Nuclear Contingency

About

Nuclear Contingency is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Amaterasusoftware and was released on January 1, 2017. It received neutral reviews from players.

In "Nuclear Contingency" , players step into the shoes of CIA operative Jack MacArthur in 1959, tasked with investigating and sabotaging the nuclear capabilities of communist terrorists in Southeast Asia. The game offers a top-down stealth experience, drawing inspiration from classic spy titles. With a focus on stealth and strategy, players must infiltrate enemy camps, gather intel, and disable nuclear threats to protect the world from the dangers of nuclear proliferation.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

49%

Audience ScoreBased on 178 reviews

humor2 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

The game offers a couple of hours of mindless entertainment and has a retro stealth feel that some players find enjoyable.
Despite its flaws, some players appreciate the challenging gameplay and the need to learn from mistakes to progress.
For its low price, it can provide a decent experience for those looking for a simple top-down shooter.

The game lacks proper stealth mechanics, with enemies easily detecting the player and spawning unexpectedly.
Technical issues abound, including poor graphics, unresponsive controls, and a lack of options for customization.
Many players find the gameplay frustrating due to limited ammo, confusing controls, and repetitive level design.

story
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
77%
15%
The story is generally viewed as unoriginal, often compared to clichéd action films, and lacks depth, with many players finding it poorly developed and uninteresting. While some appreciate its nostalgic, retro feel reminiscent of 90s movies, the overall execution is hampered by gameplay flaws that detract from the narrative experience. Despite its shortcomings, the story manages to keep some players engaged, albeit briefly, due to its straightforward premise and mission structure.
- “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.”
- “I liked the story a lot because it reminded me of trash movies in the 90s and I liked the retro stealth feel.”
- “Gameplay is rewarding, the story seems like a ripoff from most action counter-terrorist attack movies, but it kept me going.”
- “Gameplay is rewarding, but the story seems like a ripoff from most action counter-terrorist movies.”
- “The story isn't interesting.”
- “In the end, the story is almost decent, just ruined by the flawed gameplay execution.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay of this title is a mixed bag, with many players noting its lack of true stealth mechanics despite being marketed as such, leading to frustrating encounters. While the core gameplay can be gripping and offers a decent amount of fun for its price, it is marred by technical issues, unfair difficulty spikes, and poorly executed mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, some players find the challenge engaging, resulting in a gameplay experience that is both rewarding and frustrating.
- “Overall, for its cheap price, on sale or not, it's pretty decent. It is a little buggy, but hey, it's about an hour's worth of gameplay and it is quite fun!”
- “This game has its technical difficulties (enemy AI is too good at noticing you, making melee hits almost useless, locked to 22 fps, etc.), but the core gameplay is actually pretty gripping.”
- “This game is as unpolished as games can be, but don't let that take you away from the amount of fun and great gameplay it has to offer. It's insanely difficult, challenging, and all in all frustrating at times, but it'll keep you going until you finally manage to finish it.”
- “This is absolutely not a 'stealth game' - there are no stealth mechanics to speak of.”
- “Worst of all, the stealth-themed game prevents stealth gameplay because if you successfully sneak your way to the waypoint to complete a mission, 3 enemies suddenly spawn at that point and kill you.”
- “[b]briefly: [i]nuclear contingency[/i] is a shooter that tries to be a stealth game but fails due to badly executed game mechanics.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The graphics are criticized for relying on outdated retro pixel art, lacking options for resolution adjustment or customization, which limits players' ability to enhance the low-quality visuals. While some users find the graphics acceptable, they feel they do not compensate for the subpar gameplay.
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
- “There's no way for gamers to try to improve the low quality graphics.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is generally criticized, with users noting it is "a little buggy" and experiencing issues with AI behavior that can be inconsistent and frustrating. While some players find it enjoyable for its low price and short gameplay, the bugs detract from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings about its quality.
- “The AI is fairly buggy, too easy to manipulate in some ways and far too intelligent in others... just makes it boring honestly.”
- “F yourself dev for making this piece of trash, buggy game. It is harder than any game I have ever played; even Cat Mario has better gameplay than this impossible game where ammo packs do not give you anything.”
- “Overall, for its cheap price, on sale or not, it's pretty decent, but it is a little buggy.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
50%
33%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it relaxing, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety, often featuring the same short loop.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “The music is lame, with the same 20-second loop being played over and over.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of effort akin to having a second life to fully engage with it.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that Gamemaker Studio is often associated with the creation of low-effort, retro-style games that prioritize profit over quality, leading to a perception of it being a platform for "shovelware" and cash grabs.
- “Gamemaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is considered to have low replayability due to its short length, which limits the incentive to play again. However, some users find it decent for its low price of $1.
- “Not the best game out there since it's a bit short and it has no replayability, but for the price of $1, it's quite decent.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the game's humor, noting that its pulp style elicits genuine laughter on multiple occasions.
- “The pulp feeling of the game even made me laugh a few times.”