A first-person action horror game set in a nightmarish manor infested with zombies, psychotic cultists, and a horde of other horrors. Utilize an assortment of different weapons in a brutal fight for survival as you try to escape from the Nightmare of Decay.
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The concept of this game is to be like the first Resident Evil game, but in first person. And it really doesn't go too much beyond that, the theme is different but how you play and explore the mansion are really by the books of Capcom's flagship game, so don't really go expecting a subversion of the genre as I was. Really short and a fair share of extra modes and replay factor, definitely worth on a good sale.
Nice, a bit rough Resident Evil 1 from first person perspective. You can finish it under 1 hour if you want. Spooky, has unlocks and classic plot of "some fucking idiot built a mansion with puzzles go figure it out. Is nice.
Nightmare of Decay can be described as a barebones first person take on the mechanics and setting of Resident Evil 1 all made by a single developer (Checkmaty). Taking place in your character's nightmare, you must enter a manor filled with many zombies, infected dogs, and other ghouls to not only attempt to escape the nightmare, but to discover what exactly is going on in this manor.
Visuals are nothing to write home about but they work for the setting and vibe the game is going for which is creepy, haunting, and solitary. I will say the commitment of the dev to really attempt to repeat many of the key visuals from RE1 is appreciated. Be it the first cinematic interaction with a zombie, multi window zombie break in, and having at least 1 boss character that is absurd but in the right way. Some spaces can feel very sparse and empty once enemies are cleared, but I can kind of understand if you're a single dev going for a barebones RE1 take that the additional work to make spaces feel more full and interesting could inflate the project time.
While there isn't much of a soundtrack (it is a quiet game when there is no monsters), the rest of the audio in regards to item sounds, door creaking, and zombie moans all fit in just right.
Nightmare of Decay makes use of its slight setting difference in the right ways. The additions of a creepy monster asking for women's heads in exchange for a reward, a mimic chest, or the talking cat that you keep just stumbling on are all welcome additions. It all works in the context of the nightmare, and the additions keep it from feeling so much like a direct copy of RE1.
Combat is fairly simple. Tank controls are replaced with an aiming reticle that requires you to be standing still to be accurate, or to allow zombies to get extra close if you intend to blow their brains out with a shotgun. I think the fact that I played on a difficulty level of normal let me get away with less than stressful resource management. Like RE1, by end game you have an abundance of pistol ammo. I would like to attempt this game on hard to just see the difference in how it doles out resources because I think the added stress would have given the game a bit more friction in the ways that I like from an RE game.
What does bug me is that while Nightmare of Decay commits to being exactly like RE1, it doesn't really have much of an interest on improving on its low points. Boss fights are deeply uninteresting, quick, and easy to get over. Shout out to holy water for speeding this up. As well, the game replicates the simple puzzles found in RE games, but somehow even simpler. So much so that I would hesitate to call them puzzles. I know puzzling in RE is pretty basic, but this went a step below that. It feels like it is there for reference sake, and not to actually do anything interesting with the puzzle mechanics.
Overall, if you want a barebones take on the RE formula that hits the beats where it should, Nightmare of Decay is worth taking the time to play.
Visuals are nothing to write home about but they work for the setting and vibe the game is going for which is creepy, haunting, and solitary. I will say the commitment of the dev to really attempt to repeat many of the key visuals from RE1 is appreciated. Be it the first cinematic interaction with a zombie, multi window zombie break in, and having at least 1 boss character that is absurd but in the right way. Some spaces can feel very sparse and empty once enemies are cleared, but I can kind of understand if you're a single dev going for a barebones RE1 take that the additional work to make spaces feel more full and interesting could inflate the project time.
While there isn't much of a soundtrack (it is a quiet game when there is no monsters), the rest of the audio in regards to item sounds, door creaking, and zombie moans all fit in just right.
Nightmare of Decay makes use of its slight setting difference in the right ways. The additions of a creepy monster asking for women's heads in exchange for a reward, a mimic chest, or the talking cat that you keep just stumbling on are all welcome additions. It all works in the context of the nightmare, and the additions keep it from feeling so much like a direct copy of RE1.
Combat is fairly simple. Tank controls are replaced with an aiming reticle that requires you to be standing still to be accurate, or to allow zombies to get extra close if you intend to blow their brains out with a shotgun. I think the fact that I played on a difficulty level of normal let me get away with less than stressful resource management. Like RE1, by end game you have an abundance of pistol ammo. I would like to attempt this game on hard to just see the difference in how it doles out resources because I think the added stress would have given the game a bit more friction in the ways that I like from an RE game.
What does bug me is that while Nightmare of Decay commits to being exactly like RE1, it doesn't really have much of an interest on improving on its low points. Boss fights are deeply uninteresting, quick, and easy to get over. Shout out to holy water for speeding this up. As well, the game replicates the simple puzzles found in RE games, but somehow even simpler. So much so that I would hesitate to call them puzzles. I know puzzling in RE is pretty basic, but this went a step below that. It feels like it is there for reference sake, and not to actually do anything interesting with the puzzle mechanics.
Overall, if you want a barebones take on the RE formula that hits the beats where it should, Nightmare of Decay is worth taking the time to play.
A fine, simple little homage to classic survival-horror with nice resource-management. I see this game almost as a parody of the genre. Hence, fair warning, this game is not scary. I jumped in my seat once on a cheap jumpscare. Otherwise the game lacks the tension-relief cycle that the genre titans thrived in. I don't think it was necessarily TRYING to be scary, though.
The best parts of this one must be the visuals and overall atmosphere. Very reminiscent of the original RE and oh so retro. Also, noticing which puzzle, set piece or enemy was ripped from which classic game was pretty cool.
The worst part is the combat. It's really clunky, which I guess is okay in a horror game where you should feel tension in combat and try to avoid it, but for me it was really just frustrating. The combat in classic RE or SH is also clunky, but it's not frustrating. Also there are moments in Nightmare where it really wants to be RE4 and fails miserably. Because the combat sucks.
On that note, the bosses are easily the worst part of this game. They are so unbelievably bad and frustrating that the final one actually made me quit.
Smaller notes - I've got to appreciate the Polish translation. Really nice of them to include it. The language options are overall great. Unfortunately the game runs like crap on the Deck, which is how I played it. Made the combat twice as frustrating.
Ultimately, this game costs just a few bucks. Give it a whirl if you like classic survival horror.
The best parts of this one must be the visuals and overall atmosphere. Very reminiscent of the original RE and oh so retro. Also, noticing which puzzle, set piece or enemy was ripped from which classic game was pretty cool.
The worst part is the combat. It's really clunky, which I guess is okay in a horror game where you should feel tension in combat and try to avoid it, but for me it was really just frustrating. The combat in classic RE or SH is also clunky, but it's not frustrating. Also there are moments in Nightmare where it really wants to be RE4 and fails miserably. Because the combat sucks.
On that note, the bosses are easily the worst part of this game. They are so unbelievably bad and frustrating that the final one actually made me quit.
Smaller notes - I've got to appreciate the Polish translation. Really nice of them to include it. The language options are overall great. Unfortunately the game runs like crap on the Deck, which is how I played it. Made the combat twice as frustrating.
Ultimately, this game costs just a few bucks. Give it a whirl if you like classic survival horror.
- Don't sleep -
Es interesante y da cierto miedo, pero no me gustó del todo como se juega y si dificultad aveces muy elevada artificialmente y por errores del dev
Es interesante y da cierto miedo, pero no me gustó del todo como se juega y si dificultad aveces muy elevada artificialmente y por errores del dev
A funny short hommage to RE-like survival games on PS1.
It's a formula that works and it does here too. The constant mumbling in spanish by the RE4 enemies kept me laughing during the whole game which only lasts for 2h.
It's a formula that works and it does here too. The constant mumbling in spanish by the RE4 enemies kept me laughing during the whole game which only lasts for 2h.