Nightmare Boy
- October 25, 2017
- The Vanir Project
If you're looking for an adventure with a unique look and its own sense of style Nightmare Boy can have its charm.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games StoreIn Nightmare Boy , players explore a chaotic world called Noctum, where the king has vanished and a tyrant named Balder rules. As the protagonist, Baltazara, players must navigate a metroidvania-style 2D landscape, defeat enemies, and solve puzzles to save kidnapped children and restore balance to Noctum. Interactions with quirky NPCs can have significant consequences, making each playthrough unique.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a unique and charming art style that appeals to fans of retro aesthetics.
- Gameplay can be addictive and offers a fun metroidvania experience with a variety of challenges.
- The story has hidden depth and engaging dialogue that adds to the overall experience.
- Controls are inconsistent and can lead to frustrating gameplay, with issues like delayed jumps and unresponsive attacks.
- The game suffers from poor visual clarity, making it difficult to distinguish enemies from the background.
- Backtracking is excessive and can disrupt the flow of the game, making it feel tedious.
- graphics7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their cool art style and charming aesthetics, contributing to a visually appealing experience. However, some players find it challenging to distinguish between enemies and the background. Overall, the game features smooth controls and well-stylized environments that keep gameplay fresh and engaging.
“The aesthetics are amazing, and the story has a lot of hidden depth.”
“The game is a good platform/metroidvania with smooth controls and nice graphics.”
“In terms of the aesthetic of the various areas, the Vanir project has done a terrific job in stylizing the different sections and making every area feel fresh and new, without getting bogged down with repetitive enemies.”
“Graphically, you hardly know what is an enemy and what is part of the background.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Nightmare Boy" follows a typical Metroidvania style, featuring smooth movement and combat mechanics as players control Billy, who transforms into a zombie while navigating a nightmarish world. However, the experience is marred by constant screen rumble during attacks, bland level design, and adherence to outdated gameplay tropes, making it less enjoyable compared to other titles in the genre. Despite these issues, the game offers a fun experience for a few hours, appealing to fans of Metroidvanias.
“Gameplay itself is actually quite smooth, with Billy moving and attacking seamlessly.”
“The gameplay is typical of Metroidvania games.”
“However, strict adherence to outdated gameplay tropes and questionable narrative pacing make this a difficult game to recommend to everyone, especially with the abundance of other high-quality metroidvanias on the market.”
“Nightmare Boy is a fun experience for a few hours, and a lot of the glaring design choices around the gameplay can be overlooked or ignored for the most part.”
- story4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The story begins intriguingly, featuring a relatable protagonist named Billy who navigates a world filled with hidden depth and aesthetic appeal. However, some players feel that the narrative could benefit from additional mechanics, such as quests to unlock shop interactions, to enhance engagement. Overall, the story is well-received for its potential and depth.
“Aesthetics are amazing, and the story has a lot of hidden depth.”
“Start out ok, intriguing story.”
“The story feels incredibly shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
“The plot twists are predictable and fail to engage the player, leaving a sense of disappointment.”
“The narrative is disjointed and poorly paced, resulting in a confusing experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating, as the increasing cost of saves in gems outpaces gem acquisition, leading to a tedious cycle of farming. This mechanic is perceived as a cheap tactic to extend playtime rather than a rewarding challenge, making the experience feel less enjoyable.
“Saves costing gems is fine at first, but when the save cost tends to ramp up faster than gem intake, it seems to encourage farming/grinding for gems, which feels less rewarding and more like a cheap tactic to increase playtime.”
“As it is now, if I run into a few tough areas and save a few too many times, I'll just be farming between every save.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be inconsistent, as certain interactions with bosses can evoke feelings of frustration due to unclear mechanics that lead to unexpected damage. This lack of clarity can detract from the overall emotional engagement with the game.
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players note that the game's improved resolution settings enhance its playability, particularly at 1080p, which contributes positively to the overall replayability experience, despite some lingering issues with interlacing.
- music1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received positive feedback, with users highlighting its quality and overall appeal.
“I want to emphasize that the music is truly exceptional.”
“The soundtrack adds so much depth to the overall experience.”
“The music perfectly complements the gameplay and enhances the atmosphere.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for significant issues affecting narrative coherence, control responsiveness, pacing, and overall performance, detracting from its unique metroidvania experience.
“It's a metroidvania with a distinctive style all of its own, but there are some glaring issues with its narrative, controls, pacing, and performance.”
Critic Reviews
Nightmare Boy (Switch) Review
If you're looking for an adventure with a unique look and its own sense of style Nightmare Boy can have its charm.
60%Nightmare Boy Review
Nightmare Boy, while stylistically interesting and unique, amounts to little more than a frustrating take on the Metroidvania genre in the long run. Its inconsistent difficulty curve means it's too hard to be entry level at times, while also being too easy to be anything else. Gameplay itself is actually quite smooth, with Billy moving and attacking seamlessly, but the constant screen rumble when attacking, and the bland level design, make combat far less enjoyable than it should otherwise be. Along with the inability to play with a Pro Controller while the Switch is docked, Nightmare Boy comes out as a messy Metroidvania at best.
50%Nightmare Boy Review
Nightmare Boy throws a whole heap of platform-adventure ideas at the wall, but only a few of them manage to stick. It's a Metroidvania with a distinctive style all of its own, but there are some glaring issues with its narrative, controls, pacing and performance. If you're after something completely different in the platformer category and have a high frustration threshold, however, there's a certain amount of quirky fun to be had here.
50%
