Dreams - Review

After a lot of time, Media Molecule’s Dreams has finally released in full, but has the countless development time, left this a blissful event, or is more akin to a nightmare?

Dreams is best broken down into two modes, creation and consumption and both sides offer a vastly different experience, but each has its own challenges to enjoy. Before you are able to get into either mode, you must complete a series of basic tutorials for the Queen Imp, the being that guides your early steps in this vast world. If you for some reason, you are not sure what Dreams is about, there is no specific genre it fits into, you can load up the game and do nothing but play games other people have made, listen to the music, or enjoy virtual paintings or sculpture, then again, on the other side, you can just create those same things yourself, the cheesy and yet appropriate, if you can dream it, you can do it, fits here incredibly well. The opening moments of the game, give you a rundown on those core options, if you decide you want to build, there are tutorials for that as well, playing or enjoying, that is just freedom, but as the game is broken down into two sides, we best look at them now.

Creation is perhaps the part you might have seen most, It is here that people have created their own versions of Wipeout, taken a stab at creating a moment in time with some art and even replicating some classic game scores, there is almost no limit to what you can make. As you can make games, there are entire portions of the build, dedicated to actions, telling things what to do when you press a button and so on, layer these parts together and you get a game, or at least a void of grey or beige that lets you test out your animation skills. There is no shortcut here, you want to create something special, you need to put in the time, now you can use items that people have already built, or animated to help you out, but the bulk of the work is down to you. One aspect that I liked is that you can take any level made by anyone else and remix it, letting you see what someone has done and throw down your own little touches. If that seems a bit to much for you, you can just paint, or sculpt, or make some music, each part takes time to learn, but once you do, you can create away, how good things end up, is still determined on your imagination and dedication to the craft, except for one major issue.

That issue is the controls, they are a hot piece of garbage and anyone who states otherwise has spent way to long using them, now don’t get me wrong, the controls work, in that they let you make things, but they are a blend of horrid and worse and trying to make things, is like trying to bottle light, not something you can achieve, without cheating. As you create in a 3d space, your Imp moves around in 3 dimensions, except only if you hold a button down, but another button is required to strafe. The fact that you need 3 different sets of actions, in order to move around a 3d space properly is nothing short of idiotic and yes, you can enable motion controls, to let you move around a little easier, but if you don’t have a controller that has it built in, like some 3rd party options, you are out of luck. Another option are the PlayStation Move controllers, which was how the game was originally showcased back on the PlayStation 3, now I don’t have those, so testing it that way was not possible. My issues extended past movement though, if for some reason you have your movement locked down, there are still multiple combinations for placing items, rotating and more, the basic gist is that the controls are so complex, you would need to play for a month of Sundays, in order to get used to them and it is not worth it. While I think the controls are a mess, they do work, they just take far too long to get used to and when in other games, you only need to tap a screen, or drag and drop items, this overly complicated setup will turn people away in droves.

Of course, the flip side to creation is consumption and this is perhaps the mode were most people will spend more time, enjoying the content made by those master dreamers. For the content where it is static, or just requires the press of a button, for music, you are honestly given a modern gallery, open whenever you want. Some of the art pieces I have seen, range from the exceptionally detailed, to the downright bizarre and there is nothing wrong with either end of things, as art is subjective. If it were not for the controls, I could see art classes in schools, using Dreams, to create new and exciting things. Music again, is subjective, I have listened to some deep pieces, some recreations and ones that sounded like someone couldn’t find anything other than a high hat and while some of it is honestly amazing, the quality varies a lot.

Of course, the part most people will spend a lot of time in, are the interactive parts, ie the games, or the movies, and again, while they both vary in quality, they still have spirit to them. Prior to the game being released, I had seen someone recreate parts of Wipeout in Dreams and not long after the game released, someone recreated part of Ghost of Tsushima, which is crazy. While the drawbacks in creating can be felt with the controls, that doesn’t exist here, unless someone had made a bad or incomplete game. The games I have played, for the most part, have no issues with their controls, which is wonderful, which means even if you never bother to create anything on your own, you will still have an endless wealth of content to enjoy from other players.

Perhaps the most divisive aspect of Dreams are the visuals, because the only parts that remain the same are the menus and example pieces from Media Molecule, everything else is up to the creator. I have seen things that look like they are formed with strokes from a wide paintbrush and others that look like sculpted metal. This massive range of visuals means that each time you look upon something new, you will have a new feeling, thus making the standard, does it look good question, a little moot. Now the menus and such, they have a consistent look to them, that I really like, they are part abstract art and part dreamscape, clouds and shapes float around in the background, and provide a sense of contentment, at least they did for me. The audio is the same as the visuals, as there is no restriction on what can be created, they vary so much, it is hard to quantify, in fact the only consistent thing is the voice work from Media Molecule themselves, and there is a lot of it. As the tutorials are explained by the Imp Queen and her creations, get ready to enjoy the dulcet tones of the British accent, because you will hear them a lot.

Dreams is a game that is hard to recommend and easily the best game to recommend at the same time, which I know is a contradiction. The game is a blank canvas for all to create anything they desire and those with the skills will be able to be able to create some truly impressive pieces. The catch is in the controls, and where as the tools for making music are not complicated, nor are the menu navigations, anything grander and the controller requirements tends to make things beyond complicated. For those who dedicate themselves to the game, and take the time to learn the controls, this might prove to be a non-issue, but sadly, for those with a passing interest, there is just to high a bar to clear, before you can start to make something, other than some squiggles.

Review copy provided by PlayStation