Yume Nikki

It's hard to even really know where to begin with a game like Yume Nikki. Not only is it as remarkably influential to a particular aesthetic that you can find many indie games taking inspiration from, but the game itself is not only beloved, but also quite unusual and unique. My biggest takeaway with this is that it's yet another game in an ever-increasing list that I've played that represent why it's pointless and reductive to attempt to boil games down to things that are "objectively good" in one way or another, because if this approach was taken, then there's no doubt that this game would just be swept under the rug. After all, when taking a broad look at this, it's really little more than aimless exploration where you just walk around until you hit a dead end or find fun collectible effects, many of which do completely nothing, and yet, this is still a truly incredible experience for so many reasons an a deserved cult classic.

I feel like the biggest way in which Yume Nikki accomplishes to much is thanks to its constant vagueness. Everything about this feels obscured, disconnected, and seemingly meaningless on the surface, many areas are just large, empty spaces, sparsely populated with an object of some sort and maybe a door or two to another large, empty spaces, interactions with the various entities often result in a mere sound effect or maybe a charming little animation, and there's not even any semblance of active threat for the vast majority of the playthrough. I feel like this vagueness really contributes to the game's atmosphere and can quite easily put the player through a variety of emotions while playing, which ties nicely into the surreal nature of dreams, where scattershot events often feel loosely tied together if even that. This total emptiness combined with the short, looping music and the way you've got things like these giant, barely comprehensible beings floating in the background, or random beasts that serve no purpose end up providing the player with this profound sense of paranoia for quite a while, nothing feeling quite right and the constant barrage of this atmosphere ends up piling upon itself and resulting in one of the freakiest experiences I've had in a game.

What I truly feel makes the atmosphere of this game special however, is the way that in time, it becomes exceedingly apparent that the fear and anxiety that the player feels is less due to any imminent threat, and more to the whole idea of the fear of the unknown. Everything about the world constructed in this game feels so alien at first, doors leading to unrelated places, endlessly branching paths, constant music changes or areas dedicated to barebones, abstract imagery, and yet, this doesn't always stay quite so disconcerting. After giving the game a couple of hours, you really start to feel like you've gained some understanding of your surroundings, and those moments of finding something new, or even retreading familiar ground, end up feeling really comfy as you explore this endlessly charming, strange dream, with the seemingly endless possibilities gaining a certain sense of intrigue and excitement as opposed to just feeling daunting. I could definitely see this mostly becoming a comfort game of sorts to me, being able to once again jump in a world that's so devoid of any qualities of reality and getting immersed in the incredibly dense atmosphere all over again, with the sprawling nature of it undoubtedly revealing some new stuff that I never have seen before.

The effect system is pretty cool in the way it directly contributes to this gameplay loop, with very few of the powers actually having much of a tangible use beyond some neat events that give the game some more detail than it could first seem, but also just being able to provide a bit of a fun visual change in a way that ends up making you connect a bit more with Modotsuki. With all this said, for as much as this game might be amazing, it is definitely not without its flaws either. While the exploration is largely truly fascinating and gives some of the strongest vibes in gaming, I feel like at times it becomes more of a massive, cumbersome pain instead. I feel like there are probably a few too many areas that are almost exclusively giant, empty spaces with a couple of things sparingly spread around to the point where some of the interest in exploration gets completely lost because you're just walking across a big, scrolling flat colour for ages, and while a couple of these were really interesting, especially the snow area with it's really pretty atmosphere, the quantity of them ended up being a bit much in the end, with some being far worse than others. There were also a couple of frustrating elements that made me completely dread the possibility of having to go through it again, particularly the one that was a huge maze of islands connected by teleporter squares, without enough visual information to be able to differentiate them from one another to the point where you could be aimlessly and frustratedly wandering around for way too long, just hoping that you'd eventually find the way out.

Even with its shortcomings, Yume Nikki is a truly amazing game but also one that I definitely understand not being for everyone. While I felt that the atmosphere and general vibes carried the game to such a high degree that its intentionally barebones gameplay ended up working almost perfectly fine for me, I also could definitely see the perspective in which it doesn't and it just all feels like aimless wandering without any substance. I really enjoyed my time with Yume Nikki, all the small narratives and goals that I set myself, all the weird and wonderful dreamscapes to explore, and especially the way that the naturally increasing familiarity that a player gets with this game as they play ends up changing the atmosphere and tone in such a dramatic way to the point where what first felt like an uncomfortable foray into unfamiliar territory ended up being a thorough exploration of a surreal, beautiful world that you wanted to discover all the little details of. Really just, fantastic stuff, go play it

I visited every available location and soon got bored. Then I watched some youtube videos, and it turned out that the main point of gameplay is looking for the secret items hidden in the most ridiculous ways: there is a certain probability that a certain character will spawn in a certain place etc, So it's basically unplayable without a guide and it is an "atmospheric exploration" game, which supposed to be all about immersion and unique experience.

The problem, I think, is not in bad game design, but in the fact that this game is simply unfinished (abandoned, actually). Title screen says "Version 0.10" and it really feels like a draft, a prototype of maybe something interesting.

Seconds-long looping background music. Nearly empty maps with the minimum possible amount of interactivity. Primitive (at best) artwork.

And yet there's no game that feels quite so eldritch, so otherworldly and ceaselessly enigmatic. It captures the awe-inspiring and endless world of dreams more faithfully than any other game in memory. Something about the aesthetic and the vague tugs and hints at a narrative just... resonates with me.

Yume Nikki is one of the most memorable indie adventure titles. On the surface, it's a bizarre and surreal dreamscape. The more you look into the game, the more it becomes a pessimistic refraction of reality. While limited by the overused and outdated RPG Maker engine, the game compensates for poor gameplay, graphic, and audio capability for incredibly original designs, beautiful atmosphere levels, and simple adventure gameplay. It set a large example for many more unconventional horror games using the engine. While some of them may have more cohesive, serialized, or terrifying themes, Yume Nikki maintains unique atmosphere such other games can't touch. You'll like it if you're looking for an interesting execution of the RPG Maker engine, a game akin to LSD: Dream Emulator, or a more light horror game.

To start this off, I do want to say that I didn't hate this game and I believe it is very experimental and influential. And even though the concept, visuals, and soundtrack are great, I still can't really recommended this game to most people.

This game is a glorified walking simulator where you walk around many areas in search for effects. There are 24 effects needed to unlock the ending, but where this game falls flat is how to get these effects. Due to the emphasis of exploration, you are given no real direction of where to find these effects. All of the effect are obtain by inspecting an npc, which is more often then not, found hidden in a specific area in the map. To add on top of this, almost all areas are infinite and repeat endlessly making it easy to get completely lost. So if you don't have a guide, then you will have to walk around aimlessly until you find the effect. Other than that the game good if you know what you signed up for.

This is one of the those games where if you spend enough time online you eventually be introduced to it. As an elementary schooler I was first introduced to this game through an internet personality showcasing the infamous Uboa. Though the experience was a bit traumatizing when I was younger it also greatly fascinated me and looking back this may have been the start of my love for the weird offshoots in the gaming industry. When the game was eventually ported to Steam I finally got to indulge myself in the oddity that fascinated me so many years ago. I then proceeded to play it for an hour and then didn't pick it up again until three years later.

Yume Nikki is a bit of a strange game to go back to. The basic gameplay is often incredibly boring with limited actions and decisions to make to progress in the game. Since the game lacks and sort of direction, without a guide, you may spend hours trying to find some of the last items you need to complete the game. What I didn't really get when I first played it is that all of these decisions were intentional in creating one of the moodiest and offbeat walking sims I have ever played and there in lies the core appeal of the game. The most rewarding experiences I had while playing was seeing what absolutely bizarre areas I would find myself in. The game does an incredible job of mixing lighthearted goofiness with abject terror all while having an incredibly somber tone to the whole experience. The community that has sprung up around deciphering every inch of this game is endlessly fascinating and the lack of info surrounding the creation of it adds to its mystique.

I think what Yume Nikki excels at the most, besides everything I previously mentioned, is being the groundwork that so many RPG maker horror games would be based off of. It's an incredibly important part of video game history and is one that is seldom talked about outside of online spaces and I think that is a real shame. I have my qualms with the game sure, as previously mentioned it can be a bit of a slog to traverse and its cryptic nature can sometimes end up hurting the experience. BUT, with the price of entry being only your time, I think its a game that everyone should try at least once just to experience the odd little game that influenced so much in the indie space. I don't know I could say that I really like this game but I can say that all of its quirks and oddities will be lovingly stored in my thoughts for many years to come.