Fashion Dreamer review

It’s not uncommon for those core gamers to look down on certain games that don’t necessarily have them in mind as a target audience. Whether it’s a match-three game on a mobile device or a platform game based on a kid’s TV show, the elitists among us are likely not going to be impressed if you play these less critically acclaimed titles. Well I say we snub the haters, and play whatever the hell we want. I’m starting with Fashion Dreamer, which is probably the best fashion based video game I’ve ever played.

In Fashion Dreamer you play the role of a fashion designer, in a virtual world full of models known as Muses. The first task you’re given in Fashion Dreamer is making your muse by picking between different body types and hairstyles. You’ll also need to choose your favourite colours and clothing types for your muse, as well as deciding if you want them to pose in a cute or elegant way for social media photos. There’s a lot to customise and some big decisions to make, but ultimately you’ll have plenty of opportunity to switch things up later so it’s not worth stressing about.

Once your muse is made you’re unleashed into the digital world of muses, which houses a whole host of fashionable friends you can talk to and more importantly check out the outfits of. Any time you see a piece of clothing you like (whether it’s being displayed in a store, on the outfit of another player or just an NPC) you can give it a like to add it to your collection no questions asked. There’s no need to save up currency or limit yourself whatsoever, new trendy outfits are just a push of a button away.

You’ll probably spend most of your time dressing up other muses in Fashion Dreamer. Models you come across in the world will all have specific requirements to fulfill when dressing them up for a Lookit (basically a dress-up session you post a picture of) which you’ll have to take into account alongside colour coordination and the current trends. Doing a good job will make the muse like you more and provide you with all sorts of bonus bits and bobs to use elsewhere.

I never stopped enjoying these dress-up sessions, and a lot of that is due to how much access to different clothing you have. Your entire collection can be used when dressing a muse in a glamorous new outfit, but the game also gives you a page of quick picks which generally are items of clothing that will do a decent job of fulfilling the brief. Once you’ve selected the appropriate top, dress, shoes, and hat you’ll get all your rewards and it’s on to the next one. It’s quick, easy, and really rewarding.

If the clothing you find out in the world of Fashion Dreamer isn’t quite working for you there’s also the option of making your own items of clothing, by changing the colours of templates you can buy or unlock at the Gatcha machine. The more looks you do the more colour palettes you’ll have to choose from for your new designer pieces, and I made some truly wonderful shoes and tops I used constantly.

As if playing dress up and designer wasn’t enough for Fashion Dreamer, you also have the opportunity to design a showroom where you or other players can go to take selfies. This small room can be decked out with mannequins, professional lighting, and all sorts of hip and happening furniture, and I found decorating it a nice change of pace from all the clothing-based antics.

One of the most impressive aspects of Fashion Dreamer is how well the online aspect of the game is implemented. You can play the whole game offline with the premade muses that the game provides, but when you switch to online mode you’ll find muses from all over the world littering your digital town. Dressing them up will send a picture of the outfit to the creator, which they can like to get access to the clothes. You can also check out other people’s custom clothing and add them to your collection with a like, and if one of your pieces becomes a hit you’ll end up with a whole load of currency to spend on designing more clothes. You’re constantly rewarded for putting out new outfits and pieces of clothing, and there’s never any negative feedback sent your way.

Above all else though, my absolute favourite part of Fashion Dreamer is how inclusive it is. Clothes aren’t separated by gender, only by body type (which is simply listed as type A and type B). There also aren’t any limitations on how you design your muse based on gender, allowing for things like facial hair on feminine characters which is just such a nice touch. My bearded bombshell was ready to take the world by storm and has been lovingly embraced and dressed up by the Fashion Dreamer community.

There are a lot of aspects of Fashion Dreamer that I haven’t mentioned yet too, like the over-the-top photos you can take and decorate at the Photo Egg, or the bingo machine that you can play for big rewards. It’s a surprisingly deep game with so much to do in between just dressing up muses, and I just kept coming back again and again for one more glamorous session.

Fashion Dreamer isn’t going to convince FPS bros to ditch the guns and grab the makeup, but for what it is it’s remarkably well-designed. The range of activities available from dressing up models to designing rooms is really impressive, and the online implementation is sublime. Don’t be put off by its casual appearance, this game is ready for the catwalk.