As a game, this is a solid 3 stars; it's aimless, sometimes dull, often frustrating, always unsettling.

But it shouldn't be judged as a game, necessarily; it's not designed to be fun to play. it's art, and specifically it's a kind of art about a deeply troubled young girl and her subconscious's attempts to make sense of her world. I know, I know, this sounds pretentious. In this context, everything that makes it a subpar game is a benefit: the aimlessness turns from a mark of bad game design to a very intentional way to display a child's lack of focus and struggle with connection. It's dull in moments because so is existing with mental illness or trauma. It's frustrating because so is being alive for Madotsuki. To experience a life marked by trauma or extreme mental illness is to experience near-constant boredom and unease interspersed with moments of horror. There's no way to effectively tell this story without the confusion and the frustration. And despite never truly learning about the world outside of her door, what we see in her subconscious doesn't paint a pretty picture.

I see a lot of talk about games with intentional friction; games that don't want you to complete them or that, at the very least, don't really help you get there. Yume Nikki is one such game, and not because the dev aimed to take any kind of difficulty crown, but because the only way to tell this story is to make it something of a miserable ride. I can't give it five stars as a game, but it's a really striking work of art. Even if the gameplay doesn't appeal to you, I do highly recommend all horror fans give it a watch someplace.