Art's Dream
Art’s Dream is the bass-slinging, jazz-singing, and dragon-winging story mode for Dreams, created by Media Molecule. Its aim? To give new players an introduction to some of the gameplay possibilities presented by Dreams' creation engine, as well as to provide another creative and unique Media Molecule adventure for players of all skill levels. It's up to you (yes, you!) to help Art overcome his fears and concerns about his life journey, and become the musician - and friend - he was always meant to be.
Trouble is, Art is not having a good day. A jazz musician by trade, he’s faced with the ever-compounding challenges of adjusting to adulthood, the pressures that come with being a creative person and, ultimately, depression. He’s fallen out with his best friend and the rest of the band, and finds himself living in his double bass case after his career takes a turn for the worse. Oh, and there just happens to be an evil giant bird named Thornbeak haunting his waking dreams. So, y’know, just normal stuff.
The trailer for Art's Dream. Doesn't our boy look good here?
If you already own Dreams, you can play Art's Dream in-game right now! And if you're logged into indreams.me, you can use these handy buttons to launch it immediately or add it to your queue. Easy.
(Requires that you own Dreams)
So What Do You Actually Do?#
Art’s Dream takes place over many different locations, including Art’s studio, a train station, jazz clubs, and fantastical locales like a painterly mountaintop and a cyber forest. During these varied scenes, the gameplay changes wildly, from frantic platforming, to strumming a guitar, and even shooting sections. All this keeps the tempo of the game as fast and loose as Art's jazz, and gives us an opportunity to really show off the versatility of Dreams' creation tools.
In this video, Mm Studio Director Siobhan Reddy and Creative Director Mark Healey introduce Art’s Dream for the first time.
You can also take control of many of Art’s childhood friends, such as the adorable stuffed toys Frances and Foxy, and the robotic duo D-BUG and ELE-D. Each pairing comes with their own set of exciting abilities that introduce new gameplay features. To say any more would spoil the surprise, but suffice to say that ELE-D’s power will blow you away!
The interior of Art’s Jazz Studio. Could do with a bit of tidying up probably. Has the band never heard of being houseproud?
D-BUG overlooking the digital forest with some creepy caterpillar enemies. Bleurgh!
Frances and Foxy facing their next objective: to free Lancewing the Dragon!
The curious train platform that Art finds himself stranded on with the mysterious ticket man Hector.
The Thornbeak in all its terrifying, suited and booted glory. We're gonna look away now…
The sleeping giant robot Root-R. But is it friend or foe?
Outside the jazz club where Art and the band performed. Who’s that big burly bloke guarding the door?
A Musical Adventure#
Music plays a huge role in Art’s Dream, and it’s not just Art who's cranking out some cracking tunes. Art’s Dream is a full musical adventure, with songs and musical interludes both breaking up the action and forming many of the mechanics for playing the game. Take up your double bass, sling your guitar, and brandish your saxophone as you face off against the demons that have invaded Art’s life, and set him back on his path to musical glory!
On top of all that, we've been super generous and provided you with a whole bunch of elements, decorations, and music from Art's Dream for you to mess around with in Create mode:
- New decorations for you to play around with!
- Elements for use in Create mode
- Audio samples and songs to use in Create mode
During the musical interludes, you can grab these gifts using your controller, and jam along to them later on! But this is only a taste of what’s in store for you in the funky and psychedelic world of Art’s Dream. There are hundreds of other secrets, surprises, and songs in the full game, playable in Dreams right now!
Want to play Art's Dream, but don't own Dreams yet? You can find Dreams on the PlayStation Store right here.(opens in new tab)
Find out who's who in the jazzy world of Art's Dream.
Find out about the themes and concepts at the heart of Art's Dream.
Handy tips and tricks to help you maximise your time and experience with Art's Dream.
The Dreams User Guide is a work-in-progress. Keep an eye out for updates as we add more learning resources and articles over time.