[5][6] The story begins on December 31, 9999, when a young amnesiac girl by the name of Mion wakes at the bottom of a dark ruins within a desolate world.

[5][9][10] Whilst Mion is unable to physically attack enemies, the player is able to tactically exploit the surrounding environment to destroy them, for example by dropping boulders.

[5][9] The art style of the game is reminiscent of a picture book, and revolves around themes such as death, shadow and light.

[2] Due to frequent usage of gruesome death scenes, Hotaru no Nikki was given a rating of CERO D (17+) in Japan.

"[21] HonestGamers later reviewed the worldwide PC port and noted that though the control scheme was vastly improved, the game still suffered [22]