An exciting little racing game that's great for an afternoon. It's got a fantastic electronic soundtrack and a cool, breezy aesthetic to pair. Racing aficionados will likely find the depth of the game lacking, and the rubber banding on the extra courses are slightly extreme, but for a casual playthrough; the base fun of going fast and beating the CPUs will suffice.

Not a must for the Playstation system, but a respectable arcade racer that's best enjoyed for as long as it takes to get to the extra courses.

There’s very little one can say or analyse about Yume Nikki that hasn’t already been said before ad nauseum. Freudian unconscious analysis, Jungian dream interpretation, various ‘true’ game theories that ‘solve’ the mystery of Madotsuki and, in acknowledgement of the hefty amount of well-trodden discussion, a reader response that emphasises an individual’s teenage awakenings of queerness and alienation. These lenses are all valid and worthwhile (except perhaps for any game theories), but in the twenty years since Yume Nikki’s release, it’s become increasingly difficult to say anything unique about the game, its development or even the effect it’s had on countless internet freakniks around the world.

I preface with this because I both want to acknowledge the sheer dearth of discussion that has taken place since release and to think a little on Yume Nikki’s place in pop-culture before talking about it as a game. Personally, I can’t help but compare the impact Yume Nikki has achieved both in the online sphere and in the brain-DNA of deranged fans with that of the western evolution of the Neon Genesis Evangelion fandom. That is, First Impact into the minds of the disenfranchised youth, decentralised theory-crafting on the burgeoning web into a more centralised community dedicated to understanding and appreciating the work (EVA Geeks forum/Uboachan), countless theories appear alongside textual reading and community glossaries (various Wiki), YouTube takes off and eventually a vast majority of discussion appears on the site (Second Impact), analysis reaches critical mass due to algorithmic bloat and reader responses that focus on an individual’s experience become most popular. Third Impact has yet to occur though will likely be fatal and gay in nature (we become orange tang/jump off a balcony, etc).

Both series saw the rising, ever-shifting tides of Web 2.0 and have connected with a group of young teens (now middle aged or older), becoming iconic of how this generation felt about themselves and of their slowly deteriorating society. I believe this comparison is useful because it highlights what kind of work Yume Nikki is and what values its fans place in their discussions, which I feel is at odds with most discourse surrounding game design, dominated as it is by talk of what “good” design entails. That is, a level of intentionality and comprehension to forward ‘progression’. For example: shooting, climbing or any other present mechanic all leading to level two then three and so on.

Yume Nikki, however, is incredibly ambiguous in what progression looks like and there are mechanics that do not aid in forwarding game progress at all. Instead, there’s a level of mystery in what the player is expected to do or can do. Madotsuki is usually defenceless, slow-walking and unable to even jump on her own. Compared to Gordan Freeman, who would surely be able to bunnyhop his way out of any environment and off the apartment balcony straight into the ending, it makes one wonder why a character would be designed this way, with so many limitations in place of freedom and mechanics. Especially in the year of its release, which featured games that prided themselves on tightly paced action and mechanical satisfaction (MGS3, Half Life 2). Yet here comes Yume Nikki, without even a run button to its name.

But what the game lacks in mechanical design (either due to deliberate design or engine limitations, I will acknowledge), only strengthens its ability to connect with the player through its surreal environments. The exploration of the dream worlds become a distinct player-driven choice. Where to go and why, what the visuals represent, literally or figuratively and how the atmosphere of each world affects them. In some ways this is the most freeing a game has ever been. There’s no mountain in the distance you can climb; or a big tower that reveals map icons. Yet by rejecting mechanics and embracing a ‘hands-off’ approach to the player, Yume Nikki instead forges a greater, stronger relationship because any world explored, any discovery, any strange experience; was organically found by the player themselves instead of being carefully curated by the game’s level design or waypoint mechanics.

All this to say, you won’t be seeing Yume Nikki on channels like Design Doc. Thank God.

Thecatamites/WardrobeDistrict has been creating some of the best psychedelic video games for over a decade now. From the psyche-rockin’ dry humour of Space Funeral to the anti-cop nightmarescape of Crime Zone, they’ve consistently been one of the most fascinating and expressive creators in the space of games for a long time. With the long-awaited finale to the ‘of the killer’ series, WardrobeDistrict can add another notch into their excellent catalogue that can be replicated nowhere else.

Anthology of the killer is a collection of nine short games in which you play as the slightly anxious yet always focused BB, a zine-making, short-statured girl who constantly finds herself in the most wacky of hideous murder scenarios. Each game follows BB as she soon discovers a horrific mystery in her latest excursion. These include a call center by the sea with a bloody secret, an indoor waterpark that carries an unnatural clientele, BB’s labyrinthian apartment and so much more.

Each game comes with a totally unique atmosphere and environment all developed in the Unity extension, Doodle Studio. This gives the game a fantastically zine-esque, wobbly animation style that lends to its off-kilter attitude to everyone and everything. The design here is impeccably unique thanks to the character design and use of this extension. These wonderfully strange creatures are graced with WardrobeDistricts distinct and humorous writing. They can give the most mundane sentences a flair of just, something undefinable, that makes anything enjoyable to read; writing funny and odd characters has always been a strength for WD since Space Funeral and this is no exception.

With each game taking only eight to ten minutes in length, you’ll have yourself a breezy, fantastic time taking in the odd and somewhat-terrifying characters in this collection. I can’t recommend this enough, alongside Thecatamites back catalogue of long and shortware games, it’s hard to be disappointed by their experience and voice in this space, but if there’s one addition that would’ve boosted this game to me, it would’ve been the return of Glimby.