Yume Nikki: Dream Diary

Last updated

Yume Nikki: Dream Diary
YumeNikkiDreamDiarySteamArt.jpg
Steam artwork
Developer(s) Kadokawa Games
Publisher(s) Playism
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows
  • February 23, 2018
  • Switch
  • February 21, 2019
Genre(s) Adventure, horror
Mode(s) Single-player

Yume Nikki: Dream Diary is a 2018 adventure horror game developed by Kadokawa Games and published by Playism. It is a reboot of the 2004 indie game Yume Nikki and was produced with supervision from the original game's creator, Kikiyama. The game borrows basic elements, including some abandoned design concepts, from its predecessor, but also contains significant changes. As in Yume Nikki, the player controls a girl named Madotsuki from a third-person perspective and explores worlds inside her dreams. Dream Diary adds platforming and puzzle gameplay, and the game is rendered in 3D.

Contents

Dream Diary was released on Windows on February 23, 2018, and received mixed reviews from critics, who complimented the visuals, music, and atmosphere, but criticized its gameplay. In general, they felt that it was an upgrade in some ways but was missing significant factors in the appeal of the original game. It received a Nintendo Switch release on February 21, 2019.

Gameplay

Madotsuki (right) in a room with two NPCs YumeNikkiDreamDiaryGameplay.jpg
Madotsuki (right) in a room with two NPCs

A reboot of the 2004 game Yume Nikki , Yume Nikki: Dream Diary is structurally similar to and borrows some environments from the original. [1] [2] It is an adventure horror game focused on atmosphere and exploration. [3] Unlike its predecessor, Dream Diary is rendered in 3D and includes areas with puzzles and platforming. [3] Some sections are seen from overhead and some have a 2.5D perspective. [4] The player controls a hikikomori named Madotsuki, who is seen waking from a dream at the start of the game. [3] In Madotsuki's apartment, which can not be exited while she is awake, there is a game console the player can use to play a minigame and a dream diary that keeps track of the player's progress and collectibles. [3]

The player can make Madotsuki sleep, which transports them inside her dreams to a room with eight doors, six that lead to new worlds, one that leads back to the real world, and one that can only be opened after the six worlds are finished. [3] [4] Inside these worlds, the player can collect items called Effects, which can help the player progress or unlock secrets. [3] Throughout the game Madotsuki, who cannot fight, can encounter creatures, some of whom are hostile, [4] and some of whom serve as obstacles the player must move. [3] Each world has loosely-defined goals and ends with a cutscene, after which Madotsuki wakes up again. The player can also force Madotsuki to wake up at any time. [3]

Dream Diary has a minimal plot, although some cutscenes contain story elements, [3] and the game has two endings. [5] The first requires the player to complete all six dream worlds to open a seventh door, which leads to a platforming sequence in which Madotsuki is chased. If the player escapes to Madotsuki's apartment, a cutscene shows her waking up, looking out from the balcony, and then leaving her apartment. [5] The second ending further requires the player to collect a special item from each world after completing the game. After collecting all of them, the player can access a spaceship, where Madotsuki can play a song with a character named Seccom Masada. After playing the song, he will open a room with a bed in which Madotsuki falls asleep. [5]

Development and release

Dream Diary's predecessor, Yume Nikki, was created independently and released as freeware in June 2004 by a Japanese developer using the pseudonym Kikiyama. After 2011, there was no update from Kikiyama until Yume Nikki was published on Steam by Playism in January 2018. [6] Concurrent with the Steam release, a two-week countdown began on the Kadokawa Corporation website, accompanied by a message indicating an unspecified Yume Nikki project was being produced. [7] After the countdown finished, Dream Diary was revealed to be in development by Kadokawa and Active Gaming Media, and a release date of February 23, 2018 was given. [8] Playism announced that the game's development had supervision and cooperation from Kikiyama. [9] Dream Diary incorporated references to and abandoned design concepts from the original game, as well as influences from contemporary indie games. [9] [10] [11] Shortly before the game's release, Playism announced it would feature a collaboration with Ao Oni , another freeware horror game. [11] Dream Diary was released for Windows on February 23, 2018 [10] [11] On May 25, 2018, it received a major update containing new areas and content, as well as fixes to address technical bugs which had negatively affected early reactions to the game. [12] The game released on Nintendo Switch on February 21, 2019. [13]

Reception

Yume Nikki: Dream Diary received a score of 51/100 on review aggregate site Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [14] Some critics compared the game with its predecessor— Rock Paper Shotgun 's Adam Smith felt that Dream Diary had lost the "mysterious horror and charm" of the original game and called it "fan-disservice", [1] and Adventure Gamers ' Kevin Lynn said it introduced adventure platformer tropes while discarding the distinct, open-ended design of Yume Nikki. [3] Tais Carvalho of TechTudo thought the introduction of more traditional gameplay elements had positive and negative effects, and that it made the game more accessible than the original to a general audience. [16] However, Lynn said the game's new 3D visuals were a faithful translation of the original 2D textures, [3] and Azario Lopez of DualShockers said that Dream Diary was a "decent attempt" at a reboot. [2]

The game's presentation was generally well received by critics, with Carvalho and Hardcore Gamer's Chris Shive calling the visuals one of the best aspects of the game. [16] [4] Rubén Martínez of MeriStation noted that they did not think the game looked ugly, but called its visual style one of its worst aspects because they felt the pixel art style of the original was the source of a lot of its mystery. [15] Reception to the world design was mixed. Smith compared the re-imagined designs to "bootleg DVD covers". [1] Lopez said the world was dark and captivating, and he and Shive complimented the creature designs. [2] [4] Shive felt they were unsettling and captured the "chaotic and random" feel of dreams, but criticized them for being too linear. [4] Lopez and Lynn both praised the game's atmosphere, with Lopez calling it a "decent surreal experience". [2] [3] The game's music was received positively; Lynn identified it as a strong point, helping contribute to a "lonely, haunting tone", [3] and Carvalho, Martínez, and Lopez thought it was one of the game's best aspects, helping enhance the game's horror and atmosphere. [2] [16] [15]

The gameplay was generally criticized. Smith said it was clunky and confusing at points, and Lopez said the controls were somewhat unresponsive at times, also mentioning he encountered a number of glitches while playing, which Martínez and Carvalho also criticized. [1] [2] [16] [15] Lynn found the controls mostly responsive, but criticized one section of 3D platforming for its camera and physics. [3] Shive thought that, despite the interesting premise and strong visuals, the game was overall not enjoyable to play, citing linear world layouts and weak puzzles as contributing factors. [4] Lynn also added that, despite the game having a good variety of worlds, they lost their impact due to excessive backtracking and the game's animations became "tiresome". [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sonic Adventure</i> 1998 video game

Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was the first main Sonic the Hedgehog game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma in their quests to collect the Chaos Emeralds and stop Doctor Robotnik from unleashing Chaos, an ancient evil. Controlling one of the six characters—each with their own abilities—players complete levels to progress the story. Sonic Adventure retains many elements from prior Sonic games, such as power-ups and the ring-based health system. Players can play minigames such as racing and interact with Chao, a virtual pet.

Survival horror is a subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and vision, or through various obstructions of the player's interaction with the game mechanics. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas and solve puzzles to proceed in the game. Games make use of strong horror themes, such as dark mazelike environments and unexpected attacks from enemies.

<i>Castlevania</i> Video game series

Castlevania, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula, is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the eponymous castle of Count Dracula, the main antagonist of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters.

<i>Kirbys Adventure</i> 1993 video game

Kirby's Adventure is a 1993 platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the second game in the Kirby series after Kirby's Dream Land (1992) on the Game Boy and the first to include the Copy Ability, which allows the main character Kirby to gain new powers by eating certain enemies. The game centers around Kirby traveling across Dream Land to repair the Star Rod after King Dedede breaks it apart and gives the pieces to his minions.

<i>Pandemonium!</i> (video game) 1996 video game

Pandemonium! is a 1996 platform video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Microsoft Windows, N-Gage, mobile and iOS. Pandemonium! features Fargus, a joker, and Nikki, a sorceress, who unwittingly casts a spell that destroys the town. The goal of the game is to reach the Wishing Engine, where they can wish the town back to normal. For each level, the player can choose which character to be. Each has a special move – Fargus can deliver a special spinning attack, and Nikki can double jump. The game consists of a great variety of unique gameplay objects, such as watermelons, clouds, spider webs and logs. A sequel, Pandemonium 2, was released in 1997 for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows.

An interactive film is a video game or other interactive media that has characteristics of a cinematic film. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, often through the use of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage.

<i>Shivers</i> (video game) 1995 video game

Shivers is a single-player horror-themed PC adventure game, released on CD-ROM by Sierra On-Line in November 1995. It was developed with Sierra's Creative Interpreter. Being the first Sierra first-person adventure game, Shivers was compared to contemporary Myst and The 7th Guest, gaining praise mostly for its atmosphere. The game takes place in a fictitious haunted museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quick time event</span> Gameplay element

In video games, a quick time event (QTE) is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen instruction/prompt. It allows for limited control of the game character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences in the game. Performing the wrong prompt, mistiming the action, or not performing any action at all results in the character's failure at their task, resulting in a death/failure animation and often an immediate game over or the loss of a life, with some games providing a lesser but significant penalty of sorts instead.

<i>Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams</i> 1991 video game

Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Success and originally released in Japanese arcades in 1991. The first installment in the Cotton series, players assume the role of the young witch Cotton who, alongside her fairy companion Silk, sets out on her broomstick on a quest to defeat several monsters and get her Willow candy. Its gameplay mainly consists of shooting mixed with role-playing game elements using a main two-button configuration. It ran on the Sega System 16 hardware.

<i>Yume Nikki</i> 2004 video game

Yume Nikki is a 2004 adventure game created by the pseudonymous Japanese developer Kikiyama. The player controls a girl named Madotsuki and explores her dreams, collecting 24 effects that change her appearance and equipment. Random events also occur throughout the game in the form of cutscenes and unique gameplay sequences. The game was developed using RPG Maker 2003 without a traditional plot or battle system. Gameplay instead focuses on exploration of the dream world.

<i>ReBoot</i> (video game) 1998 video game

ReBoot is a 1998 video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation video game console. It is based on the television show of the same name. The story follows Bob stopping Megabyte's plan to take over Mainframe through the use of energy tears. The game's creation began in 1995, when two representatives met and agreed on the idea. EA Canada spent over the next three years going through various technological meetings during the development cycle. ReBoot garnered mixed reviews from critics who were divided over the digital control, gameplay and graphics.

An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, such as literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of genres. Most adventure games are designed for a single player, since the emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. Colossal Cave Adventure is identified by Rick Adams as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include Zork, King's Quest, Monkey Island, Syberia, and Myst.

<i>Anodyne</i> (video game) 2013 video game

Anodyne is an action-adventure video game developed by Analgesic Productions. After a nearly year-long development through developers Melos Han-Tani and Marina Kittaka's last years in college, the game was released on February 4, 2013, for Windows PC, Mac OS X and Linux. An Android version was released as part of a Humble Bundle on October 15, 2013. The PlayStation 4 version of the game was released on September 9, 2018, the Xbox One version was released on September 21, 2018, and the Nintendo Switch version was released on February 28, 2019. The Anodyne soundtrack was also made available for purchase at the game’s initial release, including all of the music in the game as well as a few bonus tracks.

A dream diary is a diary in which dream experiences are recorded.

<i>Shadow of the Tomb Raider</i> 2018 video game

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary. The game is the sequel to Rise of the Tomb Raider and is the twelfth mainline entry in the Tomb Raider series, as well as the third and final entry of the Survivor trilogy. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in September 2018. Versions for Linux and macOS, and Stadia, were released in November 2019. After release, the game was expanded upon with downloadable content in both a season pass and as standalone releases.

<i>Doctor Hauzer</i> 1994 video game

Doctor Hauzer is a 1994 survival horror-adventure video game developed by Riverhillsoft and published in Japan by Panasonic for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. The player takes on the role of Adams Adler, a newspaper reporter investigating a mansion for clues to the whereabouts of the eponymous Hauzer, a famed archeologist who has mysteriously disappeared. The game tasks the player with navigating the large mansion by collecting useful items, solving various puzzles, and avoiding deadly traps.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening</i> (2019 video game) 2019 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by Grezzo and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. Released worldwide on September 20, 2019, Link's Awakening is a remake of the 1993 game of the same name for the Game Boy. It retains the original's top-down perspective and gameplay, along with elements from the 1998 re-release Link's Awakening DX.

<i>Sakura Wars</i> (2019 video game) 2019 video game

Sakura Wars, known in Japan as New Sakura Wars, is a cross-genre video game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 4. The sixth mainline entry and a soft reboot of the Sakura Wars series, the game was released in 2019 in Asia and 2020 worldwide. It is the first Sakura Wars game not to be developed by Red Entertainment. The gameplay combines overlapping action role-playing, dating sim and visual novel elements. The base campaign was later expanded with downloadable content (DLC), adding further gameplay options such as additional costumes.

<i>Omori</i> (video game) 2020 video game

Omori is a 2020 role-playing video game developed and published by indie studio Omocat. The player controls a mute hikikomori teenage boy named Sunny and his dream world alter-ego Omori. The player explores both the real world and Sunny's surreal dream world as Omori, either overcoming or suppressing his fears and repressed memories. How Sunny and Omori interact depends on choices made by the player, resulting in one of several endings. The game's turn-based battle system includes unconventional status effects based on characters' emotions. Prominently portraying concepts such as anxiety, depression, psychological trauma, self harm, and suicide, the game features strong psychological horror elements.

<i>Grid Legends</i> 2022 video game

Grid Legends is a 2022 racing video game developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fifth instalment in the Grid franchise. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on February 25, 2022. On January 12, 2023, the game was released for Meta Quest 2.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Adam (February 26, 2018). "Wot I Think: Yume Nikki - Dream Diary". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lopez, Azario (March 6, 2018). "Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- Review -- Now, Wake Up". DualShockers. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Lynn, Kevin (August 12, 2019). "Yume Nikki – Dream Diary review". Adventure Gamers . Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Shive, Chris (April 5, 2018). "Review: Yume Nikki: Dream Diary - Hardcore Gamer". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Lada, Jenni (March 8, 2018). "Yume Nikki: Dream Diary's Endings Offer More Options". Siliconera. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ Muncy, Julie (January 23, 2018). "The Mysterious Japanese Game That Took 14 Years To Officially Come Out". Wired . Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  7. ↑ Frank, Allegra (January 10, 2018). "A disturbing cult classic finally hits Steam, with a follow-up on the way". Polygon . Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ Frank, Allegra (January 25, 2018). "Cult classic Yume Nikki returning with 3D follow-up". Polygon . Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Romano, Sal (January 25, 2018). "Yume Nikki: Dream Diary is a 3D reboot, launches for PC on February 23". Gematsu. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Rad, Chloi (February 27, 2019). "Yume Nikki: Dream Diary Revealed, a 'Reboot' of 2004 Cult Horror Game". IGN (published January 24, 2018). Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Frank, Allegra (February 16, 2018). "The horrifying Yume Nikki looks mundane — until it's absolutely not (update)". Polygon. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  12. ↑ Tarason, Dominic (May 25, 2018). "Yume Nikki's version 2.0 update takes the dream deeper". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  13. ↑ Rad, Chloi (February 27, 2019). "Yume Nikki: Dream Diary Launching on Nintendo Switch". IGN (published February 15, 2019). Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  14. 1 2 "YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY- for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Martínez, Rubén (March 5, 2018). "YumeNikki: Dream Diary, Análisis". MeriStation (in Spanish). Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Carvalho, Tais (March 9, 2018). "Review Yume Nikki Dream Diary". TechTudo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved July 18, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.