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Dream about Monsters and Puzzles | In Nightmare Review

1K View2022-11-30

Ever wanted to step in a kid's shoes once again? dream and let your imaginations run wild? Yes? Well unfortunately for you, you are now a kid named Bill, and he has nightmares.

In Nightmare is an atmospheric stealth horror game in the likes of Limbo and Little Nightmares, but in third person isometric view. A mix of puzzle solving and exploration, as well as a bit narrative driven, in a psychological sense.

The whole game is set in Bill’s nightmares while in a coma, across all the nightmarish renditions of the past traumas of this seemingly troubled kid. Alongside him is a glowing butterfly spirit companion that you can use to look ahead and scout locations and detect enemies. A simple mechanic that is complementary to the game’s limited vision due to its isometric view.

In Nightmare is full of puzzles, and for me it's the game’s best feature. Most of them are well made and they come in all shapes and sizes. I didn’t find anything too hard and most of them, while mildly difficult, are still pretty logical in their approach to finding solutions. This is unlike the similarly puzzle potent game Hello Neighbor where the solutions are illogical and just plain random.

Despite being a narrative driven game, In Nightmare is amusingly minimalistic in its storytelling. There is no dialogue, only actions of the characters as well as the letters you can find in the game to better explain Bill’s situation from a third person view, from doctors, psychologists, etc.

Immersion wise, In Nightmare does a really great job of placing you into Billy’s shoes, what is he experiencing emotionally and psychologically. The nightmare itself is atmospheric and at the same time unsettling; A mix of goth and lovecraftian vibes, while the artstyle is a bit cartoonish and pixar-like. Despite this it is still a scary game in terms of atmosphere and ambiance. There are the occasional semi-jumpscares, but nothing too shocking. The graphics, though, need more polish as I keep finding low resolution textures and flat looking models all around the game, aggravated by the game’s view which is always pointing towards the ground.

Talking about the isometric view, it’s a double edged sword. It provides a challenge to the player with its limited view adds uniqueness and personality, but sometimes It can be a detriment to the gameplay and it's not a nice fit to some of the puzzles and stealth sections of the game, constantly blocking views and important puzzle solving elements.

When you're not solving puzzles in In Nightmare, you are running or sneaking away from enemies. The stealth mechanic is simple and straightforward, based in line of sight and hearing where you need to crouch instead of running. There are also audio and visual cues depending on how close the enemy is in spotting you. It is largely intense and this hide-and-seek gameplay element mostly fits the game’s childly nightmarish tone and atmosphere. Even with the lack of manual saves, I didn’t find it annoying to die or fail, which means the checkpoint system they made is well designed and reliable for the players.

To sum it up, In Nightmare is an average but still enjoyable sub 10 hour atmospheric experience for those looking for a decent puzzle and stealth gameplay encased in a childly nightmarish tone.

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