tamago

return to itblog index

#3: writing in the dream diary again ✎ᝰ.ᐟ⋆⑅˚₊

or: I gave yume nikki another chance. It's been great. ‎٩(⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)و*̣̩⋆̩*

written by sirin

  • date posted   april 10, 2025
  • last updated   april 10, 2025
  • tags   games, musings
( • ᵕ • ).....？

My very first gameplay of yume nikki barely lasted thirty minutes. I was wondering from door to door, with eyes squinted at the screen as I navigated the seemingly infinite space. Eventually, I gave up, uninstalled the game from my downloads, and did not pick it up in the next few months.


How I discovered Yume Nikki

I think it was because a few personal websites listed it as one of their favourite games. And I was like, what the hell, sure—let's check it out.

When I entered my first door, completely at a whim, I was pleasantly surprised! It reminded me a lot of Omori's Black Space—from the doors, to the violently expressionist art that littered the void. For all the context behind the construction of Black Space, something about it calms me (except the door with the cat. iykyk)— the bleakness. The endlessness. The darkness is a house of safety. I'd say that in this respect, Omori and Yume Nikki are similar, since they take place in the imaginations of their creators. That is why I stayed for at least a few minutes in Yume Nikki, since I liked my experience in exploring Omori's Black Space.

Rediscovery

It was another random decision. I've had enough of being clueless about the damn game, so I consulted one of the best virtual spaces for this: forums. Specifically, Reddit.

OP themself was as confused as me. Luckily for them, they received a few answers, which all shared the same sentiment: the most important thing to do in Yume Nikki, is to walk.

Just walk. Just wander about, and get lost in the vastness of it all.

Admittedly, I was approaching it like I had with Omori, where a mission was to be had. So that confirmation that exploration was the main thing to do (in spite of the existence of tasks, apparently, like getting abilities), relieved me.

Say less! So I reinstalled the game, and began walking.


Gallery

What I love about Yume Nikki are its liminal spaces. This section aims to feature exactly that.

Yume Nikki screenshot. Four perpendicular in-game gallery photos featuring geometric NPCs.
An art museum of sorts. Rulers of old lands, perhaps?

Yume Nikki screenshot. Two horizontally-positioned in-game gallery photos featuring geometric NPCs.
Love this especially. They’re matching.(..◜ᴗ◝..)

Yume Nikki screenshot. Four in-game gallery photos featuring geometric NPCs.
DODODODODODODODODODODODODO

Yume Nikki screenshot. Backdrop of a buildings while main character walks along the sidewalk, going to the left.
This place is my favourite. It reminds me of liminal pictures of empty streets, where buildings stand empty and lightless. Are there any residents at all?

Yume Nikki screenshot. Main character standing on top of an abstract art.
This is very reminiscent of Black Space in Omori. The void is alive and is staring back at me. Or perhaps I’m in the stomach of a whale, coming face to face with the last carcass that decayed. Maybe I’m hovering over another galaxy. Or dark matter up close.

Yume Nikki screenshot. Main character standing in the middle of an underground sewer system.
Another favourite area. Something about the sidewalk feels familiar.

Yume Nikki screenshot. Main character standing along scattered blocks in varying shades of purple and white.
I loved how this made me feel—wary and unsure. The prone boxes remind me of a cemetery, and a strange music video I once watched, where someone knocked another person over the head. The latter fell back slowly to a casket ready to catch him. It was waiting for him.

An interesting labyrinth I traversed. I love the bright red amongst black.

Yume Nikki screenshot. Main characer in a widely enclosed space filled with colourful lights and NPCs.
I love this place too! It was like a really huge house with a party that never ends! ♩¨̮(ง ˙˘˙ )ว♩¨̮

I was left groggy climbing up the ladder to make way for the sun on my face, surrounded my trees. Then I found a house in the middle of the woods.

Yume Nikki screenshot. Main character descending a flight of stairs and moving towards the left side of the screen. Two doors upon ground level, with a tree sapling flanked by two rocks standing in the middle.
The house is bigger than it looks. It’s familiar.
Final thoughts

I can now understand why many people like this game. I'm starting to, as well. Stopping by to just stare at the sceneries ahead, or at the floors where the drawings float to and fro, calms me down. Not to mention the soundtrack supplements the experience very well. A perfect game to play for when you want to explore without needing to do groundbreaking missions.