The Nightmare Cooperative

About

The Nightmare Cooperative is a action game. It was developed by Lucky Frame and was released on July 16, 2014. It received neutral reviews from players.

The Nightmare Cooperative is a strategic roguelike where you lead a group of unlikely comrades through some rather difficult situations. Your village has fallen on hard times and it's up to you to bring back some gold. Or even just try and survive for a bit.

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52%

Audience ScoreBased on 100 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Unique and challenging puzzle gameplay mechanic where all party members move simultaneously, requiring strategic planning and coordination.
Appealing and polished minimalist art style with good music and sound effects that complement the atmosphere.
Good entry-level roguelike/puzzle hybrid that can be fun and addictive for fans of turn-based strategy and puzzle games.

Limited content and replay value, with the game being quite short and lacking persistent progression or meaningful rewards.
Gameplay can feel overly reliant on luck and sometimes frustrating due to difficulty spikes and random level generation.
Controls are basic and inflexible, with lack of key remapping and UI issues, contributing to a clunky experience especially on PC.

gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
52%
12%
The gameplay of The Nightmare Cooperative is centered around a unique mechanic where all party members move simultaneously, creating a strategic, puzzle-like experience that demands foresight and planning. Though relatively simple and somewhat limited in content, it offers challenging and satisfying turn-based gameplay with varied heroes, appealing especially to fans of roguelike strategy games. However, its short length and lack of depth may leave those seeking more complex mechanics wanting.
- “Enemies move when you move, so each step forward is a strategic decision that, when combined with the game's mechanics and varied foes, gives The Nightmare Cooperative a methodical, puzzle-esque vibe.”
- “The Nightmare Cooperative is all about the gameplay, the turn-for-turn decisions that make the best roguelikes so satisfying.”
- “The end result is some really fun gameplay that requires lots of foresight if you wish to make any real progress.”
- “The nightmare cooperative is a simple game, taking out enough gameplay details to barely be considered a rogue-lite.”
- “The game can be beaten in just one hour, plus one hour of learning the mechanics and thinking out the general strategy, in other words, it's really short.”
- “With how basic the mechanics are, each of my runs felt all but entirely indistinguishable, and there was never the sense that I was actually getting much better at the game or had any way to do so.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
61%
13%
The graphics feature a clean, polished, and colorful art style that is visually appealing and fits well with the game’s design, often described as charming and minimalist. While simplistic and typical for a mobile game, the graphics effectively convey game information, though some players find them too basic or lacking detail. Overall, the artistic style is praised despite minimal animations and mixed opinions on its impact.
- “The clean, polished art style awakens the completionist in players and raises the “one more play” factor—even if it’s just for unlocking another new character with a unique playstyle and neat flavor description.”
- “This challenging turn-based puzzle game has beautifully illustrated graphics that enhance the experience despite some gameplay frustrations.”
- “The colorful, distinct art style rounds out this compelling package, giving the game a unique and appealing visual identity.”
- “The graphics are simplistic and rudimentary, typical for a mobile game.”
- “Animations are minimal, and the graphics serve mostly to convey information from the gameboard.”
- “A shame, it really could have been so much better... oh and I would comment about graphics or sound, but the art style is always hit and miss for me.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is generally well-received, praised for being relaxing and enhancing the world-building and overall atmosphere. While some find it top-notch and fitting, others view it as good but not particularly memorable. Overall, it effectively complements both casual and hardcore gameplay.
- “The music and sound effects are top notch, and the world building is intriguing.”
- “The music in the game is rather relaxing, adding to the fact that the game is both suitable for casual and hardcore players.”
- “Good character design, nice music, and sound effects.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game lacks a meaningful story or context, focusing instead on gameplay mechanics. Players find the narrative minimal or nonexistent, with the core experience centered on strategic, turn-based dungeon crawling rather than plot development.
- “The core of the nightmare cooperative is its gameplay and that aspect proves to be much deeper and more engaging than the story.”
- “No story, ugly game design, no context.”
- “I reached the point where I just used the ninja character to run through levels and ignored my allies. The game's basic purpose is to reach the end and it doesn't have a real story or anything else.”
- “Similar to dungeon crawlers like Legend of Grimrock or Quest of Dungeons, you move one space at a time, and so does the enemy.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The atmosphere is characterized by tense, strategic gameplay that emphasizes teamwork and puzzle-like challenges, creating an engaging and immersive experience.
- “The tense atmosphere and teamwork make it incredibly fun.”
- “The enemies you face are equally varied and cement the game's strategic puzzle atmosphere.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game scores a 75% replay value, but many users feel it is quite short and lacks substantial incentive to replay.
- “The problem is that it's very short and doesn't have much replay value.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game received very low recognition, with only 3% of users highlighting emotional resonance. Overall, the game appears to have minimal impact on players' emotions.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates excellent optimization, delivering flawless performance with no reported issues.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of The Nightmare Cooperative is widely criticized as a lazy cash grab, with users perceiving it as a poorly executed mobile app released on Steam primarily for profit rather than quality.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is highlighted by good character design, complemented by appealing music and sound effects that enhance the overall experience.