Dreams of Another — an impressive dream-style game by Q-Games

Dreams of Another resembles a fever dream — an artistic manifestation of a dream, filled with unexpected events, fragmented scenes, and blurred landscapes. Scenes abruptly cut off and then resume, creating a sense of instability and surrealism. The game features talking statues of angels and fish that long to escape home and swim to the ocean. It is this dreamlike quality that makes Dreams of Another unforgettable.

Developed by PixelJunk, Q-Games, the game follows a man in pajamas known as the Pajama Man. He wields a gun given to him by a man named the Wandering Soldier. In the opening scene, the soldier realizes he cannot shoot the gun, but in the hands of the Pajama Man, it creates things rather than destroys. Q-Games describes Dreams of Another as "a third-person action game with exploration elements," but it can be perceived more as a series of visual stories than by genre.

When you enter a new environment, it usually appears suddenly and without warning. Parts of the landscape shatter into a multitude of vibrant pieces. By shooting the gun at these fragments, you collect them into whole objects — benches, trees, buildings, human figures, or shipwrecks. Even after collecting, the object remains composed of tiny pieces and can fall apart at any moment — sometimes it does. By shooting at the world, you create things to interact with: the Wandering Soldier, a clown who forms a massive ring statue from separated rings, or a bench pondering the nature of consciousness.

Characters speak in fragmented, unnatural ways and say strange things: for instance, an elderly woman, after photographing a man, remarked that it would be "a nice portrait for his funeral." Each scene lasts a few minutes, after which the environment collapses, the light whites out, and the game transports you to a new location or returns you to the main menu, where the Pajama Man sleeps in bed.

This game is unique in that it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend due to its lack of logic, as it explores ideas of art, consciousness, and human nature more than it aims to be entertaining. At the same time, it offers unpredictability: during six hours of gameplay, I could not anticipate what would happen next. Like in a true dream, it can be hard to keep everything in mind, but there are profound moments that linger long after. Dreams of Another is now available on PS5 and PC.