Dream Garden review

Dream Garden is a garden-building simulation that seems well-suited after a hectic workday. Developed by Ukraine-based Campfire Studio (My Dream Setup, Arcane Blast), the title invites you to sculpt and design miniature dioramas that exude calmness and creativity. Expectedly, there are no timers, goals, or things to stress out over. Instead, it’s just you, an ample set of materials, and an empty plot of soil just waiting to be transformed into something beautiful for the in-game photo suite. That said, the serenity is sporadically sullied.

At the heart of Dream Garden is a toolset that’s surprisingly deep and flexible for an eight-dollar title. From a radial menu, you can raise and lower terrain, carve out ponds or streams, and apply various ground textures like sand, grass, or stone. You can use drop rocks, plants, and decorations that range from smooth stones to serpentine-shaped footbridges. But my favorite are Dream Garden’s lanterns that illuminate the area around them and even provide shimmering reflections on water.

Meanwhile, precise placement is only a click away, allowing you to rotate and resize individual elements. Even Dream Garden’s rake, used to create patterns in the sand, is the type of thing you can lose an hour with, using the tool to create water patterns, just like a real karesansui (dry gardens). Environmental customization even lets you adjust the time of day, season, and weather, giving granular control over your digital diorama.

An Enchanting Dream Interrupted

Creating a garden in Dream Garden is moderately intuitive once you get a feel for the interface. There are buttons for shaping the terrain, allowing you to quickly create rock mounts or ponds. But I would have appreciated a bit more onboarding, since hoovering over object icons doesn’t provide any explanation. And while some talented YouTubers might eventually upload some tutorials, if that doesn’t materialize, you’ll have to teach yourself the nuances of arrangement.

But beyond shaping the land, stamping objects, and resizing them, Dream Garden’s tools can be a bit unwieldy. Stacking items habitually is a hassle, with a combination of height adjustment and movement not quite giving the desired result. Still, if you’re patient enough to learn its quirks and resourceful enough to think of a few workarounds, Dream Garden can be a meditative outlet for creativity.

Moonlight’s Mesmerizing Radiance via the Unity Engine

Dream Garden’s visuals undoubtedly complement its tranquil gameplay. The soft lighting and mostly organic color palettes evoke the serenity of Zen gardens. Set the time for sunset and let some fireflies loose among a bamboo grove, and the toolset can shine. Best of all, nearly every surface, from lush patches of moss to a mound of polished pebbles holds up against close-up inspection. While not too technically demanding, Dream Garden succeeds in creating an atmosphere that feels serene and alive. If Campfire Studio can mend a few of this title’s coarse patches (and maybe provide controller support), this could be one of the better gardening sims around.

Dream Garden was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.