I first heard about Dreams when it was officially announced at E3 in 2015.
I remember being quite confused as to what Dreams was, however, was extremely interested as it was being developed by Media Molecule, a game development studio based in the UK who brought us amazing games such as Little Big Planet and Tearaway.
Media Molecule is known for its creativeness in gaming and they are always trying to involve the player as much as they can and push the boundaries of what games are capable of.
So, what is Dreams?
Dreams is so much more than just a video game – Credit: Media Molecule
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After the highly successful Little Big Planet, Media Molecule set out to develop their most ambitious creation yet – Dreams.
Dreams is a wide set of tools that can be used to create just about anything from games to movies to music on your PlayStation 4.
The tools are all neatly displayed, and it all feels very intuitive and accessible so that anyone of any age could use them.
There are tools for sculpting, for painting, you can clone things, you can animate, make music, use the gadgets to create simple or complex mechanisms to create gameplay.
And all this can be used to create a game.
“Art’s Dream” is the movie length game that Media Molecule made using the tools they created to demonstrate what you, the gamer/creator could possibly do with them.
Though short “Art’s Dream” is a wonderful experience to play through in a sitting or two.
Media Molecule has gone dark
Dreams on PlayStation 4 – Credit: Media Molecule
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It has quite a dark tone, which is unlike Media Molecule’s games.
However, despite that, it feels more ‘Media Molecule-esque’ than ever.
It feels like they’ve grown in the storytelling department and don’t worry there’s still plenty of their silly and quirky humour in the game.
I won’t spoil what it is about as it’s so short, but gameplay-wise the game is very diverse.
It is a point-and-click adventure game, a 3D platformer, a top-down twin-stick shooter, an endless runner (with wall-running!) and a bullet hell video game.
The game also features some great voice acting and the most amazing soundtrack.
There are some great musical numbers in this one.
“Art’s Dream” is a promising demonstration of what Media Molecule’s tools can do and is a great game itself, don’t miss it.
Dreams is a game, a tool, and it’s really what you make of it
Dreams on PlayStation 4 is well worth playing – Credit: Media Molecule
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You could easily not create anything and just surf through all the user-developed content.
This is highly enjoyable and shares addictive similarities akin to surfing YouTube.
Similar to YouTube’s beginnings there are a lot of odd and surreal creations, but there are creations nonetheless and each one of them is highly impressive considering Dreams has been in Early Access for only a year now and has just officially released.
People have already created full finished games, by themselves, with no prior knowledge of game development, and I find that mind-blowing and incredibly promising for the future of Dreams and game development as a whole.
Dreams is an incredible game dev tool for beginners.
You take control of a character known as Impy.
It’s a cursor and is used to interact with everything.
You can even include him in your games as a playable character.
Impy is controlled with the gyroscopic sensor of the PS4, and it feels amazing.
You can customise your Impy too!
The UI is streamlined and not overly complex.
Dreams is never overwhelming
Dreams is whatever you want it to be – Credit: Media Molecule
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All the gadgets and gizmos are all labelled differently, with different pictures and it’s just really nice to look at overall.
Nothing feels overwhelming – however, I would recommend taking it slow as it is a tool which needs to be learnt.
Luckily you have the option to play through the thorough and easy to follow tutorials, of which there are many neatly organized into different categories ranging from the basic movement of the imp and how to navigate the workspace to music-making tutorials.
These tutorials are great fun and have really gotten me interested in making games in Dreams.
Initially, I thought I would find it too difficult.
However, I found with a bit of patience anyone can make something.
The great thing is people have already created stuff within the game.
These things can then become reusable assets for anyone to use.
This means you can put something together in a matter of minutes.
Other players are nice! No Trolls!
No trolls (yet) in Dreams – Credit: Media Molecule
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There is such a great sense of community in Dreams and so far, I have not come across any trolls. (That’s a nice change).
I made a really awful game to test Dreams out.
Yet, I still got a few words of encouragement from other players.
This made me feel great and has motivated me to keep learning this tool.
I am still mind-boggled to how Media Molecule pulled this off.
They literally thought of everything and made tools for them.
It’s just up to you how you use those tools.
Your imagination is the only limit.
Do you think Dreams sounds like the kind of game you’d like to play?
Let us know in the comments below.
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