Fashion Dreamer Review: A Case of Style Over Substance

When it comes to the world of video games, I lean toward what some might call being “fashion-obsessed.” I spend an inappropriate amount adjusting everything to perfection (at least by my definition) in character creators, I err toward choosing form over function when it comes to equipment, and if there’s ever an option to purchase new clothing over items that help you progress the game that you’re playing, you can be that I’ll happily do so to my own detriment. Knowing all of that, you might think that a game like Fashion Dreamer would be a perfect fit for someone like me. And, I did, too! Ironically, however, this game ended up not quite being the perfect fit that I had hoped it would be.

Emerge, My Butterfly!

Being a personal stylist for everyone you come across has its perks… like being introduced to even more people to dress up!

For better or for worse, Fashion Dreamer doesn’t really have much of a story. Taking place in what appears to be an entirely digital set of worlds, known in-game as “Cocoons,” Fashion Dreamer sees players living their best life (or at least trying) and lending a helping hand to those who need it—all while trying to rack up as many likes and followers as humanly possible.

I’m aware that Fashion Dreamer doesn’t need a story. But I still think that it would have massively benefitted from one. While I’m aware that there’s some contention revolving around people’s desires to show off online as much as possible (and view others doing so), I would have been completely fine with a story like that existing within a game like Fashion Dreamer so long as it was handled decently. Given that the game revolves around amassing as many followers as possible by wowing them with your *ahem* style-savviness, it’s well within reason to believe that syn Sophia could have cooked up at least a basic narrative about a protagonist wanting to create and promote their own brand online. It doesn’t need to be in-depth, but adding a cute, relatable, and light-hearted story about living out your dreams while also showing off a bit online most certainly isn’t too much to ask for.

Making Your Way (Fashion) Forward

Decisions, decisions…

As I’ve already alluded to, the only thing that Fashion Dreamer offers to its players is the ability to play dress-up. Fortunately, it manages to do a good job with this. Simply put, Fashion Dreamer does an incredible job when it comes to being comprehensive—spanning from the mundane to the magnificent, and everything in between. The opportunities to customize your clothes don’t stop there, though. Not content with simply offering a near-endless collection of items, Fashion Dreamer also allows players to customize the colors of every single piece of clothing that they’ve obtained—but there is a catch.

Possibly due to the fact that syn Sophia realized that there isn’t a ton of actual gameplay going on, Fashion Dreamer forces (although I use that term lightly) players to pay (in-game) for expanded options by unlocking articles of clothing with keys and paying for their custom designs with points. Given the fact that these can easily be earned simply through creating out for other people, both human, and NPC, it’s not exactly difficult to do, but I’ve still got to say that I’m glad that it was added. Not only does it provide the opportunity to feel like you’re working toward something (a rarity in this game), but requiring players to unlock clothing (and color palettes) one at a time really helps to curb pesky cases of analysis paralysis.

Unfortunately, there really isn’t that much to do here overall. Sure, Fashion Dreamer allows you to create a near-endless number of outfits—known in-game as “lookits”—with only a handful of restrictions (some of which are a bit weird, I’ll admit), but this game has come to help me realize something—and it might be a problem that you, dear reader, will find yourself having as well. Simply put, I need a dose of function with my fashion. As I’ve already stated, I’m fine spending an inappropriate amount of time creating outfits… but I need to know that there’s a reason for doing so.

Spending time creating an outfit for another character just to walk over one screen and see that they’ve reverted back to their original outfit really does a great job of demotivating you—and Fashion Dreamer is really good at doing that. Aside from your personal showroom and muse (your controllable character), it’s hard to exert a large amount of control, if any at all, over what other people are wearing for long periods of time. Given that the game is all about going to differently-themed Cocoons and styling its inhabitants, I’m puzzled that Fashion Dreamer doesn’t just give players their own Cocoon to design from scratch. If all this game is going to do is let me design stuff, then I really want to go all in. Not only would it be fun to create, but I’d also really enjoy going to other people’s custom Cocoons to see what they did.

Fashion, Friends, and You!

Fashion Dreamer’s online mode makes getting new lookits easy and fun!

Despite not allowing players to create their own little world to share with others, the game isn’t without its online functionality—and said functionality adds a surprising amount to the game. At a glance, there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference between the single-player and online multiplayer options. Regardless of what you pick, it’ll still just be you running around the streets of whatever Cocoon you’re in, creating outfits for other people based on their personal style (or completely ignoring what they want, as there’s no penalty for doing so). The key difference here, however, is that some of the generic NPCs are replaced with NPCs based on other players—and any outfit that you design for a player will be sent back to them the next time you’re online! Naturally, the same thing can be done for you, meaning that you’ll also be getting outfit suggestions from people all around the world as you roam around online.

Strange though it may sound (or maybe not, I don’t know you), the online mode really does feel like the “correct” way to play the game. Part of the fun of fashion is being able to share and/or show off your own personal style to other people around you. While there’s nothing bad about designing lookits for NPCs all day, the fact that you can essentially populate your game with other people who actually react to what you’re doing (albeit in a somewhat limited way) makes the game feel so much more “alive,” if you’ll partdon the pun. It might seem like a small change at first, but it doesn’t take much milling about online to begin to see the differences.

Models, Not Manniquens

Speaking purely in terms of dress-up sims, Fashion Dreamer is excellent. While I would have liked a bit more customization in terms of your actual Muses, there’s very little to dislike about the borderline-unlimited number of outfits that the game offers you. As an entire experience, however, I couldn’t help but find the game lacking. While Fashion Dreamer doesn’t disappoint when it comes to letting players express their inner fashionistas, the fact that there’s so little to do outside of creating outfits for people makes it hard to stay motivated for long periods of time. Sure, I’m happy to spend hours creating outfits… but I need something to do afterward, you know?

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Available on: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed); Publisher: XSEED Games; Developer: syn Sophia; Players: 1; Released: November 3, 2023; ESRB: E for Everyone; MSRP: $49.99

Full disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher.