Unique surreal dreamlike atmosphere
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“The atmosphere is endlessly surreal and hopelessly lonely.”
Steam review · 0.1 h played ↗
Yume Nikki
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 94%Very Positive · 94%kikiyama2018Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Horror
Free to play
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 5 h ago
The verdict
A free, influential surreal dream-exploration game with superb atmosphere and music, but it is essentially aimless walking that most players need a guide for. Skip it if you want gameplay, goals or direction.
Great for
Players who enjoy surreal, interpretive, atmospheric exploration without goals, and are curious about indie history
Main risk
Slow, aimless wandering with no direction leaves you bored or needing a guide
What players love
Memorable ambient soundtrack
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“the soundtracks. They feel dream-ish, almost liminal, and the best part that they are only short segments looped, and they are still awesome.”
Steam review · 0.3 h played ↗
Hugely influential classic, and it's free
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“There are a surprising amount of indie games that were inspired by Yume Nikki, and after finally playing it for myself, I can see why.”
Steam review · 9.6 h played ↗
Open to interpretation, no story handed to you
Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews
“Pretty much everything is ambiguous, the game is really what you make it.”
Steam review · 6.6 h played ↗
Rewarding discovery, effects and secrets
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 positive reviews
“the raw unabstracted joy of discovery”
Steam review · 7.4 h played ↗
Relaxing, free-paced exploration
Mentioned in ~1 in 12 positive reviews
“perfect if you want a nice slow and cozy experience, no time limits, no stress”
Steam review · 9.9 h played ↗
What players complain about
Aimless wandering with no gameplay
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews
“Walking around like a headless slug through giant maps is unbelievably dull.”
Steam review · 0.3 h played ↗
No direction; guide practically required
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“i don't think looking up a guide should be required to play the game.”
Steam review · 0.1 h played ↗
Huge, empty, repetitive maps that are easy to get lost in
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“The maps are big, empty, and repeating, with no landmarks to help you explore”
Steam review · 1.1 h played ↗
Doesn't hold up as a game today
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 negative reviews
“Yume Nikki serves better as an important game in video game history than a good game in itself.”
Steam review · 9.5 h played ↗
Painfully slow walking speed
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 negative reviews
“And the character is so slow. If you try this get the damn bike.”
Steam review · 0.9 h played ↗
Bugs, crashes and poor save system
Mentioned in ~1 in 17 negative reviews
“Game suddenly crashed entering a door which made me unable to do anything on my device but to restart it.”
Steam review · 1 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Playable
Minimum
OSWindows 2000 / XP / vista / 7
ProcessorMMX Pentium(R)200MHz（Pentium(R)II450MHz or above recommended）
Memory32 MB RAM
OSWindows 2000 / XP / vista / 7
ProcessorMMX Pentium(R)200MHz（Pentium(R)II450MHz or above recommended）
Memory32 MB RAM
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