Hidden Treasures in the Forest of Dreams is a Relaxing New Game Made to Destress Tired Gamers
In 2016, No Man’s Sky captivated gamers with its beautiful landscapes and seemingly endless map. The popular survival game encouraged players to explore and survive countless unknown planets. This Inspired Paleo Games’ founder, who loved the experience of discovering unknown worlds but was left stressed out.
Imagine No Man’s Sky without the threat of dying — no sentinels or threats of danger. This is the starting point for Hidden Treasures in the Forest of Dreams. The new game available for Playstation 4 comes with both an explicit and implicit goal.
Players are explicitly meant to discover various plants, monuments and creatures as they explore a procedurally generated terrain. While some players may want to accomplish their goal as fast as possible, the game discourages you from that. The player’s exploration speed is limited as the player will “wake up” when walking too fast for too long.
Paleo Games built in this speed limit to directly serve the implicit goal of the game. Hidden Treasures wants you to slowly unearth the beauty of the game’s landscape and enjoy the environment. Players must slowly explore the world mindfully, soaking in the newfound areas they uncover. Because there is no threat to players, they can fully immerse themselves in the experience of exploring a beautiful new landscape. This may lead to players slowing down in their daily lives and appreciating the world around them.
Dreams take an average of 45 minutes to complete in Hidden Treasures. The developer says there are more than 4 billion procedurally-generated dreams to explore. So players will have seemingly endless gameplay to enjoy. If you need a break from fast-paced games and feel the desire to explore a fantastical landscape, check out the trailer below.