Cult classic Yume Nikki returning with 3D follow-up

A follow-up to Yume Nikki, the one-man, RPG Maker-created horror game that’s gained cult status over the last decade, is now in the works. An original, fully 3D Windows PC game will launch on Feb. 23, publisher Playism announced.

At the end of a two-week countdown clock, Playism revealed that Yume Nikki Dream Diary was coming in a month’s time. It’s a combined effort from Kadokawa, which develops the RPG Maker software, and Active Gaming Media. Also contributing to the project is Kikiyama, the pseudonymous creator of the original game.

Kikiyama’s Yume Nikki, released in 2004, starred a young girl who ventured into inscrutable, oft-horrifying dream worlds that connected in a puzzle-like fashion. Fans of the free-to-play PC title considered it both an early version of the “walking simulator” genre and a unique horror game, due to its obscure meaning and premise.

Early screens and artwork from Dream Diary show the memorable 2D world of Yume Nikki brought into the three-dimensional space. Both those screens and new pieces of character and monster art suggest that Dream Diary will bring Yume Nikki’s nightmarish dreams to life in some even scarier ways. It will even re-surface abandoned character designs from the first game, a callback to Dream Diary’s predecessor.

The game will be available through both Steam and Playism’s PC storefront for $19.99 when it launches on Feb. 23. The original Yume Nikki is available for free on Steam in the meantime.

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