When it was first announced at E3 2015, developer Media Molecule’s Dreams showed off an old man playing piano in a tall field, a robot on a hoverbike being blasted down by a ship, a polar bear looking after its cub and a bear with a pink bow tie beating up an onslaught of zombies. Audiences mainly thought “what on earth is Dreams?”.
It’s hard to comprehend what it is, and that’s because Media Molecule has effectively created a game that you can completely customise. Looking for a first-person mystery inspired by PT? It’s there. How about an arcade-style alien-shooter that has a fuzz-ball alien in a full suit mech? Sure. Lovecraftian FPS? Destructive car racer? A simple game of tennis? Checks all round.
Clearly, the game is fittingly titled, but the catch is players will need to literally make their dreams come true. Although, that’s not necessarily a ‘catch’ for the creative types out there and if Super Mario Maker has shown us anything, there are plenty of them. Through its Dream Shaping section, Dreams gives simple-to-use tools for players to design and build in-game mechanics, from numerous sculpting and painting to music tools and gadgets.
Using wires to link items and sculptures and camera works to make cutscenes, gamers can make their game as simple or as deep as possible. And, players can allow their games to be ‘re-mixable’, meaning other creators can add or fine-tune their level design. It’s community-driven and the possibilities for what players come up with are pretty much endless. Cool or what?
With everybody on board the hype train for Doom Eternal and Cyberpunk 2077, it’s a shame Dreams hasn’t received the recognition it deserves. That said, once the bright minds of the gaming community start unleashing an overwhelming amount of creative, price-worthy content, we have no doubt this will be a staple in any PlayStation gamer’s library for years to come.
Available now on PS4.
WHAT IS IT…
Action, adventure, platforming, story-driven – you name it, just create it
WHY PLAY…
It’s everything you’d want in one disc. ’Nuff said.
