If games were dreams, what would they mean?

Dreams have been pondered for hundreds of years. Their bizarre iconography and hidden meanings are the subject of many a thesis and internet discussion. Some people have even had a stab at creating dream dictionaries to categorise common dreams and symbols to give a clue as to how to interpret your own.

But what if games were dreams? We've put several famous games through the system to see whether any of it makes sense. And here are the deep, meaningful and sometimes painfully accurate results...

Super Mario Bros
Mario's a hoarder. He collects shiny gold coins, which supposedly indicates he missed opportunities that came his way. Are they saying he had grander ambitions than being a plumber? Or that he's really a very bad plumber and should have done better? Incidentally, the mushrooms all around him represent negative emotions that are growing and expanding in his unconscious and need to be addressed. Maybe he's growing tired of appearing in the same games over and over again?

However, way back in the original Super Mario Bros, there were castles. To see a castle in your dream is said to signify reward, honour, recognition and praise for your achievements. It foretells that "your future will be a happy one, surrounded by the love of your children, generosity of neighbours, and comfort of friends. You are destined to a position of power, wealth, and prestige." If that's not completely true of the Mario success story, we don't know what is.

And the end-of-level fireworks? These symbolise enthusiasm, creativity and talent. They may also indicate that the dreamer (in this case Miyamoto) is showing off and making a spectacle of himself. Well, he had good reason to!
Finally, to see a shell in your dream is said to signify an inner desire to be sheltered, nourished and protected from life's problems. Sounds like the cosy idealism of the Nintendo fan. Don't be offended, it applies to us too.

World of Warcraft
Seeing a troll in your dream is said to suggest that you have an inferior self-image of yourself. We can't believe for an instant that any MMO player has low self esteem in the real world. Seeing a dragon, also, is a sign that you're heading for trouble and that maybe you need to exercise some self-control.

Interestingly, seeing many people you don't know (such as all the other players in this wildly popular MMO), 'denotes hidden aspects of yourself that you need to confront'. Hmmm... like pretending to be a goblin and being comfortable with that, maybe?


Above: It's a Troll in the Ghostlands. He doesn't get out much and isn't very good with people. In fact, he's not worth talking to at all. Or so he thinks

Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.

Latest in Action
Beyond the Ice Palace 2
After 37 years, this Commodore 64 classic returns with a new Metroidvania sequel that gives serious old-school Castlevania vibes
Fortnite's Lara croft skin in front of a building
Fortnite has had Tomb Raider's Lara Croft locked away in battle pass exclusivity jail for almost 4 years, but she's reportedly getting a new skin very soon
The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann sounds like he's contemplating the end of his career: "When is it time to stop?"
Screenshot of Neil in Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says he chose Death Stranding 2's Solid Snake lookalike because he needed an actor who "would surpass" Mads Mikkelsen
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
Latest in Features
Marvel Rivals Spider-Man
Spider-Man has become every Marvel Rivals player's worst nightmare
The Punisher holding two machine guns in the rain
Daredevil: Born Again - Learn the bullet-riddled comic book history of the Punisher before he officially joins the MCU
A woman in a underwater machine waving during the cinematic teaser for Subnautica 2.
Subnautica 2: Everything we know about the new underwater survival game
The AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being held above a motherboard by a reviewer
AMD's pro-consumer 9070 strategies are exactly why it's primed to dominate the CPU market in 2025
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows' transmog looks set to combine the best of Odyssey and Vahalla to make changing my drip easier than ever
Split Fiction screenshot of Zoe and Mio in a fantasy world
Split Fiction feels like a Mass Effect-meets-Fable platformer and I'm obsessed with it after just one hour