The weirdest dreams and worst nightmares in PlayStation gaming

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If you've ever over-indulged on cheese late at night, then you might have found your sleep disturbed by strange, confusing, or downright terrifying visions like the ones described here. Settle back, get yourself comfortable, and kiss goodbye to consciousness as we check out PlayStation’s best shut-eye shenanigans.

Dreams

Whether it’s messing about with polar bears or gigantic picnics, Media Molecule’s upcoming sandbox sure is eclectic and oh-so-endearing. Built on the concept of ‘play, create and share’, it gives you control of a little imp, then enables you to manipulate dreams. Players can also create their own dreamscapes, so expect copious wang worlds.

Catherine

Nightmare On Elm Street has nothing on Vincent Brooks’ traumatised dreams. Forget getting gutted like a sea bass by Freddy Krueger next time you have a kip, the perverted janitor is no match for conversing with tortured sheep while trying to navigate complicated stair puzzles. Half dating sim/half demented cheese dream, Catherine is truly messed up.

God of War III

He may have murderised every Greek god in the most offensively awful way imaginable, but that doesn’t mean Kratos lacks a soft side. Just witness the dream sequence that sees him make peace with his family and Athena, just before GOW III’s climactic, face-caving encounter with Zeus.

40 Winks

When we were nippers, we dreamt of reading (then eating) solid chocolate video game manuals. Sadly, the sprogs in this PS1 platformer are plagued by darker thoughts. Siblings Ruff and Tumble must save wee critters (called Winks) from a seriously sinister dude named Nitekap when they hit the hay.

Heavy Rain

Oof. That’s some weighty precipitation. But Madison has much bigger problems to deal with than a little drizzle in Heavy Rain’s Sleepless Night chapter, when she’s attacked by robbers. Mercifully, the crims are but snooze-induced figments, and Ms Paige soon awakes to an invader-free apartment.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

A truly bonkers Kojima moment that, weirdly, didn’t actually come from Hideo himself. MGS3’s trippy and nightmarish Guy Savage mini-game can only be accessed via a save game trick, and the subsequent hook-handed vampire slaughter was dreamt up by long-time Koj collaborator Shuyo Murata.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Stay strong, Bruce. Stay strong. The Arkham trilogy delivers its most gut-wrenching surprise when a Scarecrow hallucination forces young Master Bruce to relive the death of his parents. This upsetting dream sequence hammers home the underlying torture that forever drives the Bat.

Bloodborne

Some folk dream about fence-vaulting sheep at the end of the day. Hunters conjure up visions of fantasy-filled, Hansel And Gretel-inspired hubs when their gore-soaked heads hit the pillow. Hunter’s Dream is both a safe haven where you can level up, and a place where you have to battle a wheelchair-bound badass.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Given the company Drake keeps, you’d assume he’d slip into slumber dreaming of trinkets... that and drunken scenarios involving Elena and Chloe. Instead, our thief dreams of paranormal spiders and the death of his mentor. Admittedly, said visions might be linked to Nate slurping cursed water.

This article originally appeared in Official PlayStation Magazine. For more great PlayStation coverage, you can subscribe here.

David Meikleham
David Meikleham
Google AMP Stories Editor

David has worked for Future under many guises, including for GamesRadar+ and the Official Xbox Magazine. He is currently the Google Stories Editor for GamesRadar and PC Gamer, which sees him making daily video Stories content for both websites. David also regularly writes features, guides, and reviews for both brands too.