YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY-

Good for newcomers, yet they also deserve an explanation of what happened to this game: Yes, like others have said, the remake has less maps and effects than the original, because they were going to be introduced with future patches, yet the massive hatred it got made the devs finish development earlier than expected, so the community got what it asked for, essentially. I don't see anyone mentioning any of the next points, which have to taken into consideration to understand the full picture:
First, the original was, artistically, massively inspired by LSD Dream Emulator, and this remake has shed most of that, which adds to this game feeling like a completely different one. But the lack of post-launch content and new Kikiyama games is entirely the community's fault, it's time to be honest after so many years, now that the dust has settled.
Now, here's some history: I played the original in 2009 and have been part of its community (Uboachan, even) since I was 9, and I've grown up in it. The controversy happened partially because the original's nonlinear and ambiguous lore helped form a community around bizarre theories and mental health struggles, which inevitably forms a personal emotional attachment to the game that will make many people defend their idea of the original game to death, which in this case of development hell, ended up being counterproductive. However, if you research, you'll find that Kikiyama, the anonymous creator, declared that this is more aligned to her original vision of the original game. This, of course, will always clash with people's assumptions about what the real game was about, even though the real one already had repeated subtle references to repeated CSA, female bullying, body dysmorphia caused by both, other highly distressing female horrors + the fear of being persecuted, watched or judged or even blamed by society (especially in the context of Japan around the early 80s, which is when the game is allegedly set due to the Famicom and its maps in the original game) for having been assaulted as a kid. These are themes already seen in other old horror games, however as I said, due to the subtle nature of the original one, some people projected their personal issues onto the original lore, so 'disgracing' Yume Nikki by making a 'completely different game' was like attacking some people personally. Other people were happy to at least get some new (and final) Yume Nikki content, and others, despite not liking it as much, wanted to support the creator, yet they were the least heard voices in the fandom.
Next. The worst part of all of this? Kikiyama once stated that Madotsuki's story has always been based on 'someone's' real life story, never stating if it was her own, a sister's if she has any, a close friend's or someone else's, which adds real haunting horror to what's going on here. And we all know how this game ends, which makes things worse.
If you want to support Kikiyama herself, buying the game and Steam Trading Cards earns the creators money. She deserves it, not only for explaining a victim's story as anonymously as possible, but because without Yume Nikki, there would be no indie RPG Maker community as we know it, there would be no Undertale or other beloved indie RPGs or subtle references to Yume Nikki in bigger games, and Toby Fox's career would be much different than it is.
Another last unfortunate fact, Kikiyama also mentioned in the interview that she wanted to make more games, but after what happened I doubt someone like her is going to return to the internet, especially if she's around her 50s or 60s now, and it's also unlikely that she will release anything else after being demoralised that much. This was also made with very few money, as the original was a free game, and this is the only way for Kikiyama to monetize her only work that, again, honors a real person's story that we don't know whether she successfully left this world or not, so Kadokawa's very unlikely to approve any investment on her projects now.

I think -Dream Diary- is a lot more enjoyable if you don't try to compare it entirely to the original Yume Nikki, but instead see it as something more akin to Little Nightmares, or a puzzle game with some horror elements.

Finally got around to playing this, love the original game and been waiting to get my hands on this for a while now (its been a few years and never found a good chance), heard lots of mixed opinions on this game during that time, and after playing through it i understand why. So here's my (long) review!
Its a complete shift of art-style, it literally going from 2D to 3D, so with that some changes in game play are inevitable. The original was mainly a walking sim, finding secrets and new paths to more dreams, personal fave, listening to the tunes, etc, which i love. This game holds onto that but adds a more puzzle-like game loop aspect, which i don't hate, but can be tricky to navigate.
I can see people hating the constant back tracking and lack of hints for the items you find (especially since more often than not you use those items in other dreams and not the dream you found the item in), but i think that's rectified by the fact that this game is allot more linear compared to the original, with each dream (usually) having an end forcing you to wake up, compared to the originals constant looping maps. Plus the main point of the game that i love which is also true for the original, exploring every nook and cranny possible. So after inspecting everything possible its not too difficult to realize what can and should go where. And if you're truly stuck there's always walkthrough's to help you along, used some myself for the harder to find secrets/areas, i'm looking at you mall jellyfish >:(
Plus, this game has allot more collectibles that also unlocks concept art which i absolutely love. I 100% this game in one sitting, achievements and all. (yes even the Yuki-onna Easter egg for that tiny drawing in the dream diary). All in all i would recommend this if you're looking for a unique Yume Nikki experience with a different coat of paint that still has the charm of the original.

I'll always prefer playing the original, it's one of my favorite games of all time (it's on steam as well, which I just found out recently and it's also free), but that doesn't mean that Dream Diary is bad, it's far from a bad experience. Most of the negative reviews I've read make this re-imagining out to be some sort of bastardization of the source material with one of the main reasons being because it's a more linear experience vs the original 2004 Yume Nikki which focused on open and free exploration, I can see why that would turn some people away and it is a little bit disappointing that we don't have a fully fledged open world remake, but that's exactly why I think so many people dislike this game, because they were expecting a full remake of the original 2004 Yume Nikki and when booting up the 2018 Dream Diary for the first time they couldn't shake this expectation, leading to great big disappointment upon finding out that so much had been "rearranged", these changes might not have stung so much if they went in with a "re-imagining" mindset. Of course I can't just say "they would have 100% loved it if they approached with this view" but, if you have played 2018 Dream Diary and disliked it because it was to linear please pick this game back up and instead (and this goes for those of you who have played 2004 Yume Nikki and are thinking about playing this re-imagining as well) look at each dream world as almost like a diorama or snow globe type highlight of what each world had to offer in the source material, you might hate it a little less then you did before or would have if you haven't played it yet (PLUS it also has achievements, cards , chat emotes, and profile backgrounds so now you can have Yume Nikki representation on your account). If you haven't played the 2004 Yume Nikki then definitively go play that first because I don't think this game would be all to enjoyable if you haven't played the source material for yourself, like I mentioned before it's on steam and is free.

I won't lie though, this game is not perfect, things like platforming feels janky, some animations could be a little better, and it does feel a little slow, but for me those are just nitpicks, my only 2 big problem with the game is controls on keyboard not being ideal when it comes to specific locations and, what I think is the biggest problem, the price point, I do think a whole 20 US $s is a little steep of a price, I purchased it on sale for a bit over $5.00, which probably contributed to me being a little more forgiving towards it, I think a proper, justifiable price point is around $15.00, so if the game is ever on sale, and you've thought about getting it in the past then definitively pick it up. Obviously at the time of writing this, with only about 4 hours logged, i haven't completed the whole game yet, so my feelings could change as I do plan on 100%-ing this one (and attempting to get a plat/lvl.6 badge at some point), if that does happen I'll update this review with my thoughts.

As of now Yume Nikki Dream Diary is a thoughtful (albeit a clunky and somewhat flawed) heavily abridged re-imagining of the original 2004 Yume Nikki that's worth playing if you're a big fan of the source material. I think 8/10 is a fair rating.

Its not AWFUL. People seem to REALLY hate this game but even as a YN fan before I played this I did not hate it. The reason why its hated is because usually YN fans dont like any other material being made even if nothing is official and only really approved by Kikiyama. But outside a YN stand point, it does lack in a few places. It is a bit fun for the puzzles and what not. And collecting the artworks is a pleasure. But it is quite janky to play esspecialy in the block world. Overall, if its on sale and you like YN/exploring games, then i'd say buy it. But if you don't and its not on sale, why bother?

I loved Dream Diary, it had a lot of love poured into it to follow up on the original game but also change enough to be more than just a redesign. Do not go into this game expecting it to be a sequel or a remake to the original, it is first and foremost a puzzle game, but it does still retain aspects of the original as an exploration based collectathon.
It's fun and has great music :)

It's a unique reimagine of the original game Yume Nikki into 3D. Think of it as a game that references the original game idea, instead of a direct 3D adaptation of the original. Recommended for those who want a mild horror game that got the atmosphere.
The good:
1. it has some story telling now
2. the puzzles are pretty fun to figure out
3. many iconic events from the original game
4. some jumpscares are actually scary
The bad:
1. Some puzzles require certain ability or item from other doors, and are not obvious. and
2. Revisiting places can take a long time due to the linearity from the story telling (sometimes required for puzzle)
3. The fixed camera angle is bad for many platforming parts especially the hide and seek in block world
Some things to take note of:
1. Some maps and abilities from the original game did not make it into this game.
2. Does not play/feel like the original game.