Media Molecule made a name for itself by popularizing the concept of Play, Create, Share — most notably with the LittleBigPlanet series. While LBP allows users to create many types of gaming experiences, it still feels limited in scope. Media Molecule’s latest, the appropriately titled Dreams, truly gives users the chance to create whatever they can imagine. Less a video game than a creation suite, Dreams is an ambitious project. It may not be for all players, but those who wish to test their hands at game development will find the title immensely satisfying.
Dreams’ creation options are overwhelming. From the jump, it gives players everything they need to start making games. If you go in blind, you’ll likely go mad wondering how people managed to create some of those awesome experiences we’ve seen all over social media. Media Molecule provides countless tutorials that delve into every aspect of game creation. While they’re quite helpful and informative, it still feels like a lot. If you’re serious about game creation then it’s best to go in with a ton of patience. There’s a great deal to ingest.
There are three controller options available for game creation. The default setting has you using the DualShock 4’s motion sensor to move objects around. You can also manipulate objects with the PlayStation Move controllers. To get the most precision, players can use the analog sticks. Having these options is great but none feel particularly intuitive. I mostly fumbled my way through the tutorials; never fully grasping how to properly manipulate objects. I did eventually begin to understand the nuances of moving, resizing, and cloning objects. But as I said, it wasn’t easy.
The good thing is that you don’t always have to make a game from scratch. If you want, you can take pieces from others’ creations and use them for your purposes. This is perfect for those of us who lack talent or patience. Users can even take entire levels and alter them as much or as little as they’d like. This is a fine way to get a jump start on creation and hopefully give you the incentive (and inspiration) to make something uniquely yours.
Though creation is at Dreams’ core, players can actually forego that entire process. They can instead check out the countless experiences created by others (called Dreamsurfing). This is actually where I spent most of my time. I use the word “experience” because some aren’t actually games. I’ve checked out creations that consisted of nothing but pieces of art. Other creations only had user-created music to listen to. This goes to show the flexibility of Dreams’ creation engine. This is a one-stop-shop for any and all creative ventures.
As you can imagine, the user-created games are a mixed bag. Some are fully-formed experiences akin to any indie title you’d find on Steam. Others are half-baked at best. The majority seem to lie somewhere in the middle. At the time of this writing, there doesn’t seem to be a vetting process for levels players can upload. But generally speaking, user-created levels with more “likes” are usually safe bets. That isn’t to say some of the less-trafficked games are low-quality, but it’s best to stick to levels that the community finds most appealing.
And what kind of games can you expect to play? Pretty much anything from any genre imaginable. I’ve checked out 3D platformers, 2D shoot-em-ups, first-person shooters, fighters, and even some 2D side-scrollers. It’s amazing what people have come up with. The very best levels I’ve played come from Media Molecule itself. Just as with user-created levels, Media Molecule’s creations span many genres. If creating games isn’t something you find pleasurable, you can find countless hours of entertainment delving into others’ works.
Dreams has a campaign (of sorts) called “Art’s Dream.” This story focuses on a bassist struggling with feelings of self-doubt and self-hatred. It’s surprisingly deep considering the lighthearted and whimsical nature of Dreams. What’s cool about Art’s Dream is that Media Molecule created it entirely with the creation tools. Art’s Dream showcases the versatility of the game engine. It has elements from point-and-click adventure games, 3D platformers, on-rails shooters, and side-scrollers. I advise folks to jump into Art’s Dream as soon as they start since it deftly demonstrates the basic controls and the kind of things one is capable of creating.
Dreams is an interesting title to review; mostly because it isn’t a traditional game. Yes, you can certainly jump in and play a bunch of user-generated levels and have something approximating a typical gaming experience. But even this buffet table way approach isn’t exactly commonplace in most titles. The heart and soul of Dreams is creating levels and releasing them to the world. If you’re into letting your imagination fly and sharing the results, this is an experience for you. However, if you’re not into that, you can simply play through the campaign and the countless user-created levels. At the end of the day, this is a community-driven platform. Users will ultimately decide if Dreams is successful. If things go well, I can see this becoming Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker or even Microsoft’s Minecraft.
If nothing else, Dreams is the most unique game coming out of PlayStation this year. It’s one worth keeping tabs on.
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