| .flow | |
|---|---|
 The title menu for the English version of .flow version 0.10 | |
|
Creator |
lol |
|
Current Version |
0.10 English, 0.15 Japanese |
|
Effects |
25 |
|
Nexus Doors |
4 |
|
Endings |
3 |
|
Tool |
RPG Maker 2000 |
.flow is a fangame of the original Yume Nikki made by a user called "lol" (pixiv and Twitter accounts). It's one of the darker and more well-known fangames infamous for its eerie atmosphere and copious amounts of body horror and hosptial imagery.
The main plot of the game is similar to the original Yume Nikki's, in that it's a sand-box game with very few exploration restrictions. You must collect the twenty-five effects to unlock two of the three endings and three boxes to achieve the third.
Protagonist
(Main article: Sabitsuki)
You play as a girl named Sabitsuki who doesn't want to or is unable to leave her room. She has short white hair and a grayish blue top, a white skirt, and red shoes.
Sabitsuki's bedroom is painted gray, with a TV and game console (through which you can play the mini-game Shinsouku Neko), a bookshelf, a bright orange rug, and, most notably, her bed and computer. Unlike most Yume Nikki fangames, you get in bed to save and access most of the gameplay by interacting with the computer.
Rust
An interesting gameplay element is that there is a number of restricted areas that can only be accessed once all the effects have been collected and "dropped off" in Sabitsuki's PC. With effects stored there, the protagonist assumes her alter-ego, Rust, a seemingly more malevolent version of herself with a more pallid color scheme. Rust cannot use any of the effects, but can surpass the barriers that blocked her original form and acquire three boxes in order to unlock a final and more substaintial ending to the game, viewed often as the "true ending."
In addition to these differences, Sabitsuki is pursued throughout the game by Kaibutsu, which, upon capture, transport her to an inescapable area in a manner similar to Torringen, but upon becoming Rust, the chasers are replaced by Red Demons, a weaker but faster and much more abundant enemy. Rust can take several hits from these demons, and with each one her body begins to decay until finally, on one strike too many, she falls apart and is transported back to the real world. It is highly likely that these Red Demons have a metaphorical meaning.
External Links
You can download ver. 0.10 in English here. (japanese locale not required)
You can get ver. 0.15 in Japanese here.
You can find effect guides, locations, maps, and event information on the .flow wiki