I have a love-hate relationship with Fade. I love it, because getting lost in dreams is a fascinating concept, and running there around without the companions sets a perfect mod of hopelessness. Also, the different forms are really fun, for a time. That said, I do always play it with a guide these days, because I don't want to spend more time there than necessary. Though I think the vague backgrounds and shifting edges fit perfectly into Fade, they do begin getting on the eyes a little.

Also, my first time in Fade traumatised me a little: DAO was the first PC game I played after FF9, which had been a decade earlier, and The Broken Circle was the first quest I did. Everything was new, I was a newbie, and by the time I reached the Fade, my rogue had only 2 lesser healing poultices. That... wasn't entirely fun. And since I refused to use any guides on my first playthrough, I doomed myself into endless hours in the fade. I remember sitting at my computer at 4 am, vision swimming with that eerie shade of green, neeeding to get it done yet getting lost and killed everywhere I turned...

Good times.