Yume Nikki (And You Thought Your Dreams Didn't Make Sense...)

As you may have noticed from previous entries on this blog, I really like RPGs. And, as you may also have noticed from previous entries about RPGs on this blog, I really, really like RPGs that are dark, creepy, or otherwise weird. Well, if that's the sort of thing you like too, here's a game that hits all those notes perfectly. This is Yume Nikki. (n.b. Unlike the other site links on this blog, this link downloads the game directly.)

Truly, this is the face of a happy game for children.

Yume Nikki (Japanese for "dream diary") isn't much for introductions or backstory; every bit of information about what's going on has to be gathered from context. So, from what one can tell: the main character is a girl who lives in a small room with a balcony. Her world is very limited: she can't leave the room (can't or won't?), and aside from saving the game, flicking a TV on and off, and playing a pitiful NES-style video game, there's nothing to be done except go to bed...

...and that's when the dreams start.

Upon getting out of bed, it's quickly apparent that things have...changed. The room is full of slight differences, the most important of which is that the door opens now. Walking out takes you into an entirely new world, one which is evidently the girl's dream world. From the dream world, one can go through doors into new worlds, which contain doors of their own, which...well. These places are massive, and they're often very open with little in the way of guidance to where you are supposed to go. And really, you aren't supposed to go anywhere in particular. It's enough to just wander around the dream, take in the sights, attempt to interact with the inhabitants, and try to make sense of things.

A road through a forest is easy enough to understand.

This? Not so much.

The details of the environment are really what make this game what it is. There's virtually no gameplay beyond walking around and checking things out, but Yume Nikki doesn't need any of that. Exploring the vast expanses and confusing labyrinths of the dream world is all that the game needs. It's clear that the dream world was a labor of love by the game's developer. There's hundreds of things to see: some bright, some beautiful, most bizarre, and - fair warning - many gory. If pixelated blood puddles and body parts make you squeamish, this game will be a very unpleasant experience. Also, there are several instances where things suddenly jump out or fill the screen without warning, which can be jarring. This is not a game to play with small children around. By the way, nothing here is ever explained within the game. Aside from the tutorial which appears at the very beginning, there's no dialogue or instruction to help you through. Just you and the endless caprices of the girl's dreaming mind.

So, what's the actual goal here? You might expect that there isn't one at all, and you're just meant to roam the subconscious forever or until you get bored. Actually, there is an endpoint to reach, surprisingly enough. By interacting with certain objects and characters hidden throughout the dream, you can get "effects" which change the girl's appearance and abilities. Most of these are totally useless, but like the worlds in which they're found, they can range from cute ("play a flute") to strange ("become a lamp") to horrifying ("become a severed head"). It's rare that an effect is actually needed to get to a specific location (and there's only one case where an effect is needed to get another effect), but there's some rather unique interactions to be had by using certain effects in certain places. Plus, they're just neat to try out sometimes.

My personal favorite is "become a stoplight".

All in all, there are twenty-four effects to collect, and once they've all been found, Yume Nikki's "ending" becomes available. You may have gathered that much of the girl's dream world is left as loose ends, open to theorizing, and indeed, searching the Internet for the game's fans reveals that there's many different ideas as to why the girl and her dreams are the way they are. As to the "ending", though, there's only one leading interpretation. Suffice it to say that it will stay with you long after the game is done.

I came into Yume Nikki expecting a strange, creepy, and overall engrossing experience, and I certainly did not come away disappointed. Obviously, it's not a game for everyone, especially if you dislike blood and scary things, or if you prefer games with constant action. But, if these things aren't issues for you, and you want to explore a world beyond imagining, you should absolutely play Yume Nikki, preferably in your bed, alone, with all the lights off. Pleasant dreams!