.Flow

Summary

Flow is one of the most famous fan-made games based on the original Yume Nikki, created by lol. It's a darker offshoot known for its unsettling atmosphere and heavy use of body horror and hospital imagery, following a girl named Sabitsuki (さびつき) as she enters her PC-generated dream world to explore her mind and gather effects. Flow is one of the more conventional fangames, sticking closely to the gameplay style of the original. Players collect effects in a somber, surreal dreamscape, with the narrative left open to interpretation due to the lack of a clear-cut story. The main differences from Yume Nikki appear to be the more direct subject matter (the deeper areas of the world more clearly resemble human anatomy, whereas Nikki's environment requires more abstract interpretation) and the presence of three endings instead of just one. The game's main story mirrors that of Yume Nikki, functioning as an open-ended experience with minimal restrictions on exploration. To unlock two of the three endings, you must collect all twenty-five effects, and to reach the final ending, you also need to find three hidden boxes.

Storyline

Much like *Yume Nikki*, very little is revealed about the main character, a girl named Sabitsuki. Much like Madotsuki from *Yume Nikki*, Sabitsuki resides in an apartment containing a bed, a single game console, a television, and most importantly, a personal computer that allows her—and the player—into a state known as "flow." Within this surreal, immersive realm connected to her mind, Sabitsuki explores in search of 25 "effects." Who Sabitsuki truly is, what she has experienced, and the nature of the world she inhabits are all left for the player to interpret through their observations and experiences in flow.

Screenshots

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