YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY-

Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- is not Yume Nikki, but that ends up working well for it in the end. Developer Kadokawa AGM shows that they are truly fans of the original work and this is proven time and time again through the visuals and sound design. I feel like I want to recommend the game to peers if only to have more people to talk about the story with and hear their interpretations of the events that transpired.

This is a reboot of a game that came over a decade ago; I can't imagine the people who are champing at the bit for more Yume Nikki are looking for anything like Yume Nikki: Dream Diary. While the game isn't a Highlander 2 level of betrayal to the first, it feels so wholly and completely unnecessary that you will not get anything from playing it as a fan that you couldn't find in a YouTube video, and if you have a passing interest in Yume Nikki, you're far better off playing the original, which is free on Steam.

Yume Nikki: Dream Diary is one of those games that’s a good idea in theory that just doesn’t come together in an enjoyable way. The concept of exploring a dream world is an interesting one and the world designs are interesting, but the layout of the worlds are far too linear to establish a true sense of exploration.