NightmareZ

About

NightmareZ is a single player arcade hack and slash game with a horror theme. It was developed by AMAXANG GAMES and was released on September 8, 2016. It received negative reviews from players.

NightmareZ is a side-scrolling platform action game with multiple enemies, lots of fancy features and retro visuals. This is a retro styled platform and action game which will immerse you in a unique world full of good and evil demons.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

27%

Audience ScoreBased on 22 reviews

humor2 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

Variety of levels with unique structures and boss battles providing diverse gameplay.
Retro pixel art style offers a nostalgic aesthetic appealing to fans of classic platformers.
Some players found it motivational and enjoyable once they got accustomed to controls.

Unresponsive and awkward controls, especially the jumping mechanic, causing player frustration.
Numerous bugs and glitches including soft locks, crashes, broken achievements, and inconsistent gameplay elements.
Repetitive and grating audio with no in-game volume control, combined with outdated and low-quality visuals.

gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
The gameplay is characterized by a platforming experience with a notably awkward and unresponsive jumping mechanic that hinders enemy dodging and overall enjoyment. While initially easy, difficulty spikes abruptly and is marred by bugs and inconsistencies, including overlapping cutscenes and gameplay elements. The gameplay feels repetitive and simplistic, relying heavily on item collection, though it is straightforward without tutorials.
- “While the actual gameplay itself is easy in the beginning, it spikes quickly.”
- “It's not physics based so you can move left and right all you want when up in the air which makes for some interesting gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is understandable without any tutorials.”
- “Dodging enemies' attacks becomes almost impossible due to the weird jumping mechanic, and I couldn't find anything enjoyable in the game.”
- “Terrible, boring gameplay made worse by unresponsive jumping and a 10-second music loop.”
- “Not only does the game have a weird mechanic, but the execution itself is falling apart.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The story in the game is basic, inconsistent, and often unfinished, with some plot points contradicting previous events. While it is promoted as story-driven, the narrative only becomes somewhat relevant later, but players tend to focus more on gameplay challenges than the plot. Overall, the story feels weak and does not strongly engage players.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “While Nightmarez advertises as a story-driven game, it has a basic story that really does not come into place until later.”
- “Nightmarez sets out to be a retro story-driven game that balances dying a lot to player retention.”
- “The story doesn't seem to make sense if you noticed what you were doing.”
- “I couldn't talk much without spoiling the story, but let's just say that what he said contradicts what has been done.”
- “The story is also not finished, giving you a 'to be continued' screen with a strange ending - I even laughed at the last scene due to how ridiculous it was.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The graphics are characterized by a retro pixel art style that feels outdated and unnatural to many users, resembling basic or "MS Paint" visuals rather than polished retro aesthetics. While some appreciate the attempt, the overall reception suggests the graphics may only appeal to those tolerant of simplistic, first-time developer art styles.
- “If you want to support a first time developer and you don't mind the 'paint' style graphics then you should pick this up during a sale, or as part of a bundle.”
- “Good graphics done!”
- “Visuals.”
- “Despite having a lot of details, the visuals don't look natural at all.”
- “They chose to use obsolete retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “Bad MS Paint visuals are not the same as retro visuals.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The music in the game is generally considered repetitive and sometimes grating due to a short loop and lack of variety, with some areas notably lacking background music. While a few users found the soundtrack relaxing or good, others criticized the inability to adjust music settings in-game. Overall, the music received mixed feedback and was often seen as a detractor from the gameplay experience.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “Good music.”
- “Terrible, boring gameplay made worse by unresponsive jumping and a 10-second music loop.”
- “The soundtrack is repetitive and playing a long time with it does get grating and the bullet sounds do get tiring.”
- “Even then there was an area that had no music at all even with it turned on.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game involves a few achievements that require defeating large numbers of enemies, taking around 0.3 hours to complete. Overall, the grind is present but relatively limited in duration.
- “Some of that playtime (~0.3h) was spent finishing the grindy achievements where you have to kill a lot of enemies.”
- “Grindy achievements: yes (~3 achievements that take ~0.3h to finish).”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor, especially the funny ending, is appreciated by users, but it is somewhat overshadowed by frustrating gameplay that detracts from the overall experience.
- “Funny ending.”
- “While the ending is very hilarious, it is not worth it to go through the pain of dying over and over hoping a bug never happens or miss anything required.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent bugs negatively impacting the experience.
- “Awfully buggy game!”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally highlight that the game delivers solid performance, indicating good optimization that ensures smooth gameplay.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally find the game's replayability strong, citing diverse content and varied challenges that keep the experience fresh. However, some note that it may become repetitive after extended play sessions. Overall, it offers enough variety to encourage multiple playthroughs.