CINERIS SOMNIA

About

CINERIS SOMNIA is a single player casual simulation game with horror, fantasy, drama, mystery and others themes. It was developed by NAYUTA STUDIO and was released on October 9, 2018. It received positive reviews from players.

Cineris Somnia is a 3D adventure through a beautifully strange and mesmerizing world - and a young girl's cruel and forlorn dreams.

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 334 reviews

story73 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

Beautiful, melancholic atmosphere with dreamlike, symbolic environments and a haunting piano soundtrack.
Intriguing, emotionally impactful storytelling that explores themes of grief, loss, and trauma through multiple interconnected character narratives.
Strong influences from classic psychological horror games like Silent Hill and Rule of Rose with rich environmental storytelling and unique art style reminiscent of PS2-era graphics.

Gameplay is slow-paced with frustratingly sluggish character movement leading to excessive backtracking and repetitive fetch quests that diminish exploration enjoyment.
Navigation can be confusing due to poor map design that lacks clear markers and the complexity of level layouts, often requiring external guides.
Technical drawbacks include awkward camera angles, janky animations, limited control responsiveness, small subtitle fonts, and occasional low optimization causing motion sickness or lag.

story
239 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
68%
1%
The story of the game is highly praised for its rich, atmospheric, and emotionally impactful narrative told through unique, symbolic, and multi-layered environmental storytelling and character-driven chapters. While the storytelling is immersive and compelling, featuring distinct aesthetics and tragic themes, it often unfolds slowly and requires patience due to tedious backtracking and minimal gameplay engagement. Overall, it appeals strongly to players who value narrative depth, mood, and exploration over action or fast pacing.
- “There is no opening exposition, no direct explanation of who you are or why you are here; instead, Cineris Somnia relies entirely on mood, imagery, and environmental storytelling to draw you deeper into its unsettling, dreamlike reality. The storytelling benefits from this restrained design approach. Its emotional resonance comes not from dramatic plot twists but from the quiet accumulation of symbolic details, the unspoken weight behind every abandoned room, and the sense that each chapter is a window into a deeply personal tragedy. It demands a slower mindset and rewards players who appreciate minimalist storytelling, emotional subtlety, and immersive atmosphere.”
- “The game uses a variety of different storytelling methods, from notes, to dialogue, to even the environment itself. In fact, I was quite impressed with how one of the game's episodes made use of its changing environment to tell its story. It was an indirect way of telling the story, but it definitely worked for the message it was trying to convey, even if it took forever to get to that point.”
- “Every narrative and symbolism introduced to the story helps flesh out the characters, showing instead of telling, leaving the one who’s playing to pick up the clues and put together the events. Chekov’s gun is the best way I can describe this game’s story. The environmental storytelling is immaculate, beautiful, and evocative. Such a beautiful game with thought-provoking and interesting storylines that touch on real and heavy themes.”
- “The pacing is quite abysmal and doesn't make up for how little value is received from the story.”
- “It’s basically a very slow walking sim where you spend most of your time going back and forth across huge locations, searching for items, all just to get a tiny piece of story.”
- “I wasn't expecting to be dragged into an awkward labyrinthine backtracking fetch quest pyramid scheme with few notes or lines of exposition as pay-off.”
atmosphere
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
25%
3%
The game is widely praised for its rich, immersive atmosphere, combining dreamy, melancholic, and eerie elements that captivate players who enjoy slow-paced, narrative-driven walking sims. Though some find the slow pace and backtracking frustrating, the striking visuals, haunting soundtrack, and subtle horror influences create a powerful mood that deeply enhances the storytelling experience. Overall, its atmosphere is considered the game's standout feature, offering a unique and memorable journey for fans of atmospheric, introspective gameplay.
- “The atmosphere is perhaps the game’s greatest triumph.”
- “Each area feels like a work of art, drawing you in with its atmosphere and detail.”
- “Cineris somnia is a slow, quiet walking sim that trades action for atmosphere and it’s absolutely worth it.”
- “The choice of having the tall man as your playable character does nothing for the atmosphere of the game.”
- “It's not that men don't get attacked or anything like that but being a tall man... taller than the doors... when everyone else comes up to either your belly button or chest... just doesn't fit the atmosphere.”
- “- Unclear direction in terms of where to go or what to do next (it feels a lot like an old school point & click puzzle game in this way - for some this might even be a positive, but I don't like getting stuck repeatedly as it drives me to walkthroughs which breaks immersion for such an atmosphere-focused game).”
graphics
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
52%
4%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique, atmospheric art style that evokes the nostalgic PS2-era horror aesthetic, with beautifully crafted visuals that complement its gothic and dreamlike storytelling. While not technically advanced or polished by modern standards—featuring some dated or occasionally janky elements—the visuals effectively create a compelling, immersive mood that many players find captivating and emotionally resonant. Overall, the graphics stand out stylistically rather than through high-end fidelity, appealing especially to fans of retro horror aesthetics and symbolic, atmospheric narratives.
- “The game is utterly breathtaking in its visuals, the environments are striking and eye-catching, matching each character's story as you progress, with unique and appealing character designs.”
- “The graphics are charmingly reminiscent of the PS2-era horror classics, namely Haunting Ground, Rule of Rose, and Silent Hill 4: The Room, with delicately understated music.”
- “- Beautiful, unconventional graphics (not 'good' graphics in the AAA sense, but tastefully designed through use of lighting, textures, etc. - very reminiscent of 90s/00s games like Shadow of the Colossus or Silent Hill 2).”
- “The graphics aren't that great, especially the lighting effects.”
- “The graphics are very PS3-era, so don't expect to be floored by them, and the environments are usually fairly small, so it’s not a pleasant stroll through pretty scenes.”
- “For a walking simulator, Cineris Somnia has rather disappointing and dated graphics.”
gameplay
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
65%
16%
The gameplay in Cineris Somnia is largely slow-paced, repetitive, and often described as a walking simulator with minimal mechanics, which can feel tedious and confusing due to backtracking and unclear objectives. While one chapter introduces a basic stealth element, most players find the gameplay simplistic and lacking depth, making it unsuitable for those seeking action or mechanical complexity. However, fans of narrative-driven, atmospheric experiences may appreciate its chill, story-focused design despite the limited interactive engagement.
- “Also the gameplay is great and it's not scary at all.”
- “If you are familiar with older titles like Rule of Rose or Haunting Ground, which prioritize narrative over gameplay, you'll probably enjoy this game's story and mechanics.”
- “I love the whole vibe, the art, the story... the mechanics are very simple but make for chill and atmospheric gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is just a walking simulator for the most part with puzzles (if you can call them that).”
- “The ambience, story and characters are perfect, I loved Ophelia and her backstory especially but disliked the gameplay with the constant backtracking of great distances and I often got lost on where to go or what to do as it wasn't quite clear at times.”
- “The maps suck, they're barely any help if I'm being honest, it's very easy getting lost in this game so you will have to use some online walkthroughs which makes the gameplay feel like a boring chore.”
music
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
41%
5%
The music in this game is widely praised as a beautifully crafted, melancholic, and atmospheric soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's surreal, gothic, and emotional tone. Many reviewers highlight its emotional depth, fitting various moods from peaceful to tense, making it a standout aspect that greatly enhances immersion despite some repetitiveness and limited variety. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a masterpiece and a core strength of the experience.
- “The music is also a masterpiece, extremely well crafted and fitting the vibes of the surroundings you are in.”
- “The soundtrack complements this with melancholic piano motifs, gentle ambient tones, and moments of silence that can feel almost suffocating.”
- “The music in this game was 10/10, perfectly matching the peaceful, sad, and running-for-your-life moments.”
- “I was totally down for what I thought this was, but what it actually is is undercooked in all directions; the surrealism, the characters, and the themes (and even the music) all felt like they lacked the development the game wanted me to believe they had.”
- “A little confused people are praising the music in particular, as it's often two or three bars of soft piano music on repeat.”
- “No way to turn off in-game music.”
emotional
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a deeply emotional and melancholic experience, exploring themes of death, loss, trauma, and neglect through the intertwined stories of three girls. Its subtle, symbolic storytelling and immersive atmosphere evoke strong feelings of sadness, unease, and heartfelt connection, often moving players to tears. While not relying on dramatic twists, it rewards those who engage thoughtfully with its quiet, poignant narrative and emotional depth.
- “A melancholic collection of psychological horror that explores the denial and acceptance of death, loss, sickness, neglect, and emotional trauma, told through the stories of three girls.”
- “The journey slowly reveals itself through isolated vignettes, each tied to a different character whose life has been fractured by trauma or emotional collapse.”
- “Its emotional resonance comes not from dramatic plot twists but from the quiet accumulation of symbolic details, the unspoken weight behind every abandoned room, and the sense that each chapter is a window into a deeply personal tragedy.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in this game is characterized by slow-paced, repetitive backtracking and item searching across large maps, which many find tedious and frustrating. While some players appreciate the deliberate, immersive walking sim style, others see it as a major drawback that slows down the experience. Overall, the grinding detracts from gameplay enjoyment despite the strong story, visuals, and soundtrack.
- “Honestly it's an extremely tedious game. I absolutely hate backtracking in video games, and this chapter is exactly that: you go from one room to another back and forth to basically be a glorified delivery boy.”
- “I recommend this game only to those who enjoy slow-paced walking sims because this game makes you tediously go back and forth across huge maps searching for items to reveal parts of their stories.”
- “It got to be really tedious running back and forth and back and forth across the map.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
User opinions on optimization are mixed, with some praising the game as well-optimized, while others feel it could improve despite not requiring significant resources.
- “Very optimized as well.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers little to no replayability, with users finding limited incentive to play it again.
- “I didn't get replay value out of this.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features unique and visually appealing character designs that effectively complement each character's story, enhancing the overall narrative experience. The striking environments further support character development by reflecting their individual journeys.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional visual glitches, awkward character animations, and choppy frame rates, which can disrupt the overall experience and affect stability.
- “There are occasional visual glitches, awkward character animations, and choppy frame rates that can pull you out of the experience.”