Back when Dreams was first revealed in 2013, nobody really understood what the heck Media Molecule were showcasing. Was it some sort of digital puppetry game? Over the years we’ve seen bits and pieces of Dreams and it finally started to become clearer what their intent was. The Dreams Creator Early Access is now open and reveals that this is a game creation tool far beyond the scope of LittleBigPlanet. In fact, despite being in an Early Access period, it already surpasses practically any other “code-free” game design software available on any platform. It’s simply stunning what Media Molecule have crafted.

Dreams presents itself as the ultimate open-ended tool to let you create whatever it is you desire. Want to make your dream game? The tools allow for the creation of an RPG, platformer, FPS, sidescrolling shooter and basically any other genre. Those who might not have the idea for an entire game can still go ahead and create using built in features to orchestrate music, sculpt, paint, record voice acting lines, create cool new character models and engage in other forms of digital expression. There's so much freedom because the creation tools were not designed with any restrictions in mind. They are not made to work best for 2D platformers, as LittleBigPlanet was, for example. They weren’t even put together to require any form of “game” to be made. If someone wants to spend all their time creating 3D houseware models then they can totally do that and then share them with the community.

As of right now, the tools are fully featured and being put to the test by creators everywhere. Fortunately, they’re simple to get started using -- even though some aspects, such as logic, are advanced. There are a bunch of tutorials available which slowly introduce how to move around the 3D worlds you’ll create, controller functions and shortcuts, logic implementation, animation and more. The UI features icons at the top of the screen which open up into a variety of menus to work with for all these myriad elements of creating a game. It’s a bit weird in some regards, though. The cursor is controlled by the PS4 light bar which becomes cumbersome at times. Playing with Move Controllers might actually be better for those who want to have precise menu control or sculpt in a more naturalistic manner.

Despite a great set of tutorials, some may still be paralyzed with the mere notion of creating something themselves right out of the gate. It’s also possible to explore the multitude of creations put together by others which are shared on the Dreamiverse. Dreams first welcomes players with their official Media Molecule-designed games and other showcase material. But after that, players should dive in with all the stuff that other gamers are creating. There’s so much wonderful, ridiculous and offbeat stuff to uncover. Excitingly, players do not need to have PS Plus in order to access everyone’s digital creations despite that clearly being an “online” component. It’s unknown, however, if that will remain the case after the Early Access period ends or not.

So what makes this the Early Access period specifically and not the full release? The tools are basically ready as is, but there is amazingly still much more to the game. One major missing component is Dreams VR which Media Molecule aren’t yet ready to discuss. It should allow for both creation while wearing the PSVR headset as well as an ability to allow viewers to enjoy games and other experiences in virtual reality. There's also a story mode coming which isn’t present in the current build. Of course, there will likely be tweaks and additions to the creation tools as players comment on what they’d like to have which is not currently supported by them.

Media Molecule continue to remain coy about when Dreams’ official launch date is. We don’t even have an estimated release quarter! With that said, the game is expected to graduate from Early Access sometime in 2019. Anyone excited by the prospect of Dreams should not wait. Jump in right now while the game is still discounted at $29.99. Anything created during the Early Access period will carry over to the final game. Also, all those jumping in now do get access to the full game whenever it finally launches. There's ample awesome content being created daily by the Dreams audience. It’s fun to be a part of and the community shows no signs of slowing down.