Dreams and Mercedes-Benz made a 2D narrative platformer where you "imagine the future"

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Dreams' next game jam also involves the automaker

Dreams and German automaker Mercedes-Benz are teaming up to launch a 2D narrative-focused platformer designed to get you thinking about the future. The game, aptly titled Dreams and Mercedes-Benz, will be released in Dreams on July 8, 2021.

As part of the unlikely collaboration, or "Co-Lab" in Media Molecule's catchy trademark phrasing, Dreams' next "game jam" will also be coordinated with Mercedes-Benz. The in-game community event will run from July 13 to July 28, giving you a chance to explore the Dreams x Mercedes partnership first-hand. 

Both the game and the event are being themed around a unifying concept: "Imagine the future." It still isn't entirely clear what Mercedes-Benz is getting out of this - the trailer for the collab doesn't show off any fancy new cars - but the car manufacturer says Media Molecule is "an excellent collaboration partner to take our engagement within the gaming community to the next level."

Media Molecule's statement isn't that much more helpful, instead emphasizing the value of boundless future-minded creativity.

"The best collaborations are those that result in something new, unexpected, and exciting," says Media Molecule studio director Siobhan Reddy. "Mercedes-Benz has been an inspiring partner for our first Mm Co-Labs Project. Throughout development, the Mercedes team has encouraged us to let our minds wander and imagine the future. 

"We have enjoyed seeing our Dreams Specialist, Scott Vanderburgh, bring a completely different style of game to Dreams. Thank you to Mercedes for being our first partner on an Mm Co-Lab Project – we hope this is the first of many."

The upcoming Dreams and Mercedes game takes you to a world set in 2078, where robots are at humans' beck and call so that we're afforded the time to nurture our "connection to creativity, the natural world, and to one another." The game is the brainchild of AI expert Alexandre Cadain, with input from the folks at Mercedes-Benz, and was brought to life by Dreams community creator Scott Vanderburgh and others at Media Molecule.

I'm still not entirely sure what to expect from this. Both parties involved are being pretty vague about the whole thing, but the concept sounds interesting enough. I'm just wondering if it's all an elaborate build-up to the big reveal of some ambitious new driverless car - after all, Mercedes was responsible for the world's first "robot car" in the '80s. Who knows, though? It might just be a funky new collaboration between two brands looking to expand their reach.

If you're a Dreams player yourself, you can look forward to DreamsCom 2021, where creators from around the world show off their work. It's too late to sign up as a creator, but you can still enjoy the virtual showroom floor as an onlooker.

Here are some of the best Dreams levels you can play right now, including that crazy-looking Seinfeld horror game.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.