Forums > Submission Feedback > Lewis's Yume Nikki review

I can have no complaints with the writing Lewis exhibits here and how he dissects the game and its meanings so effortlessly and with real authority. My problem, then, lies instead in how he makes the big spoiler contained within such a big part of the review and it’s one that has now stopped me from wanting to continue a kooky little game I’ve been slowly chipping away at now for a few months. I don’t think that’s what a praise review should accomplish. Yes, there’s a warning at the start (one that I had to ignore because I committed myself to this RotW) but, really, what’s the point of the entire piece if not to inform people thinking about playing the game if they should or not? What this review does is say “This is a great game -- but in telling you so, I will remove all motivation for you to actually play it.”

I happen to think that sometimes spoilers in reviews are acceptable and even brilliant when used right. I point doubters to Cairo’s awesome Assassin’s Creed where he gives away the ending to drive a final nail in the coffin. Perhaps it’s the difference of tones that make one brilliant and the other a disaster: Cairo seeks to dissuade while you persuade, but that’s perhaps a tangent for another day.

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"What's the point of the entire piece if not to inform people thinking about playing the game if they should or not?"

To pick apart at why it's an important game. It's a review for people who've already played it, or who are never going to play it. Maybe that makes it Not A Review...

Cheers for reading. Even though you had to. And sorry for spoiling it, but...

...actually, I don't think that does spoil it. Until the end, I was a bit "wtf?" about Yume Nikki, because none of it makes much sense outside of the context of the ending. I'd say it's worth playing even more once you know what's going on. It's so key to everything.

(I suppose you could say the same of Sixth Sense, but that was a largely entertaining film before the sucker-punch, whereas Yume Nikki is never really that enjoyable.)

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Now I linked to this (and have seen Lewis is still alive) I feel the need to point out my previous statement is rubbish. I still finished the game and am sad I have no one to talk to about it.

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