Dreams Early Access PS4 PlayStation 4 1

No matter which way you slice it, Dreams is an incredible achievement. Media Molecule might be taking its sweet time developing this project, but the hard work is clearly paying off. The game is now available in Early Access, allowing everyone to finally tinker with the creative tools, and experience the weird and wonderful things people have been making since the beta test. While we don't have access to the single player story yet, there's more than enough in this early version of the game to understand what it's capable of.

In fact, to see the potential, you only need to start Dream Surfing. This automated playlist of games, artwork, and more puts everything on shuffle and leaves you to discover the imaginative world of user generated content. It's like a box of chocolates where even the strangest tasting treats will leave you wanting more. The diversity of style, scope, and tone is already impressive, and this is before the game is even done.

Dreams Early Access PS4 PlayStation 4 2

We've played through 8-bit platformers, third person shooter concepts, and abstract horror experiences. We've seen astonishing works of art and atmospheric landscapes. We've sat on a bog while disco music plays in something called Toilet Simulator. Dreams, already, has a bit of everything, and it's truly fascinating.

Seeing what people have been able to achieve with the tools so far, it's easy to be inspired, and thankfully, creating your own curiosities is as straightforward as you could hope it to be. Some excellent tutorials spell things out clear as day while leaving acres of room for you to experiment. Getting used to how it all controls is probably the biggest initial hurdle, but take the aforementioned lessons and it's surprisingly intuitive. Using simple geometry and colour, you can craft an environment in next to no time, and hop into Play mode to see how it all looks.

Dreams Early Access PS4 PlayStation 4 3

What amazes us about Dreams is how well implemented everything is. It's in Early Access, but the tools work together in ingenious ways, and the social side of things is seamlessly presented. If you pull creations from the Dreamiverse into your scene, those creators will be credited when you publish. Sharing and commenting on the work of others is incredibly easy too; it feels like an incredibly positive space. It's amazing how well this not only enables people to get creative, but actively encourages it.

We're still very much in the genesis of all this, but it feels exciting. With a DualShock 4 and an idea, you can make whatever you like, and that in itself is brilliant. That it's all so fluid, with simple but powerful tools, next-to-no loading, and intuitive social features, is testament to the years of effort from Media Molecule. We love that we can boot the game up every day and find something new, or make something of our own and share it with the community. The potential is staggering, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

You can read more of our thoughts on Dreams in our last preview. What do you think of Dreams Early Access so far? Are you letting your imagination loose with the tools, or are you simply enjoying all the oddities created by others? Point your imp at the comments below.