We’ve spoken a lot in past reviews about how video games can be an escape from everyday life. Where pixels become a portal to relaxation. A place to find the freedom to create and dream, or just a pace to lay low for a while and recharge. Dream Garden by Campfire Studios just so happens to be both, offering a peaceful escape while also giving players the freedom to craft their own mini tranquil space.

Inspired by Japanese zen gardens, Dream Garden is a cozy simulation game where you can freely build your own life-like scene. Change the landscape, add foliage or buildings, change the time or the season, with endless options your ability to create has no bounds.

Gameplay

Dream Garden is a cozy diorama building simulator, where the goal is to relax and de-stress your mind.  There are no objectives or timers, meaning the choices and pace are all yours. Make mistakes without the fear of penalty. 

Use beautiful curated decor to make your garden a paradise. Build a lush landscape with bushes and flowers, or keep it minimal with warm sand and stone. You have the ability to make the space as complicated or as simple as you would like it to be. 

Tools & Creation

When you begin your build you have the option to choose from 4 different environments, each with their own frame size selections. From tabletop to entire back yard spaces, you can choose how much or little you want to start with.

The range of tools really enhances the ability to create. Players can dig rivers or ponds, raise and lower the terrain, even give the ground a different texture. With the ability to add grass, pebbles and even sand, you can use the rake tool to trace patterns just like an actual zen garden. 

Add to your creation with an arrangement of decor. Buildings, stones, foliage, pets and more. Build up barren land with plants and flowers, tiny temples, lights, even cute foxes and turtles. You can even add more originality and give them rust or moss. 

Customize the time of day, season, and weather to complete your garden. Capture a summer night capped with fireflies, or adorable foxes playing in a snow crested hill. Fully immerse yourself in a garden of your own design. 

After you’re finished take photos of your creation. Use different settings to perfect your shot and bring your garden to life.

Things to Keep in Mind

I am a sucker for clutter. Building something that looks lived in and natural is my jam. So it was kind of a bummer when stacking certain decor caused them to disappear, or clip through other objects. Dream Garden does give the option to adjust the height/level of decor, but in some circumstances, it doesn’t work exactly in the player’s favor. Specifically when putting items on the edge/under water, or items on rocks/platforms is where I ran into the most issues. They don’t hinder the overall play of the game, but for perfectionists it could be a problem. 

While Dream Garden prides itself on placing peace over pressure, the lack of structured goals might turn off some people who are motivated by objectives. While not something that necessarily needs to be corrected, just something to be mindful of if you’re someone who isn’t self-motivated in games. 

Conclusion

The cozy simulation game, Dream Garden is highly recommended for those looking for those who love sandbox creators, who want freedom to create within a tranquil atmosphere. 

Dream Garden is available now on Steam for PC. Although Dream Garden works on Steam Deck, it doesn’t work well with controllers as its menu relies on mouse and keyboard. Hopefully in future updates this becomes more accessible.

Dream Garden was reviewed on a PC, thank you to the devs for the key for the purpose of this review.