In Nightmare

In Nightmare is the embodiment of a good story dragged down in a pit of really bad gameplay ideas.

In Nightmare was initially a good idea, but it should have stayed on paper. Instead, all the effort of developers is a soulless game that will entertain only a very narrow circle of undemanding players and children.

Yes, it's functional and has some decent concepts, however the experience simply can't avoid comparisons with boring indie horror titles. Even its small gameplay nuances wind up detracting from engagement in multifaceted ways.

In Nightmare is an experience that will leave players more frustrated than frightened. The story is decent enough, if predictable, but it quickly loses steam since you can guess what'll happen and the pantomimed scenes are too vague. The gameplay teeters between fine to unplayable due to technical issues and an overall design that favors trial and error and memorization versus crafting a more dynamic challenge. All of those things rob the game of a scare factor; there's nothing really horrifying about what you're up against. The ideas are sound, but unless you have to play every single horror game out there, you can safely skip In Nightmare and not miss a thing.

In Nightmare is a pale competitor to other titles of the horror-adventure genre. Stealth that’s preferable to charge through, puzzles that are the blandest of time-wasters and a narrative of dark themes burdened with typos and poor delivery. Real nightmares threaten your sleep with terror and fear, whereas In Nightmare only threatens to bore or frustrate you to death.

In Nightmare could have been great, but the atmosphere and environments aren't enough to make up for the woeful frame rate, frustrating enemy encounters, and overall tedium of the gameplay.

Overall, In Nightmare hits the mark. It fits its self-defined genre, and was an otherwise decent game. Its overabundance of mechanics and reliance on standard horror game features hold the title back from being more unique than it could be. Though In Nightmare should not supplant any of your favorite horror titles, the game’s narrative and attempt to differentiate itself through its visuals might just be enough to garner a curious horror game fan’s attention.

So overall, In Nightmare does a lot of things right and never overcomplicates its mechanics while helping Billy escape this world of nightmares. On the other hand, the puzzles are often simply too complicated and when combined with chapters that can take hours to complete, the flow of the adventure is just not there causing more frustration than enjoyment.

In Nightmare is a frustrating and dull horror experience that can't live up to the many ideas it tries to set up. This left me not only bored, but disappointed in what it could have been.

I was pleasantly surprised at In Nightmare, as I said horror is not usually my thing but the subject matter here and the way it’s handled is quite masterful. I mean the whole game is extremely relatable as Bill discovers the thing that some of us have already; and that thing is that more often than not we create our own monsters via our subconscious. The situations or people we monster-fy were never as bad as we thought they were. And hopefully I haven’t said too much, because this game is a wonderful experience, despite the wonky jump button and iffy sonar system I enjoyed my time in this nightmare very much. And while there isn’t much replay value outside of trying to 100% everything; at a value price In Nightmare is more than worth it just on the story alone.