Our Impressions from Early Access for Dreams on PlayStation 4

By: Max Cannon

There have been several memorable games with the idea of creating your own content at the center, however, Dreams by Media Molecule is perfectly poised to be the standout of the genre. Creating your own characters and worlds in a video game has never seemed as achieveable as it does here.

Dreaming Up Your Ideas

Media Molecule isn't new to this idea, as their PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet was created on the idea of "Play, Create, Share" and they've turned things up to 11 with Dreams. Whether using your standard DualShock 4, or the PlayStation Move controllers that any PlayStation VR owner should pick up, the game is mostly controlled by motion. Pointing your cursor -- or imp as the game calls it -- is as simple as rotating and physically moving your actual controller. This may be off-putting to some players but once you sink in some time you'll find it's actually more precise than you'd think. 

And precision control is essential in a game like this. While building your worlds, sculpting your characters, and editing your music tracks, you'll want to be able to quickly move between one creation to another and it's helpful that everything operates pretty similarly. Don't get too excited, things are certainly confusing, complicated, and challenging at times. But fortunately, the game has some decent tutorials to teach you everything from navigating the world to sculpting your very own video game characters. If you can sink some serious time into learning the ropes of Dreams, you could be one of the first to release an impressive project into the Dreamiverse. 

Early Access to Dreams on PS4 - KW Weekly News

Surfing the Dream Waves

When checking out the creations made by your fellow dreamers, you'll maybe notice that there isn't any consistency in quality. You could hop into an impressive animated adventure, a charming platformer, or something that's far less enjoyable. Fortunately, the online component of Dreams is impressively fast. Hopping into a game felt like it took about 3 seconds on average to load, so if you're loading into something that looks immediately offputting you can quickly hop out and into something else. This makes it easier to try out a game that you may not normally and encourages exploration of anything that Dreams will suggest.

So, what kind of games can be played on here? Seriously, it feels like anything you can think of can be created. From recreations of beloved horror games, to Super Mario-style side scollers, and even first person shooters and puzzle games. Things certainly feel a little on the wonky side as far as feel on the controller goes, but that's something that can be worked out over time. Honestly, you'll have to take a look for yourself. Dreams is currently in Early Access on the PlayStation 4 for $29.99 which will get you the full game when it releases for $59.99 sometime down the road. 

Share Your Thoughts!

So, what do you think of the future of Dreams? Are you interested in creating your own content or seeing what everyone else has to make? Share your thoughts below!