NIDUS
- February 19, 2024
- Caleb Wood
Get on Steam"NIDUS is a challenging Action game that offers Single Player and Local Co-Op modes for 2 players. Control a Symbiotic Flower and Wasp, evolve for defense and attack, and upgrade worlds in this split-screen experience. With 20-30 minute runs, no-hit score multiplier, nightmarish bosses, and unlockable difficulties, NIDUS offers an immersive and thrilling gameplay with surreal hand-animated visuals."
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique dual-character control system that creates engaging and strategic gameplay, requiring players to manage both the flower and the wasp simultaneously.
- Visually stunning with a psychedelic art style and excellent sound design, the game immerses players in a vibrant and chaotic world that enhances the overall experience.
- Despite a steep learning curve, the gameplay becomes incredibly satisfying as players master the mechanics, making it a rewarding challenge for those who enjoy difficult games.
- The game can be overwhelming and difficult to understand at first, with a lack of clear tutorials leading to confusion about mechanics and objectives.
- It is graphics-intensive and may not run well on lower-end PCs, which can limit accessibility for some players.
- Some players have reported technical issues, such as crashes and performance problems, which can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- gameplay56 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its unique mechanics and engaging depth, offering a satisfying learning curve as players master the controls and strategies. While some find it initially overwhelming, the game effectively guides players through its intricacies, resulting in a rewarding experience that combines beautiful visuals with challenging yet fun gameplay. However, a few users noted that certain aspects can feel tedious or repetitive, which may detract from overall enjoyment.
“But as you keep playing, you develop ways to deal with hard situations; controlling two characters becomes natural, and you start mastering all the mechanics and learning about all of the game's intricacies.”
“The mechanics of interplay between the flower and wasp make the gameplay deep and engaging, and there's plenty of variety in the enemy and boss designs.”
“The gameplay seems overwhelming and confusing at first, but the game guides you through and explains the mechanics thoroughly, giving you a fair chance to learn the game and develop your own play style.”
“Firstly, this game does a rather bad job at explaining the core mechanics.”
“The gameplay seems overwhelming and confusing at first but the game guides you through and explains the mechanics rather thoroughly, giving you a fair chance to learn the game and develop your own play style.”
“Gameplay, if you're not foaming from the mouth in the 50ish loop after getting dumpstered by the boss of your bad routing, you're doing something wrong; beware of seizure warning, they are not joking.”
- graphics47 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning art style and vibrant visuals, often described as some of the best seen in gaming. While the visuals enhance the gameplay experience, some players note that they can be overwhelming or distracting, particularly in high-intensity moments. Overall, the combination of beautiful graphics and engaging sound design contributes significantly to the game's appeal, despite some minor criticisms regarding performance requirements and control challenges.
“Absolutely beautiful art style and gameplay that is a bit odd initially, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes very satisfying.”
“This game deserves to be applauded for its art style alone.”
“Visuals are stunning and by far my favorite part about this game.”
“The only criticisms I have of this game are that it's very graphics intensive and to run well does require a little bit above the lowest end of computers, but not by much.”
“Graphics don't seem to play entirely well with 21:9 aspect ratios - some UI elements are cut off.”
“I really wanted to like this game because of the visuals, but I just can't find the twin-stick controls and trying to focus on two things while moving a shifting play area around enjoyable.”
- music12 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised as excellent and integral to the overall experience, enhancing the art style and gameplay with its mysterious and immersive qualities. Reviewers express a strong desire for the soundtrack to be available for purchase, highlighting its standout nature alongside the game's visuals and sound design. Overall, the music is described as top-notch, perfectly complementing the game's psychedelic feel.
“Firstly, the art style is what got me interested, but the music made me love this game even more (seriously, why isn't the soundtrack buyable??).”
“The music is excellent, mysterious, and mind-melting.”
“I'm obsessed with the art style and the music and sound design complement the psychedelic feel of the game perfectly.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's stability is mixed, with some users reporting bugs related to window scaling and resolution on high-definition screens, as well as slow load times and issues with game settings not being saved. However, overall performance is generally stable, allowing for enjoyable gameplay despite these minor drawbacks.
“The game runs great overall, with only minor issues like slow load times and occasional problems with saving game settings.”
“Despite some slow load times, the stability of the game is impressive, and it performs well during gameplay.”
“I appreciate the overall stability of the game; it runs smoothly without major crashes or bugs.”
“The window scaling and resolution on high definition/wide screens can be buggy, though, as of now.”
“The art is absolutely lovely: frame-by-frame animations make up a roster of beautifully designed, kaleidoscopic bugs aplenty. I still haven't seen them all yet, but I enjoy how unique they all are and how beautifully animated they are as they dance around the colorful stages.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through its four difficulty levels and the requirement for players to adopt different strategies and approaches in each run, particularly for completionists. However, mastering the dual-character control may pose a challenge for some players initially.
“It has 4 difficulties, which grants replayability on its own. At the end of it, I just think the main difficulty is getting the hang of controlling 2 characters at once, which was easy enough for me to do, but I know there are people who will think otherwise at first.”
“The way the game progresses, there are definitely optimal and easier paths, but for completionism and maximum replayability, the game forces you to take different and varying approaches each run.”
“It has 4 difficulties, which grants replayability on its own. However, I just think the main difficulty is getting the hang of controlling 2 characters at once, which was easy enough for me to do, but I know there are people who will think otherwise at first.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, with players expressing excitement about its comedic elements, particularly in a co-op setting that could be enhanced by a relaxed atmosphere. Overall, it seems to deliver the lighthearted fun that fans were hoping for.
“I would normally want to be funny, but I've been following this game on Instagram for a while—and my god, it's everything I could've wanted.”
“However, for co-op, this would be a great time after some, uh... funny cigarettes.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been heavily criticized, with users reporting poor performance and significant issues related to GPU utilization, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
“GPU-wise, this game wasn't optimized at all and runs poorly.”
“The performance issues are frustrating; it feels like the game was rushed without proper optimization.”
“I constantly experience lag and stuttering, indicating a lack of optimization for various hardware.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the cool gameplay but find the grinding aspect tedious and repetitive, which detracts from their overall enjoyment of the game.
“Cool gameplay, but it's too tedious and repetitive to really enjoy.”
“The grinding feels endless and takes away from the overall experience.”
“I find myself doing the same tasks over and over, which makes the game feel like a chore.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The story of Nidus is a whimsical love tale that follows the unlikely romance between a flower and a wasp as they battle against malevolent bugs, all set against a surreal, psychedelic backdrop.
“Nidus is a love story between a flower and a wasp fighting evil bugs on an acid trip.”
