The jury is still out on whether or not Dream Diary exists as a faithful remake/adaptation of the original Yume Nikki, although research has led me to believe that it wasn’t well received by the community. So if you’re a fan of the original game, you might want to temper your expectations. For the rest of us, Kadokawa’s remake is a spooky adventure game that doesn’t break new ground but will take you to some strange and exotic places.

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.

It’s neither a remake nor a remaster. Dream Diary is like a bold cover of a classic song, that uses the same themes but makes them more accessible, unfortunately intentionally losing some of the qualities that made the original piece unique. [05/2018, p.44]

Yume Nikki: Dream Diary is successful in recreating an atmosphere and world that feels as chaotic and random as a dream, but converting a dream into a game does not lead to a great gaming experience.

Too unremarkable to share in its predecessor’s cult status and too clunky to rival its modern competition, Yume Nikki – Dream Diary is a reverential yet surprisingly unfaithful reimagining of its 2004 namesake.

Yume Nikki: Dream Diary is a visually faithful recreation of the original Yume Nikki, but beyond that, it falls short. A slew of game-breaking bugs and unintuitive gameplay creates a disappointing experience not worth the asking price.

Dream Diary fails to deliver an experience deserving of having the "Yume Nikki" title on it. In fact, it looks more like a cheap attempt to lean on the original title's success and cult status rather than a game that stands on its own merit.