Massive update for LucasArts emulator DREAMM as version 3.0 is released – it’s time to go back to Maniac Mansion we think

While many emulators focus on recreating the ability to play entire systems on your PC or handheld device, others drill down into niche areas such as games that use particular engines.

One such example is the DREAMM emulator by Aaron Giles which focuses purely on LucasArts games – the kind that were so popular in the late eighties and early nineties. In fact DREAMM stands for Dos Retro Emulation for Arena for Maniac Mansion, which was, of course, one of LucasArts first point-and-click adventure games of that era.

Games like Day of the Tentacle and The Secret of Monkey Island also fall into that bracket – and can also be emulated in the more well-known SCUMM emulator but DREAMM can also run the mid-90s Star Wars games (X-Wing, Fark Forces, etc), and the Indiana Jones actions titles, alongside many more.

Giles himself used to work for LucasArts so is well-placed to know exactly what he’s doing here.

Happy release day! DREAMM 3.0 is officially finished.

Downloads for Windows, MacOS, and Linux: https://t.co/29uW2gcwst

3.0 adds support for all remaining DOS-based LucasFilm/LucasArts games, adds a CRT simulation filter, support for add-on packs, and tons of small changes.

— Aaron Giles (@aaronsgiles) July 22, 2024

While you could just choose to run SCUMM, DREAMM offers the chance to play more games as it relies on low-level emulation, whereas SCUMM reverse-engineers the original engine used by LiucasArts (SPUTM). It gets more complex than that and you can read more detail on Aaron’s site, but suffice to say here, we really like DREAMM.

This latest version of DREAMM, version 3.0 finally adds support for all remaining LucasArts DOS games as well as adding a CRT filter to give the games a more retro look on modern flat-screen monitors as well as support for add-on packs. The UI has also been given an overhaul and joystick remapping is now a possibility.

As well as PC DREAMM is also available for Mac and Linux-based machines so whatever PC you are gaming on you should pretty much be able to find a flavor that will work for you.

More emulation pages you might like

• You can check out our Best PS2 Games ever right here.
• New audio filter makes your games sound worse, like they did back in the day
• PlayStation 2 emulation is now so good you don’t really need original hardware
• PS4 emulation starts to get very interesting indeed

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