The Dream Dimension

Deserves Your Attention

At last, I have found the VR experience that I didn’t even know I was looking for. In trying to unearth more “otherworldly” exploration apps that could be either internally or externally synced to music, a la GrooVR, my luck was hit or miss. I discovered some solid titles, like Other Worlds and Idea B, that had enough of their own distinctive take on the concept to stand out. Along the way, I was also disappointed with some lame titles that failed to make an impression at all. With The Dream Dimension, I was immediately hooked; this wasn’t just music-driven exploration. This was more. Sometimes, an app’s preview/description totally oversells the product, and what you think you are getting is not the case. I’m ecstatic to report that you will receive exactly what the developers are selling here. The app begins in a bedroom at night, you enter a door, and portals to other dimensions open up to you. Each portal contains worlds, as well as new portals. There’s somewhat of a campaign you have to complete first. You must enter each world and collect all of the various “dream shards” scattered throughout, almost like an Easter egg hunt, in order to unlock more worlds. It’s not nearly as tedious as it may sound, and is more of a way to familiarize yourself with that dimension. Once you complete this mission, all of the dimensions are open and available to you for free roam. First, there’s the incredible value. The going rate for these kinds of experiences is anywhere from a buck or so per world. Here, for a mere $5, you receive SIXTEEN worlds/dimensions. That doesn’t even include the initial bedroom setting or the inter-dimension purgatory. Not to mention that, secondly, each world/dimension is so uniquely special. In GrooVR, each journey has a name; I love how names are absent here. You will end up remembering each one in your own way, which adds to the personal interpretation. I liken the experience to exploring sixteen distinct paintings, each of which opens all kinds of possibilities for musical genres/moods/timbres. My current playlist for this app is up to over 400 songs and counting, it’s that rich visually. Speaking of which, lastly, the attention to detail is supreme. Take for example one dimension where you are in a pastoral, village setting. It’s very peaceful, relaxing, and pretty. For most developers, this atmosphere would be enough. But here, we see a giant rock-man emerge from behind a hill and lumber towards us. He stops, looks at us for a few seconds, then turns to make his way towards the distance, and we are left to watch him slowly fade away. Who is he? Where did he come from? Where is he going? We have no context for this. We are seeing but snapshots of these particular worlds, and that is Dream Dimension’s inherent magic. It’s subtle touches like this that set the entire experience apart. The main criticism, to the extent there is one, falls on the Go controller. It’s poorly implemented, and can make the overall experience a bit frustrating. Luckily, the developers have instituted gamepad support, and it makes a huge difference. If you already own one, great. But if not, your $5 purchase will need to be much higher than that to fully enjoy the immersion this title offers. That may be a huge dealbreaker to some. I personally think it’s worth it, but it’s your money. Overall, this is an elite title for the Oculus Go that I highly recommend. The developers, Infigment Studios, have crafted something that fits many criteria. Music-exploration, meditation, art appreciation, it offers something appealing to everyone. You can get lost in this series of dreams; in this case, blissfully lost.

8 found this helpful

Very nice if you like to explore

This is a collection of small scenes that can be explored. Exploration is encouraged by the task of collecting crystals strewn around the scene (2-4 per scene). Loading times are thankfully short. I haven't yet explored all the worlds. It shouldn't take too long to cover them all, but there's a large enough variety. The graphics are somewhat simple, which is normal for Go experiences. Lighting is basic, objects are often clearly low poly. But still they look good, interesting and varied. Mood for the scenes vary, with music, sound effects and the scene itself. Some dreams feel a little less comfortable, but there's no horror so far, thankfully. I would have liked to have slightly different controls, where the touchpad can be used to move forward or back and the trigger can be used for selection. However, it's not really a big deal (though I often find myself turning around to move a little and turning back). What I really miss so far is a larger scene, one where I could continue on foot to another place and explore it. All in all, this is a very nice experience, and if you just want to walk around nicely modeled and varied scenes I would recommend it. Update: The last island has somewhat larger scenes, where there's more a feeling of exploration. Altogether it's not a long experience, but I felt it was worth the money.

4 found this helpful

Very good game

I love this game so much however I wish the maps were bigger and that you could interact with more items and also in the city like dream at the start I was upset as I couldn't open the doors there

4 found this helpful

It won't open, I have an S7 edge and it "closes unexpectedly" whenever I try and launch the app.

4 found this helpful

Loads of Potential

If you're like me and simply like to explore & wonder you'll like this self paced multiple dream world. Some are peaceful. Others are kind of Erie. Find and collect gems to unlock other dream islands. Honestly, this app could be expanded to let independent cgi artist create & add more islands. Some people just want to explore. P.s. It would be nice to be able to play or see something on the tv or stereo in the bedroom...

4 found this helpful