Since the release of Dreams early access, creators have already made a ton of awesome things on PS4. The creations range from games to sculptures to musical compositions and more, and Dreams can be used as a showcase of different ideas and creative talents.
Whether you want to kick back and play an in-game recreation of pool, get inspired by some gorgeous visual effects, hear some unique new music, or simply see how weird the human mind is – all of that is possible in Dreams if the creators know what they’re doing.
Here are 5 awesome Dreams creations that we think are well worth seeing.
Prometheus – FPS Demo
Prometheus by rothniel is a disturbing and immersive FPS. The enemies, which are these huge ripped alien creatures, lunge at the player from afar and are difficult to outrun.
As you progress throughout the level these creatures often appear seemingly out of nowhere, especially if you forget to pay attention to the Alien-esque tracker in the far left corner which alerts you of enemies nearby.
Some of these creatures are equipped with guns than home-in on the mystery protagonist and shoot orbs in the direction of the player, and these enemies are usually standing still trying to snipe you from a distance.
The player is equipped with three different weapons, a pistol, a shotgun, and an assault rifle. The shotgun seems to be the most enjoyable weapon to play with, as watching these huge enemies get blasted into the air is really amusing and felt similar to other great FPS’ such as DOOM.
Prometheus really knows how to immerse the player, and every aspect of the experience –minus the high amount of weapon-sway– is designed to suck you into this strange and alien world, in which the creator succeeds at doing.
Prometheus leaves you wishing for more content and updates, so it’s a good thing you can follow creators via Dreams and receive updates on their creations as they develop.
Llama Quest
Llama Quest by j_plusb has some of the funkiest music I’ve heard in Dreams so far. Talking your first steps in the level feels like you’ve just been launched into a Donkey Kong Country game thanks to the groovy bass-filled background music.
The Llama character model is really charming, and his legs move ridiculously fast when he runs which never gets old. Although it doesn’t experiment much with character abilities, as other platformers do, Llama quest still provides one of the best all-around 3D platforming experiences created in Dreams.
Llama quest has great visuals, a great character model, great music and fluid controls. It captures exactly what a well-rounded platformer should have, making it a must play for Platformer enthusiasts.
Souls-Like
As the name states, Souls-like by Morning-Nya is a game inspired by the action RPG, Dark Souls.
Souls-like mimics the general and aesthetic style of FromSoftware’s Bloodborne and Dark Souls games, creating a dark, bleak, and daunting world.
In Souls-like, you begin as a bipedal black cat, equipped with a sword and a shield which can be raised and lowered to attack or block.
The playable cat is also equipped with 5 potions which restore around half of your health bar, which is around the same amount of health a hit from the boss takes.
You follow the starting path into an open arena like area which will feel very familiar to the open boss battle spaces in FromSoftware’s titles.
The first and only boss is Ghorm the Pillar, an appropriately named large knight who has a simple moveset but a lot of HP, which is shown at the bottom of the screen in the center of the hud.
Ghorm starts with 450 HP, and the standard approach is to wait until he swings horizontally then dodge or roll using to his shielded side and hit him in the back, as is common in some easier souls games fights.
On top of his simple sword swipe, Ghorm also performs forward dashes and jumps into the air, then tries to crush the player from above, and these are fairly easy to dodge. Ghorm speeds up significantly and begins to flash towards the end of the fight, sort of like a second phase.
The version we played was surprisingly well built, with fluid character animations and accurate hitboxes –this is where Souls-like shines most. Mimicking such closely knit games that pride themselves on their combat and mood is no easy task, but Souls-like doesn’t disappoint and lives up to its name.
Panis Pot
Panis Pot by Mm_pfield first gained popularity prior to Dreams launch, as a clip of the level circulated Twitter. The levels popularity is unsurprising, as this level and its backstory are frankly adorable.
Panis pot is a really simple story, designed by a father and his four-year-old son. In Panis Pot, you play as a pea, which is sized more like a brussel sprout, with the goal of getting into a panis pot, a pot that was named by the creators son.Â
When the pea is told there is no more room in the panis pot, you embark on an adventure to find another one, traversing the kitchen countertop and taking in the soothing visuals. The kitchen is really well designed with the stove burning the playable pea and the sink extinguishing it, providing great visual effects such as those pictured above.
This levels creator brings the small kitchen level to life with animations, and the level plays out similarly to a storybook with text accompanying gameplay. Animations include the panis pot’s lid opening to mimic its mouth with Mm_pfield’s child imitating the pots deep voice, which is hilarious.
As you can imagine, the story is charming and creative, and because it’s based on the thoughts of a much younger creative mind than most other Dreams creations, making it all the more unique and wholesome. This one is definitely worth playing if you can.
Starry Night
Starry Night by TheOneironaut is definitely worth playing yourself if you get the chance as an explanation really doesn’t do it justice. Seeing the visuals unravel before your own eyes feels way more special, especially in the case of this creation.
The player spawns in a small bedroom with a wide open window late at night. The player can’t leave the room, but a glowing glass of bright green absinthe sits on the window sill waiting to be taken.
After drinking the absinthe, the player looks outside the window to see a vivid recreation of the famous painting ‘The Starry Night’ by Vincent Van Gogh appear among the stars accompanied by whimsical music.
The creator’s combination of the painting tool and the animation tool is seamless, and watching this painting unfold in the skies is entrancing –taking in the visuals, although a short experience, is definitely a worthwhile one.
There are so many more amazing creations to be found in Media Molecule‘s Dreams, and these numbers should grow significantly going forward in early access and especially so when the game eventually launches and opens up to a wider audience.
We’d especially like to see these 7 games remade in Dreams since their actual developers apparently won’t.
If you’re still on the fence about buying Dreams during early access, or just want to read more Dreams content, you can check out our first impressions right here.
Published: Apr 22, 2019 11:53 am