Themes

Art's Dream explores three distinct themes and times in our hero Art's life. The game is just as fantastical as the name suggests, and takes place across a variety of locations and time periods.

One of the most interesting aspects of Art’s Dream is that it was originally supposed to be three separate games. They were brought together through an intricately-woven narrative that combines all three stories, alongside a healthy dose of Mm-style humour and imagination, to form one epic tale of redemption.

The Noir Mystery: Art's Downfall#

The main narrative thread of Art’s story. This section takes place in the present day in Art’s life, after he's quit the band and is struggling to support himself in his new career, unable to accept that he made a monumental mistake. Along the way you’ll visit some noir-inspired real world locations, including jazz clubs, recording studios, and huge hulking steam trains. The inspiration for this part of the game came from the desire for the Media Molecule team to tell a more mature story based in the real world, and was initially supposed to be a more traditional detective noir point-and-click experience.

TLDR: Jazz! Trains! Tunes!

The Childhood Adventure: Art's Childhood#

Shortly after starting the game in the “real world”, the player is whisked away to a fantasy land inhabited by two adorable (yet very dangerous) plushies. Frances and Foxy are stuffed toys from Art and Laila’s childhood, come to life to save their friend Lancewing from the villainous Thornbeak. This section of the game takes place in a colourful world of childhood whimsy, complete with fantastic forests, cavernous canyons, and volatile volcanos. As the plucky pair seek to rescue Lancewing, you'll have to switch between the characters and use their unique special abilities to traverse the environment and track down the kidnapped Lancewing.

TLDR: Mountains! Monsters! Mystery!

The Digital Forest: Art's Reboot#

The digital forest is home to some of the cutest little robots you ever did see in the shape of D-BUG and ELE-D, whose platforming adventures bring another new gameplay aspect to Art’s Dream. The digital forest is based on an in-universe sci-fi adventure that Art was a fan of when he was younger. The style of the digital forest was inspired by classic Disney films like Bambi (but without the heart-breaking mum plotline), and vintage cyberpunk adventures like Blade Runner. The idea was to merge the two landscapes to create a cyberpunk-flavoured environment residing in a natural space like a forest.

TLDR: Robots! Roots! Regeneration!