zeldas, it’s that good! The only thing I wish the developer would update is to make the game use the full screen space of the iPhone X. As it stands, it uses a very small portion of the screen, so it’s a bit hard to see. That is the only complaint I can level against this masterpiece. Buy it, right now. Do it. DO IT.

What a great game

Mon Jan 21 2019 magic00

This game is amazing. It’s got practically everything you can ask for. Long Term Progression, Card Collection, Rogue-like, Achievements, Exploration, Classes, and easy to understand game mechanics. The game itself doesn’t have beautiful card art but honestly it makes me enjoy the game a little more only because it feels like something I’d make. I have a few suggestions to make this game 5 stars. 1. Add more classes and more cards. 2. When picking Random for character select allow us to actually see which character it is before choosing our first floor bonus. 3. After playing for awhile I realized how difficult it is for me to truly enjoy my deck building. Add more levels and maybe have Missionaries Heal for some Gold as well. 4. Changing Teleport while on Cooldown to Rewind. If pressed again you can move back to where you originally pressed Teleport. Prevents from getting stuck behind a monster that’s literally impossible to beat. 5. Have an oasis on each floor maybe 75% of the time. 6. When the character levels up it should give them the option to take neither level up option. I would also enjoy a free card upgrade for every 3 levels. 7. It would be cool to have the option to upgrade spells. 8. Didn’t realize but Level 10 is the cap. This really hurts if you are taking the Ding Talent, maybe allow for any experience gained from monsters at the end of the fight gets turned into Health or Gold instead.

2 years for every class to beat lord

Wed Aug 19 2020 Myquist

I played this game for about 2 years. Some people would argue the game is unbalanced. It is true. Some classes are naturally weaker than others in terms of probability of beating the final boss. However, it doesn’t mean they are weak when you get all key cards for them. Warrior and paladin are hard to beat the game because they require more specific key cards but I once killed the Lord of the Dream in my first turn using warrior and paladin with scimitars and bleeders. The only annoying thing is that sometimes enemies can happen to have ability to exactly counter your build. For example, vampire boss is immune to poison when you choose poison build. You can only concede and restart your next run.

My Favorite iOS Game

Sun Oct 29 2017 Hustlertwo27

Seriously. Excluding console ports like Final Fantasy Tactics and KotOR, this is my favorite game on my phone. Dozens or even hundreds of hours have disappeared over hundreds of playthroughs. The achievement system is innovative and engaging. The art, while simple, has a lot of charm. The gameplay is unique and insures you never get bored. And the struggle? Oh, it’s real. It took a long time to ‘beat’ the game with each class, and as far as actually taking the legendary Lord of the Dream to 0 HP, in my hundreds of games I have done it exactly three times. A poison-loving Wizard, a Shark Bite and Three Wishes-spamming Scientist, and a Dragon run with unlimited mana and a few Shrinks on hand. I fully intend to be playing this game years from now...unless the dev finally gets a sequel out.

This is my top played game, for years now.

Mon Apr 22 2019 J.chen32

Read the other reviews for a sense of the awesomeness that is this game. No less than the creator of Magic: The Gathering, Richard Garfield, has blessed this game with his seal of approval. And even the graphics have a heartwarming story - the designer wanted to involve his young daughter in the creation of the game. And so we have the whimsical imaginings of a child to accompany us through the best gameplay ever. It’s a tough game folks, but stick with it. The more cards you unlock, the more the game blossoms. I’m still figuring out the nuances of how best to use some cards after years of playing this game.

Unbalanced

Mon Jul 27 2020 Iqdjqfjqjrh

This game is so unbalanced. You can have all the spells you need to defeat most of the monsters in a room and then a rare will spawn and absolutely destroy you. The Sphinx enemy is completely overpowered for no reason. I made it to the second floor and the only way I could get to the boss was by killing a sphinx. I had at least 60 heath but was playing a mage class. The Sphinx has a broken ability where he can make you unable to play certain cards, but instead of rotating between what cards I can and can’t play it just stayed at spell cards. So the entire match I was unable to use spell cards. I was using a mage build with the best spells but non were effective. I finally beat him with the few melee abilities I had and right in the way of the boss was another rare Sphinx... TWO IN ONE ROOM. I’ve been stuck on floor 2 for weeks now because of the broken enemy mechanics. Fix your game I’m on normal mode

The best.

Wed Sep 18 2019 Bob middle

Best roguelike AND best card game I've played. Thoroughly solid mechanics. Just enough random chance that you do better in some runs than others, but that I've never screamed at it in dejected frustration. If I'm rolled a bad game, nonetheless it seems "fair" somehow. And for a game with so much random, there's definitely skill to it, and I've gotten progressively better over time. The achievements are always just barely reachable, and compelling to go after. Solid, hugely replayable game mechanics, and a single game doesn't last incredibly long. Serious props on this game, it's a keeper.

Wow, fantastic!

Fri Mar 30 2018 Mertisem

Like other reviewers I am quite a fan of this game. I would have payed more than 2.99 for it. The balance in this game is incredible but begs to be played intelligently. I’ve grown quite fond of the simplistic art and honestly enjoy it just as much as some other games on the market with very detailed artwork. I can’t wait till I get past the second level and get more achievements. Serious kudos to the developer and to his family for their contribution to the game. Has officially taken first above all other games on my phone. Well done!