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This game contains horror elements. This may include jump scares and/or graphic imagery. Player discretion is advised. |
| .flow | |||||||||||
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 .flow's Title Screen | |||||||||||
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ver.0.192 | ||||||||||
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| Release Date |
[[Category:Released in Error: Invalid time.]] [[:Category:Released in Error: Invalid time.| Error: Invalid time.]] | ||||||||||
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Overview
.flow is one of the most well-known fangames of the original Yume Nikki, made by lol. It's one of the darker spin-offs infamous for its eerie atmosphere and copious amounts of body horror and hospital imagery, centering around a girl named Sabitsuki (さびつき) as she enters her PC dreamworld to explore her mind and collect effects.
The psychological term, combined with the element of technology, could have possibly been the origin of the title, though this suggests that what Sabitsuki (さびつき) and, indeed, the player experience is not a dreamlike state at all, but rather an immersive reality.
The main plot of the game is similar to the original Yume Nikki's, in that it's a sandbox 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.
Gameplay
.flow is one of the more traditional fangames that stays true to the gameplay elements of the original. Effects are collected in a gloomy, sublime dreamscape and the user is left to interpret the events and lack of explicit storyline. The only differences that seem to set this game apart from Yume Nikki is the more concrete subject matter (the deeper aspects of the landscape seem to have a more pristine resemblance to human body parts, where as Nikki's environment requires more interpretive thinking to analyze) and the inclusion of three endings instead of one.
Plot
You play as a girl named Sabitsuki (さびつき) 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 (神速猫, God Speed Cat)), 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. If you choose to look closer, her eyes are, almost impossible to tell, a deep red. 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 substantial 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 Toriningen, 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.
Effects
In .flow, effects are used with the Shift key, and after collecting all effects, you can drop them in front of the computer; be careful, though, once all effects have been dropped, they cannot be regained (unlike Yume Nikki). You can get one of the games three endings from here, or continue the game as Rust.
| Effect | Image | Description |
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| Headphones (ヘッドフォン) |
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Sabitsuki wears orange headphones. Pressing Shift causes her to play a couple of tunes and two music notes to pop out of them. |
| Iron Pipe (てつパイプ) |
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Sabitsuki's weapon which she uses to attack NPCs by pressing Z. Pressing Shift causes Sabitsuki to put the pipe on her shoulder. |
| Ghost (ゆうれい) |
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Sabitsuki turns into a ghost with a traditional triangle kerchief. Pressing Shift allows her to become transparent and invisible to NPCs, but not invulnerable. |
| Mono Eye (モノアイ) |
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Sabitsuki has a big red cyclopes eye. Pressing Shift causes her to blink twice. |
| Diving Helmet (せんすいふく) |
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Sabitsuki wears Oreko's helmet. Pressing Shift causes bubbles to silently float out of it. |
| Cat (ねこ) |
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Sabitsuki has white cat ears and tail. Pressing Shift makes her turn into a small white cat and meow. In this form she can go though smaller/lower doorways and access new areas. |
| Broom (ほうき) |
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Sabitsuki wears a blue witch dress, has her hair tied up in a ponytail with a red ribbon and rides a broom, doubling her speed. Pressing Shift makes her get off the broom and walk at normal speed. |
| Watering Can (じょうろ) |
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Sabitsuki holds a watering can. Pressing Shift causes it to rain, subsequent presses changing the amount of rain or turning the rain off. |
| Whistle (ホイッスル) |
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Sabitsuki has an orange whistle. Pressing Shift makes her blow it, and any NPCs will move two steps to the direction Sabitsuki is heading to. The whistle makes no sound when it is used. |
| Gas Mask (ガスマスク) |
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Sabitsuki wears a gas mask. Pressing Shift causes her to slightly raise it so half of her face can be seen underneath it. |
| Machine (きかい) |
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Sabitsuki's arms and legs turns into robot parts. |
| Tumbling Doll/Dharma (だるま) |
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Sabitsuki has no arms and legs. Pressing Shift causes her fall over and crawl slowly. Once she falls, she cannot pick herself back up. |
| Slime (スライム) |
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Sabitsuki becomes a green slime. Pressing Shift causes her to become melt, then regain her previous form. |
| Arm (うで) |
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Sabitsuki has five arms and has her hair tied up in pigtails, resembling Yume Nikki's Monoko. Pressing Shift will cross all her arms, returning her to the Nexus. |
| Viscera (ないぞう) |
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Sabitsuki's intestines pour out of her stomach. Pressing Shift causes Sabitsuki to try to put them back in. |
| Psychedelic (サイケデリック) |
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Sabitsuki has different colors. Pressing Shift makes her change colors (there are 8 different color sets in total). |
| Handgun (けんじゅう) |
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Sabitsuki holds a handgun, scaring away (but not harming) NPCs when fired. Pressing Shift makes her close her eyes and fire the gun in the air. After shooting 5 bullets, pressing Shift makes her reload the handgun. |
| Corpse (したい) |
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Sabitsuki turns into a purple corpse. |
| Black Hoodie (くろフード) |
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Sabitsuki wears a black hoodie. Pressing Shift causes Sabitsuki to lower or raise her hood. |
| Uniform (せいふく) |
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Sabitsuki wears a school uniform like that of the Kaibutsu. |
| Television (テレビ) |
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Sabitsuki's head turns into a TV. Pressing Shift causes her to turn the TV on or off. Each time it is pressed the TV shows a random image or facial expression. |
| Plant (しょくぶつ) |
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Sabitsuki has plants growing around her. Pressing Shift makes the plants grow thicker around her. The plants will not return to their previous form after that until the effect is unequipped. |
| Tattoo (いれずみ) |
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Sabitsuki has red plus tattoos on her eyes, resembling Smile. |
| Dress (ドレス) |
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Sabitsuki wears a funeral dress. Pressing Shift makes her do a curtsy. |
Characters
There are many NPCs in .flow. None actually speak, but they are often tied together with theories and are possibly part of Sabitsuki's past.
| Character | Description | Sprite |
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| Sabitsuki (さびつき) |
The main character of the game. | 
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| Smile (Brother) and Sister | A boy and girl with cross/plus tattoos/markings over their eyes. The boy has been called Brother in lol's art, but he is known best by his filename Smile. Certain effects trigger the Smile event with Brother. | 
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| Oreko (おれこ) |
A girl who lives underwater and builds strange machines in her house. She gives Sabitsuki the Diving Helmet Effect. Oreko also reappears in other parts of the game. | 
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| Gas Mask Maid / Cleaner | Seen at The Sugar Hole and in other parts of the game. The character has been called Cleaner in lol's art, but they are known best by the fan-name Gas Mask Maids. Interacting with one causes her to bow to you. | 
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| Kaibutsu (怪物) |
The chasers in the game. Their name translates to "monster". They laugh and usually have a distorted face. | 
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| Bar Kaibutsu | A lone Kaibutsu at the bar in The Sugar Hole, strikes back if you attempt to hit him with the Iron Pipe. Nicknamed "Gabe" by fans. | 
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| Fetuses ("Red Demons") | The Chasers in the after game. They appear only in one location before the events that lead to one of the endings are triggered. | 
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| Hana | Flower Girl NPC that can be found in Plant Maze, in her own room, she give to Sabi flower menu theme. Hana is a fan name, from Japanese means flower. | |
| Metal Tan | ||
| Sato |
Gameplay Video (Version 0.09)
Downloads
Original
| Version | Date | Announcement | Download |
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| ver.0.192 | Pixiv | Mediafire | |
| ver.0.19 | Deleted (bugged version of ver.0.192) | ||
| ver.0.18 | Pixiv | Deleted | |
| ver.0.17 | Pixiv | Deleted | |
| ver.0.16 | Pixiv | Mediafire (Reupload) | |
| ver.0.15 | ? | Mediafire (Reupload) | |
| ver.0.1 | Pixiv | Deleted | |
| ver.0.09 | ? | Deleted | |
| ver.0.08 | ? | Deleted | |
| ver.0.07 | Pixiv | Deleted | |
| ver.0.06 | Pixiv | Uboachan (Reupload) | |
| ver.0.05 | ? | Mediafire (Reupload) | |
| ver.0.04 | ? | Uboachan (Reupload) | |
| ver.0.03 | ? | Uboachan (Reupload, missing RPG_RT.exe) | |
| ver.0.02 | ? | Deleted | |
| ver.0.01 | ? | Deleted | |
| ver.0.00 | ? | Deleted |
Translations
| Version | Languages | Translators | Announcements | Downloads |
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| ver.0.192 |
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| ver.0.18 |
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| ver.0.17 |
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| ver.0.15 |
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| ver.0.1 |
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