Yume Nikki out now for free on Steam

Explore the dark dream world in the unique must play RPG.

Yume Nikki is unlike any other RPG, especially any other made with RPGmaker.  There’s no action and no dialogue, yet the game still speaks to you at an incredibly deep level.

You control Madotsuki, a hikikomori – someone with acute social withdrawal.  Almost the entire game takes place in Madotsuki’s dream world.  Despite the lack of dialogue, it’s impossible not to grow attached to her, as our own Lewis Denby put it – “there’s more to her existence than almost any other videogame character you’ll ever meet”.  Try to leave Madotsuki’s apartment during the day, and she’ll sadly shake her head no.  But, when she enters her bed, her exploring can begin.

The gameplay in Yume Nikki is incredibly simple yet pulls you in with a powerful sense of dread and an incredibly dark atmosphere.  Once asleep, you can leave the apartment.  You’ll first enter a room which contains 12 doors.  Each door leads to a separate world, and there are further worlds leading from those.  Each world looks unique and, combined with the sounds and the music, creates an experience that I’ve never previously encountered in a game.

While there’s no specific goal in Yume Nikki, there are 24 objects, or effects, you can obtain.  These will change the appearance of you character, and some will allow special movements.  For example, there are enemies that can teleport you into inescapable areas.  Instead of pinching yourself to wake up and return to the real world, a certain object will allow you to teleport, and escape back to the nexus.

The lack of a defined end of game does not deter from it’s allure, with one fan on Steam, ‘ipod’, commenting that “Yume Nikki is the only game you can play for the rest of your life”.  Despite only being released on Steam today, there are already almost 100 reviews, and they are currently very positive.

You have to play it to truly understand the effect this game can have.  As you can download Yume Nikki on Steam right now, for free, make sure you do.