I love the horror genre. Since my first with Amnesia Dark Descent, I have played many horror/thriller titles in the past ten years. I love well-timed jumpscares, terrifying (in a good way) stories, and running with a small light source. I have written a review about Soma by Friction Games (the same developers behind the Amnesia series). If you are a fan of narrative-driven horror, I recommend you try it out.
In the last couple of years, indie titles have spread like wildfire. For many years, big companies were pulling the strings. But now, free developers have shown us they can create good games with supporters, passion, and hard work. As a writer, I have become one of their fans. After countless recommendations and many positive reviews on Steam, I played Nightmare of Decay. A combination of my two favorite genres. I was satisfied with some points and disappointed with others. Without further ado, here is Lawod’s Nightmare of Decay review.
Nightmare of Decay is an indie action horror with an FPS game style. Inspired by the Resident Evil series (mostly the first three titles), the game changes the gameplay to FPS to give it a unique feel. It works well in most cases but fails to bring some horror elements.
Nightmare of Decay was developed and published by Checkmaty. It’s his second release on Steam. So far, both games have had highly positive reviews. It’s great to see an indie developer succeed.
Opening up Nightmare of Decay with high expectations (overwhelmingly positive score with over 1.400+ reviews on Steam) and my lights closed, I was happy to see there was no option for Easy mode. You either play on Normal or Hard. As a horror enthusiast, I chose my difficulty level and moved on(It’s the Hard mode). At the start, the mansion part will be relatively easy; some monsters and ammo gathering, classic horror stuff. To my mistake, I was careless about my ammunition. I shot every creature I saw without counting. And I was introduced to an unfriendly knight.
I love how the game comforts you at first glance. A boss fight at the end of the chapter will shake you up. And it reminds you, hey! I am not a zombie shooting simulator. I am a horror game. Our unfriendly knight will make it clear that the Nightmare of Decay is no joke.
After the first chapter, you face many types of enemies. Sprinting (which is limited by stamina if there is a creature on the map) won’t save you from some. A regular one is easy to evade. But if it catches, you’ll need to kill it. Besides that, I wouldn’t recommend wasting bullets on them. As I mentioned, bosses are the real deal.
There will be some target practice areas(one of the easter eggs for the RE series). They are worth your while. And I highly recommend shooting those cardboards. Extra ammo and health are vital for your progress. But if you are not a great shooter, you can pass on the offer.
Nightmare of Decay Offers Visuals like PS2-games
Visually, Nightmare of Decay does a remarkable job. It creates the old atmosphere of PS2 gaming. In my journey of trying new Indie titles, I have always thought that old or bad graphics kill the playthrough. But most of the time, I was proven otherwise. One of the most beautiful parts of the Nightmare of Decay is its visuals. Maybe, it’s because I am a PS2 nerd or am affected by nostalgia too much.
It is more or less three hours of zombie killing, ammo gathering, and puzzle-solving (I’ll get to this). Considering it’s an Indie title with many qualities, I think that’s a fair playtime. And lastly, I would suggest going somewhere quiet. I know that’s a no-brainer tip for a horror game. But don’t underestimate an Indie title.
After finishing the game, I can say that Nightmare of Decay is a good horror indie title. It checks many things off the list: Ugly looking creatures, intense moments, scary sounds. Like many games, it has flaws. The most obvious one is ”puzzles”. They aren’t challenging enough, mostly so straightforward that calling them a puzzle is a bit unfair. We understand that developers followed the horror game rules, which work quite well in many areas. But the game lacks clever or complicated riddles. Also, I couldn’t find myself caring about the protagonist or any part of the story. Overall, as I mentioned, it is an Indie title. Comparing it with Resident Evil, Amnesia, and Silent Hill would be funny at best. Checkmaty created a game that deserves 8/10 Lawod Points. You can find it on Steam for five bucks. Make sure to check the recommended system requirements before playing the game:
- OS: Windows 8.1
- Processor: Intel i7-4790
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 1 GB of available space
