Dream Escaper is a non-traditional Yume Nikki fangame centered around exploration. This game has a unique feature in which players can warp to different worlds (known as "layers" in-game). It features various chasers among these layers that will send the player to a game over sequence when caught. The game also includes the ability to talk to most NPCs and save from the menu.

The goal of the game is to explore, collect Items which will grant the player new abilities and achieve one of the game's three endings. As the game goes on, players can unlock various features from the title screen including a minigame, a music player and a Memories section which logs certain accomplishments the player has fulfilled.