doesn't feel right, can't deny that the shotguns specifically and movement feel great but its aimless; the guns are weird and have modifiers that just make them not work, game has these shitty minigames like a pokemon and a mario for some reason that you like have to engage with? and they suck? why? what the fuck is this?
a game that so desperately wanted to be Blood 25 years later but got caught up in being Gunfire Reborn instead and didnt want to use Blood as a crutch and so decided to be inspired by DLC Quest for some bewildering reason instead
a game that so desperately wanted to be Blood 25 years later but got caught up in being Gunfire Reborn instead and didnt want to use Blood as a crutch and so decided to be inspired by DLC Quest for some bewildering reason instead
the only good roguelike
I'm not exaggerating when I say this game has almost endless replayability thanks to plentiful content and an insane arsenal of weapons and variants. The story is also delivered in an interesting way.
My main issue is the level design, as it slowly gets worse as the game progresses. Some later levels are frustrating to navigate and the procedural generation looks unappealing at times.
My main issue is the level design, as it slowly gets worse as the game progresses. Some later levels are frustrating to navigate and the procedural generation looks unappealing at times.
135 FOV
the flying head made me shit
A holy union of roguelike and boomer shooter that has come a long way from its early access days. As it is now, this is a supremely addictive shooter than makes some really creative changes to both the roguelike and boom-shoot genres. It doesn't have the playtime of games like Isaac or Noita, but I honestly don't think it needed it. It's a fairly long and incredibly repayable romp that needs more of a spotlight on it.
I sure do love shooting demons (mental illness)
Good aesthetic.
Good aesthetic.
In terms of straight up gameplay, "Nightmare Reaper" is absolutely fantastic! Combat is fast, thrilling, and gruesome; everything you could want out of a boomer shooter! The huge array of enemies, weapons, and levels makes the game feel incredibly massive, and the large amount of upgrades achievable through cute little retro-minigames are great (though admittedly, a little confusing outside the primary skill tree). The story is also pretty interesting. Its told entirely through level design and little notes you get after completing every level. Its vague enough to remain interesting, yet direct enough to not be confusing, a perfect blend for a game like this.
For the most part, I adore everything about this game. But to fully understand it, you have to understand its most interesting, and polarizing feature: RNG.
Aside from the hospital layout, the survival maps, and the minigames, everything in this game is built around RNG. The weapons you get, the level layouts, and the enemies you fight are all random (there's some restrictions in terms of biomes and what kinds of enemies you'll fight at certain stages of the game, but still, everything is put together algorithmically instead of being crafted by a human hand). It uses so much RNG that if you try to explain what the game is to other people, they'd likely assume its a roguelike (which it isn't).
This huge focus on RNG shows off some great strengths, but far more often, it showcases the incredible weaknesses of the system. For instance, since weapons and weapon stats are completely random, you will likely pick up an insanely powerful weapon at some point that completely trivializes the combat. For me, this was a legendary shotgun with 9 slugs that shot cannonballs instead of pellets. I picked this gun up roughly halfway or so through my run, and never put it down. After that, I stopped bothering with other weapons altogether, as my one incredible shotgun was basically a perfect solution for every problem the game could throw at me.
You could attempt to maybe self-enforce some sort of restriction on yourself so that this doesn't happen. Maybe drop a weapon after using it for too many levels? Or maybe sell it when one of the doctors shows up and offers you gold for it? You could try that, but then you'd be facing down the other major issue with this game's RNG...
As I said before, this game isn't a roguelike. In those types of games, death means a reset of your run. You lose all the weapons you gained and have to start again.
Here though? Death just means you lost that one run of that level and you have to try again; with whatever weapon(s) you started the level with. Not a huge problem, you can just try the level again. But since you'll have no idea what to expect, there's no real way for you to strategize. So if you happen to run into the level with a mid or even bad weapon, you'll either have to hope the game will grace you with something better, or that the number of enemies will be low enough for you to deal with. The amount of times I started a level only to have the very first room I walked into after spawning be a massive arena with an insane surplus of enemies was astounding. If I didn't have my OP shotgun through the later half of the game, I would have had a far more frustrating time with it. Are you going to risk having to play through a level a dozen times in hopes of finally getting something good, or would you rather start off with something good and have a much higher chance of succeeding in the first place?
After a while of playing the game, I started to have this feeling that my own skill wasn't all that important. What really mattered was what kind of gun I had. And nowhere did this feeling pop up more than the boss fights. I honestly did not enjoy the vast majority of this game's boss fights, entirely because it always felt like my victory was solely because of the weapon I was holding and nothing else. In the first half of the game, I struggled against every boss until I happened to pick up something powerful enough to waste them by pure luck. Then, in the latter half of the game, I almost never struggled at all because my shotgun obliterated every boss on my first try.
The RNG in this game can be incredibly fun when you're toying around with all the random weapons and getting a feel for everything. But once you really sink your toes into everything, and you eventually get that one extremely powerful weapon, the RNG just becomes background noise. Which is a shame.
When I finished my first playthrough and started new game+1, I went in with the goal of finishing the skill tree before stopping. But on my way to my goal, I ended up selling my shotgun for a huge sum of gold to help me unlock more skills. As a result, I was left with nothing but my chainsaw, and found the level I was on to be completely impossible afterwards. After dying over five times without getting anywhere, I shrugged my shoulders and decided it wasn't worth it, and just stopped playing. A weird end to a game I enjoyed so much.
Overall, "Nightmare Reaper" is an absolutely fantastic shooter with great gameplay and engrossing shooting. But it is heavily hampered by its focus on RNG, which ends up taking away a lot from the game's potential. I'm giving the game an eight out of ten because the combat loop is just that addictive, and I had an insane amount of fun with it. I played one or two levels a day after work every day, and to me, that's the best way to play this game: in short, nice, bite sized chunks. It's definitely worth a playthrough, just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
For the most part, I adore everything about this game. But to fully understand it, you have to understand its most interesting, and polarizing feature: RNG.
Aside from the hospital layout, the survival maps, and the minigames, everything in this game is built around RNG. The weapons you get, the level layouts, and the enemies you fight are all random (there's some restrictions in terms of biomes and what kinds of enemies you'll fight at certain stages of the game, but still, everything is put together algorithmically instead of being crafted by a human hand). It uses so much RNG that if you try to explain what the game is to other people, they'd likely assume its a roguelike (which it isn't).
This huge focus on RNG shows off some great strengths, but far more often, it showcases the incredible weaknesses of the system. For instance, since weapons and weapon stats are completely random, you will likely pick up an insanely powerful weapon at some point that completely trivializes the combat. For me, this was a legendary shotgun with 9 slugs that shot cannonballs instead of pellets. I picked this gun up roughly halfway or so through my run, and never put it down. After that, I stopped bothering with other weapons altogether, as my one incredible shotgun was basically a perfect solution for every problem the game could throw at me.
You could attempt to maybe self-enforce some sort of restriction on yourself so that this doesn't happen. Maybe drop a weapon after using it for too many levels? Or maybe sell it when one of the doctors shows up and offers you gold for it? You could try that, but then you'd be facing down the other major issue with this game's RNG...
As I said before, this game isn't a roguelike. In those types of games, death means a reset of your run. You lose all the weapons you gained and have to start again.
Here though? Death just means you lost that one run of that level and you have to try again; with whatever weapon(s) you started the level with. Not a huge problem, you can just try the level again. But since you'll have no idea what to expect, there's no real way for you to strategize. So if you happen to run into the level with a mid or even bad weapon, you'll either have to hope the game will grace you with something better, or that the number of enemies will be low enough for you to deal with. The amount of times I started a level only to have the very first room I walked into after spawning be a massive arena with an insane surplus of enemies was astounding. If I didn't have my OP shotgun through the later half of the game, I would have had a far more frustrating time with it. Are you going to risk having to play through a level a dozen times in hopes of finally getting something good, or would you rather start off with something good and have a much higher chance of succeeding in the first place?
After a while of playing the game, I started to have this feeling that my own skill wasn't all that important. What really mattered was what kind of gun I had. And nowhere did this feeling pop up more than the boss fights. I honestly did not enjoy the vast majority of this game's boss fights, entirely because it always felt like my victory was solely because of the weapon I was holding and nothing else. In the first half of the game, I struggled against every boss until I happened to pick up something powerful enough to waste them by pure luck. Then, in the latter half of the game, I almost never struggled at all because my shotgun obliterated every boss on my first try.
The RNG in this game can be incredibly fun when you're toying around with all the random weapons and getting a feel for everything. But once you really sink your toes into everything, and you eventually get that one extremely powerful weapon, the RNG just becomes background noise. Which is a shame.
When I finished my first playthrough and started new game+1, I went in with the goal of finishing the skill tree before stopping. But on my way to my goal, I ended up selling my shotgun for a huge sum of gold to help me unlock more skills. As a result, I was left with nothing but my chainsaw, and found the level I was on to be completely impossible afterwards. After dying over five times without getting anywhere, I shrugged my shoulders and decided it wasn't worth it, and just stopped playing. A weird end to a game I enjoyed so much.
Overall, "Nightmare Reaper" is an absolutely fantastic shooter with great gameplay and engrossing shooting. But it is heavily hampered by its focus on RNG, which ends up taking away a lot from the game's potential. I'm giving the game an eight out of ten because the combat loop is just that addictive, and I had an insane amount of fun with it. I played one or two levels a day after work every day, and to me, that's the best way to play this game: in short, nice, bite sized chunks. It's definitely worth a playthrough, just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
i don't know how to write schizophrenic. DOOM worship.
Boomer shooter meets looter shooter, I guess. As other reviews point out, the game is somewhat long and potentially gets repetitive, but personally I find its reliance on randomness to spice things up works pretty well. Having the upgrade systems be their own minigames is another fun idea which helps this game stand out. I was pretty surprised in general at how unique it felt, and I think it's worth a try for anyone interested in retro-style FPS games.
Fun and somewhat mindless FPS-roguelike with borderlands-style looter aspect (but more overboard).
Artstyle and graphics is, by all means, something that clicks with you or not (or rather something you can or can't put up with).
A giant arsenal with a lot of standout weapons, and just as many that don't, marred by the random modifiers which can absolutely make-or-break a weapon, in good ways making a "low-tier" or "boring weapon" insanely fun, but also "high-tier" weapons next to useless or garbage.
The meta-progression is done in a super interesting way, in the form of three minigames styled after retro-games (Mario, Pokémon, Galaga), but gets pretty grindy.
The third major chapter of the game is extremely long compared to the first two, and kind of drags on the end of the game, not helped by the semi-procedually generated maps blending together, even less by returning to the same "hub-level" repopulated with enemies, and even worse by the final boss being extremely easy (for better and worse).
Artstyle and graphics is, by all means, something that clicks with you or not (or rather something you can or can't put up with).
A giant arsenal with a lot of standout weapons, and just as many that don't, marred by the random modifiers which can absolutely make-or-break a weapon, in good ways making a "low-tier" or "boring weapon" insanely fun, but also "high-tier" weapons next to useless or garbage.
The meta-progression is done in a super interesting way, in the form of three minigames styled after retro-games (Mario, Pokémon, Galaga), but gets pretty grindy.
The third major chapter of the game is extremely long compared to the first two, and kind of drags on the end of the game, not helped by the semi-procedually generated maps blending together, even less by returning to the same "hub-level" repopulated with enemies, and even worse by the final boss being extremely easy (for better and worse).
Oh gods, when will it end? Semi-infinite roguelight doom shooter, at the beginning you can feel the variety, the levels are randomly generated, the monsters are all quite different, but you get very tired of the number of levels already in the 2nd act (there are only 3 of them and they are very huge) There is basically no plot, only doctor’s notes after each level . I wouldn’t say that I didn’t like this shooter concept, there are many positive aspects in the form of driving music, but again, in the end, killing demons becomes not fun and too routine.
О боги, когда она закончится? Полубесконечный роуглайт doom-шутер, в начале чувствуется разнообразие, уровни рандомно генерируются, монстры все достаточно разные, но сильно устаешь от количество уровней уже на 2 акте (их всего 3 и они очень огромные) Сюжета в принципе нет, только заметки врача после каждого уровня. Не сказал бы, что мне не понравился такой концепт шутера, есть много положительных сторон в виде драйвой музыки, но опять же, под конец убивать демонов становится не весело и слишком рутинно.
О боги, когда она закончится? Полубесконечный роуглайт doom-шутер, в начале чувствуется разнообразие, уровни рандомно генерируются, монстры все достаточно разные, но сильно устаешь от количество уровней уже на 2 акте (их всего 3 и они очень огромные) Сюжета в принципе нет, только заметки врача после каждого уровня. Не сказал бы, что мне не понравился такой концепт шутера, есть много положительных сторон в виде драйвой музыки, но опять же, под конец убивать демонов становится не весело и слишком рутинно.
Normally, I utterly fucking despise roguelites. Doing run after run of the same thing, just with a minor buff or unlock for your next attempt being the reward at the end, is the most mind-numbingly monotonous way to drip-feed content and dopamine to a player. It is an insult to the very medium. And this game doesn't change my stance on that. However, I found myself acclimating to the gameplay loop of Nightmare Reaper a lot more comfortably than I thought I would, to the point that I was so used to it at the halfway point that I kind of wanted it to be over already.
Now, let me be clear that that is absolutely not to say that this is a dry well, far from it. Nightmare Reaper has to have one of the most extensive catalogues of overpowering and ostentatious tools of destruction that a man can lay his hands on. If you can think of it, there's a high chance the game has it. Saws, blades, nukes, black holes, and every caliber in the American alphabet are all on the table when it comes to turning sprite-based monsters into a fine, red mist. Well, as fine as spritework can get, anyway. And there's even mod support, so you should be able to find whatever you're looking for if it's somehow not in the vanilla selection.
I also appreciate a lot of the little QoL quirks about the game, like the fact that there's no dumb credits or anything at the start of the game - you just find the game in your library, hit play and: Poof! You're in the psych ward faster than an Ultrakill player. You also use a totally-not-a-Nintendo-GameBoy™️ as your pause menu, where you can change the actual colour of the not-GameBoy™️ itself, fiddle with a surprising amount of game options, change your weapon loadout, and access your skill trees to buy upgrades in the form of minigames, including a 2d sidescroller, a totally-not-Pokemon™️-clone, and a space shoot-em-up. I do wish the minigames had a little more meat to them, but more time being spent on it would ultimately detract from the maingame, so it's understandable.
Obviously, it being a boomshoot made within the past 5 years means it will have a handful of problems, unfortunately. Even with all the fancy movement options the game gives you, such as up to three jumps, rocket jumping, knockback jumping, and even a grappling hook, the basic game plan is always going to consist of two words: circle-strafe. And since the weapon selection is such a clear highlight, and with it being a roguelite, it's obviously going to suffer in a lot of the other areas, such as the general art direction and layout of the environments, seeing as most of them are going to be randomised, with a few mid-to-late-game exceptions.
Speaking of the art direction and environments, have fun spending 25% of the time killing shit, and other 75% looking for secrets, such as the exact same black crack pattern on a dark-coloured cobblestone tile, or a C4 charge hidden underneath a shallow body of water that you could've sworn you walked right over like five times. And since it's an indie game, I hope you're looking forward to hearing a healthy helping of Gianni.
The music, unfortunately, isn't really anything to write home about either. A serious reliance on samey chugging riffs make for a perfectly listenable, but uninteresting and repetitive listening experience. Not unfitting of a game in the roguelite genre, but honestly a bit depressing, seeing as it came from Andrew fucking Hulshult, which came as a shock to me, seeing the wasted potential a game like this had to have a soundtrack that could make my cock hard enough to cut glass, as seen in other projects he was a part of, namely DUSK. There's also only 14 different tracks in the entire game, so just how often you're going to be hearing the same track also plays a big part of it. Still, it's not irredeemable.
All in all, there's a lot to love about Nightmare Reaper. It clearly has a lot of ideas, and was a serious passion project, seeing the absurd variety of weapons on display, for one, and while it's not exactly going to be winning any awards for peak BoomShoot design, much less anything else I've covered so far, it's incredibly inspired and can be an absolute treat to play.
Now, let me be clear that that is absolutely not to say that this is a dry well, far from it. Nightmare Reaper has to have one of the most extensive catalogues of overpowering and ostentatious tools of destruction that a man can lay his hands on. If you can think of it, there's a high chance the game has it. Saws, blades, nukes, black holes, and every caliber in the American alphabet are all on the table when it comes to turning sprite-based monsters into a fine, red mist. Well, as fine as spritework can get, anyway. And there's even mod support, so you should be able to find whatever you're looking for if it's somehow not in the vanilla selection.
I also appreciate a lot of the little QoL quirks about the game, like the fact that there's no dumb credits or anything at the start of the game - you just find the game in your library, hit play and: Poof! You're in the psych ward faster than an Ultrakill player. You also use a totally-not-a-Nintendo-GameBoy™️ as your pause menu, where you can change the actual colour of the not-GameBoy™️ itself, fiddle with a surprising amount of game options, change your weapon loadout, and access your skill trees to buy upgrades in the form of minigames, including a 2d sidescroller, a totally-not-Pokemon™️-clone, and a space shoot-em-up. I do wish the minigames had a little more meat to them, but more time being spent on it would ultimately detract from the maingame, so it's understandable.
Obviously, it being a boomshoot made within the past 5 years means it will have a handful of problems, unfortunately. Even with all the fancy movement options the game gives you, such as up to three jumps, rocket jumping, knockback jumping, and even a grappling hook, the basic game plan is always going to consist of two words: circle-strafe. And since the weapon selection is such a clear highlight, and with it being a roguelite, it's obviously going to suffer in a lot of the other areas, such as the general art direction and layout of the environments, seeing as most of them are going to be randomised, with a few mid-to-late-game exceptions.
Speaking of the art direction and environments, have fun spending 25% of the time killing shit, and other 75% looking for secrets, such as the exact same black crack pattern on a dark-coloured cobblestone tile, or a C4 charge hidden underneath a shallow body of water that you could've sworn you walked right over like five times. And since it's an indie game, I hope you're looking forward to hearing a healthy helping of Gianni.
The music, unfortunately, isn't really anything to write home about either. A serious reliance on samey chugging riffs make for a perfectly listenable, but uninteresting and repetitive listening experience. Not unfitting of a game in the roguelite genre, but honestly a bit depressing, seeing as it came from Andrew fucking Hulshult, which came as a shock to me, seeing the wasted potential a game like this had to have a soundtrack that could make my cock hard enough to cut glass, as seen in other projects he was a part of, namely DUSK. There's also only 14 different tracks in the entire game, so just how often you're going to be hearing the same track also plays a big part of it. Still, it's not irredeemable.
All in all, there's a lot to love about Nightmare Reaper. It clearly has a lot of ideas, and was a serious passion project, seeing the absurd variety of weapons on display, for one, and while it's not exactly going to be winning any awards for peak BoomShoot design, much less anything else I've covered so far, it's incredibly inspired and can be an absolute treat to play.
The game's initial phase is quite enjoyable, but the later stages—which involve looking for keys and placing items into rocks in order to open doors—become incredibly tedious and the ending was very dissatisfying
Boring levels, basic combat, tons of pointless loot, lack of clarity when it comes to how much progress you're making.
Badly optimised.
Badly optimised.
one of the best fuckin boomer shooters i've ever played. legitimately so fun to go through honestly.
Single-player looter shooter with a boomer shooter aesthetic. All of the guns feel great, but I'm starting to fall off of the game
I was initially put off this game by a description of it being a rogue like; it isn’t that at all, but it is an FPS with procedurally generated levels and weapons. Just clear about 80 of them and you’re done!
Loads of weapon variety, with the later level 3 weapons being completely ridiculous and a lot of fun. Maybe not the most technically proficient in terms of design, and it made my 3900X processor suffer later on, but it’s so easy to get caught up in the blasting as the enemies and gunfire increase.
Loads of weapon variety, with the later level 3 weapons being completely ridiculous and a lot of fun. Maybe not the most technically proficient in terms of design, and it made my 3900X processor suffer later on, but it’s so easy to get caught up in the blasting as the enemies and gunfire increase.
Genuinely a really entertaining shooter that does have some shortcomings due to the fact the game is randomly generated. There is a lot of debate on whether or not random generation games are good or not, but I can definitely say from my point of view that random generation creates boring environments and lessens the incentive to try different weapons, as most likely what will happen is that early on, youll find a weapon whos mixture of stats melts enemies and youll use that for the remaining 2/3rd of the game. Despite my complaints, I did have a lot of fun, and the feedback loop of blasting a room of enemies to bloody chunks with a rocket launcher and receiving a stream of coins afterwards is very satisfying.
After playing it for 5.6 hours, I think I can pretty confidently give my opinion since this game is really repetitive and I don't think that it will change much in the remaining time.
Nightmare reaper is an alright game. It is fun. Not excessively so, but it is quite decent at that.
I think the biggest problem with this game is its focus on quantity instead of quality; It has a lot of weapons, but most of which feel pretty meh to use, with them also having a big range of random modifiers based on the weapon's "quality", and the levels are procedurally generated, which I think is the worse of these aspects, since despite being each time something different, they feel like each time the same. This description may lead some to believe this is a rouge-like, and that is not really the case. The game do is divided by levels (or at least I think so, since it is very hard to distinguish each level), with each one being harder than the previous one, but always randomly generated. You need to complete each level without dying, and you can only keep one weapon at the end of each level, meaning you will have to loot in each level. There do is a permanent upgrading system though, which also features platforming mini-games which feel really awful to play.
And that's all the game (I think, since I didn't beat it). Going trough unmemorable and random levels, killing stuff and looting weapons. I wanted to at least finish the game, but aparently it is about 20 hours and I have already passed more than 5 doing the same thing over and over again. So no thanks. Really a shame because I think that the concept of the nightmares and stuff could be great to ambient a game and if this had a more lineal and quality before quantity approach I think it could have been a really cool game.
Nightmare reaper is an alright game. It is fun. Not excessively so, but it is quite decent at that.
I think the biggest problem with this game is its focus on quantity instead of quality; It has a lot of weapons, but most of which feel pretty meh to use, with them also having a big range of random modifiers based on the weapon's "quality", and the levels are procedurally generated, which I think is the worse of these aspects, since despite being each time something different, they feel like each time the same. This description may lead some to believe this is a rouge-like, and that is not really the case. The game do is divided by levels (or at least I think so, since it is very hard to distinguish each level), with each one being harder than the previous one, but always randomly generated. You need to complete each level without dying, and you can only keep one weapon at the end of each level, meaning you will have to loot in each level. There do is a permanent upgrading system though, which also features platforming mini-games which feel really awful to play.
And that's all the game (I think, since I didn't beat it). Going trough unmemorable and random levels, killing stuff and looting weapons. I wanted to at least finish the game, but aparently it is about 20 hours and I have already passed more than 5 doing the same thing over and over again. So no thanks. Really a shame because I think that the concept of the nightmares and stuff could be great to ambient a game and if this had a more lineal and quality before quantity approach I think it could have been a really cool game.
Nightmare Reaper is a great game with fantastic weapons and gunplay that only gets better the further in you delve.
However due to the proc generation, it can feel pretty repetitive at times, and certain levels on later NG+ can be extremely frustrating
However due to the proc generation, it can feel pretty repetitive at times, and certain levels on later NG+ can be extremely frustrating
Has its bursts of fun but it can be really tiresome. I think part of this is the game is just too long. The levels are incredibly same-y, all procedurally generated so you're more or less experiencing the same level several times in a row. There are 3 chapters, each of those has like 9 sections, and each of those has 3 levels. I don't think it's the best format for a "roguelite" because it lowers the stakes, there are no runs, and if you find one really good weapon it will carry you through the entire game.
It's okay. The guns generally feel good but even with their special effects I never ran into anything that really knocked my socks off or varied gameplay significantly. The randomly generated levels get too samey really quickly which isn't helped in the slightest by how long this game is. I got like 15 levels in and when I realized I was still in episode 1 of 3 I knew I wasn't in it for the long haul.
Let's get the bad things out of the way: it's an ugly fucking game that's released when rogue-like games are pretty much everywhere.
Despite this, it's a very good game that you can get sucked into for hours. After a while its artstyle which looks like someone ate and vomited Wolfenstein 3D starts to feel cozy and the gameplay thankfully doesn't feel worse because of it.
It's effectively just a boomshoot with generated levels where you can find hundreds of weapons and upgrade yourself by collecting treasure and perfecting levels. What makes its formula work is that various modifiers on weapons make the game feel so different that it feels like it has as many synergies as Binding of Isaac.
Due to its procgen nature the game can be a little unfair, and not in a fun way, but it's ultimately nothing compared to dozens of hours I've put into it. I only wish the levels felt a bit more different, as sometimes they run together even with different tilesets.
Despite this, it's a very good game that you can get sucked into for hours. After a while its artstyle which looks like someone ate and vomited Wolfenstein 3D starts to feel cozy and the gameplay thankfully doesn't feel worse because of it.
It's effectively just a boomshoot with generated levels where you can find hundreds of weapons and upgrade yourself by collecting treasure and perfecting levels. What makes its formula work is that various modifiers on weapons make the game feel so different that it feels like it has as many synergies as Binding of Isaac.
Due to its procgen nature the game can be a little unfair, and not in a fun way, but it's ultimately nothing compared to dozens of hours I've put into it. I only wish the levels felt a bit more different, as sometimes they run together even with different tilesets.
Is this just another throwback shooter in the sea of games of this genre we have today? Yeah, pretty much.
Nightmare Reaper’s quirk that sets it apart are the randomly generated levels and variety of weapons that can be found. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough for me. Indeed, it was fun for a while, but then all the levels started blending in together, and I got more and more bored as I kept going, so instead I just quit.
Overall, it’s alright, I had fun, I just wish I continued to have fun. Someone who is a bigger fan of this genre will have a better time than me.
Story
You play as a woman (I forget whether she has a name) who is insane, to the point where every time she goes to sleep, she dreams of a retro FPS game. It's nothing more than a framing device for the gameplay. At times there are doctor’s notes that can be found in your room (you are hospitalized) which can be interesting, but they come very rarely.
Does anyone else get tired of a boomer shooter with an almost non-existent plot, I find it the biggest flaw in the genre.
Mechanics and gameplay
It’s the standard throwback shooter formula. The level starts, kill all enemies while making your way through it, kill a boss if there is one, and end the level. The randomly generated levels that Nightmare Reaper uses are also its biggest flaw. They are better than a badly designed level, but they all feel the same, since there is rarely anything to set them apart. I guess the way this could have been avoided is by just making the game shorter, since as of now it's long, like very long.
Another variation to the formula is the way weapons are handled. There are a lot of them, but instead of having a slot for each one, you have to choose two or three and discard the rest. Weapons are found through levels, either being dropped from monsters or just found randomly on the ground. They come in various rarities and the higher the rarity, the more quirks they have. This is great and all, but there is one problem. Once you find a high-rarity weapon, replacing it becomes difficult. Since if you were to replace it with something worse, you suddenly made the game much harder.
There are other gamemodes like minigames and an arena, but none of them caught my interest.
Graphics/Artstyle
2.5D graphics are similar to old FPS games like Wolfenstein and Doom. There is improved lighting and effects compared to them, but still, the graphics are a bit bland.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Unfortunately, any type of atmosphere or immersion the game tries to build is held back by the randomly generated levels and the RPG-like weapon rarities.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is made by Andrew Hulshult. (Who could have guessed!?) Classic metal FPS OST, it's alright, not much more I can say. My favourite part is “Lucid Mayhem”.
Final Thoughts
I wish my dreams were as epic as this, instead, I kidnap doctors and take pictures of cars.
Nightmare Reaper’s quirk that sets it apart are the randomly generated levels and variety of weapons that can be found. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough for me. Indeed, it was fun for a while, but then all the levels started blending in together, and I got more and more bored as I kept going, so instead I just quit.
Overall, it’s alright, I had fun, I just wish I continued to have fun. Someone who is a bigger fan of this genre will have a better time than me.
Story
You play as a woman (I forget whether she has a name) who is insane, to the point where every time she goes to sleep, she dreams of a retro FPS game. It's nothing more than a framing device for the gameplay. At times there are doctor’s notes that can be found in your room (you are hospitalized) which can be interesting, but they come very rarely.
Does anyone else get tired of a boomer shooter with an almost non-existent plot, I find it the biggest flaw in the genre.
Mechanics and gameplay
It’s the standard throwback shooter formula. The level starts, kill all enemies while making your way through it, kill a boss if there is one, and end the level. The randomly generated levels that Nightmare Reaper uses are also its biggest flaw. They are better than a badly designed level, but they all feel the same, since there is rarely anything to set them apart. I guess the way this could have been avoided is by just making the game shorter, since as of now it's long, like very long.
Another variation to the formula is the way weapons are handled. There are a lot of them, but instead of having a slot for each one, you have to choose two or three and discard the rest. Weapons are found through levels, either being dropped from monsters or just found randomly on the ground. They come in various rarities and the higher the rarity, the more quirks they have. This is great and all, but there is one problem. Once you find a high-rarity weapon, replacing it becomes difficult. Since if you were to replace it with something worse, you suddenly made the game much harder.
There are other gamemodes like minigames and an arena, but none of them caught my interest.
Graphics/Artstyle
2.5D graphics are similar to old FPS games like Wolfenstein and Doom. There is improved lighting and effects compared to them, but still, the graphics are a bit bland.
Atmosphere/Immersion
Unfortunately, any type of atmosphere or immersion the game tries to build is held back by the randomly generated levels and the RPG-like weapon rarities.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is made by Andrew Hulshult. (Who could have guessed!?) Classic metal FPS OST, it's alright, not much more I can say. My favourite part is “Lucid Mayhem”.
Final Thoughts
I wish my dreams were as epic as this, instead, I kidnap doctors and take pictures of cars.