That's not just because RPG Maker games have become a more common sight on storefronts like Steam, but also because when it was first released 14 years ago the idea of an intentionally obscure and surrealist top-down game, with no combat and no real conflict, was much stranger than it is in 2018. Yume Nikki doesn't stand out as much as it once did. Free to wander and look for new landscapes, strange creatures and cryptic imagery. You’re a lost child, and yet you’re always somewhat in control, free to wake up every time the dream takes a turn you don’t like. There’s a pleasure in getting lost while exploring weirder and weirder places, but also in learning how to retrace your steps so that you can explore even deeper dreams the next night. All are needed to unlock the ending, but there’s no pressure to reach it: the dream ends only when you want it to.Īnd you might not. Some allow you to explore new zones, most are just aesthetic. As you keep exploring, you start collecting “effects”, like the aforementioned bicycle. It takes a while to become familiar with the landmarks, and to find the doors that will lead you into deeper, more secluded areas. The first worlds you can visit are looping, desolate and huge, and it’s easy to run in circles and get lost (a small hint: there’s a bicycle in one of the starting areas that will speed up your movement). The first hours are, sadly, the most frustrating, and that can push people away before they fall under the game's spell. The game may be old, but it’s still a fascinating experience, albeit a bit rough around the edges. Don’t read guides and don’t watch Let’s Plays, lest the assorted secrets of the game become just a bucket list for you to tick off. The best way to approach it for the first time is with your eyes blinkered. Only this time, there really is something underneath that truck. ![]() Playing it was like listening to that kid in the schoolyard who would tell you about some convoluted procedure to catch Mew in your Pokemon game, totally for real, believe me. While not truly a horror game, it does make you feel like the protagonist of a horror story, peeking under the many layers of the game to uncover mysteries you weren’t really supposed to see. This led to the birth of many theories about its story and inspired enthusiastic fans to create similar games.īut most importantly, Yume Nikki had the memetic quality of a creepypasta and it spread much in the same manner, through word of mouth and via imageboards. Its dreamy imagery encourages discussion and dissection. It features a cute Japanese girl as protagonist, runs on almost any machine and is easy to play. There are many reasons for its popularity here are a few of them. It was never meant for a Western audience, but someone liked it enough to translate it into English. Despite being made with the RPG Maker engine it’s not an RPG, but a proto-walking simulator entirely focused on exploration and atmosphere. ![]() ![]() Released in 2004 by Japanese game developer Kikiyama, Yume Nikki (“Dream Diary”) is about a girl exploring bizarre and horrific landscapes every time she falls asleep. It’s the stuff dreams are made of, which is fitting, since it revolves entirely around sleeping. This surreal game is a relic from a bygone age, when the concept of “indie” was still strange and the World Wide Web felt smaller, darker and more mysterious. To see Yume Nikki appear on Steam feels like the closing of an era.
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