Typical Nightmare

About

"Typical Nightmare" is a psychological horror game that draws inspiration from real psychiatric cases. Players help protagonist John, whose nightmares mirror his reality, navigate challenging moral decisions and uncover the motives of his dream-world tormentors. This immersive experience, developed with expert psychiatric insight, aims to foster self-reflection as well as thrill and engage.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

42%

Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

story12 positive mentions

gameplay12 negative mentions

The game has a unique and intriguing plot that explores psychological themes and offers a strong narrative.
The atmospheric design and graphics are visually appealing, creating a sense of suspense and immersion.
Some players found the game entertaining in a 'so bad it's good' way, providing moments of unintentional humor.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, making it nearly unplayable and leading to frequent crashes.
Voice acting and dialogue are poorly executed, often feeling out of sync and lacking energy, which detracts from the overall experience.
Gameplay is slow-paced and repetitive, with frustrating mechanics that require players to guess the correct sequence of actions to progress.

story
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
52%
19%
The story of the game is described as confusing and inconsistent, with some players noting its potential but ultimately feeling let down by poor writing and voice acting. While there are moments of intrigue and choices that may affect outcomes, many reviewers express frustration over the lack of clarity and coherence in the narrative. Despite these criticisms, some players appreciate the atmospheric elements and the initial premise, suggesting that with improvements, the story could evolve into something more engaging.
- “The use of a narrator adds a guide to the experience that plays with the connection between environment and psychological elements of the story.”
- “This was an interesting story, which I recommend to all who are not indifferent to the horrors.”
- “Typical Nightmare combines everything we love about indie games: creative design, an unusual story based on real cases, and a great atmosphere of a true horror game from the past.”
- “So I'll actually never find out how this crapshoot of a story ends.”
- “Was there even a story?”
- “The evil spooky demon voice just grinds gears and adds nothing valuable to the story (if there is any).”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
46%
46%
The gameplay has been widely criticized for being slow, repetitive, and plagued by bugs and glitches, leading to a frustrating experience for players. Many reviewers noted the excessive loading screens and tedious object interactions, which detracted from overall enjoyment and made progression feel like a chore. Despite some potential ideas, the execution of gameplay mechanics has left players disappointed and disengaged.
- “The scenes drag on at a same slow pace that the gameplay runs at.”
- “Loading screens would be half of the gameplay if it weren't for you having to guess the correct sequence of actions.”
- “The game only has a few very specific checkpoints, which means that you will have to sometimes walk 5 whole minutes with no gameplay at all (other than walking) to get to where you were before.”
- “Searching for the next object to interact with was a chore that I found to be so tedious that after 15 minutes of gameplay, I quit.”
- “I spent half the time on loading screens that just wasn't worth the wait as the gameplay is very repetitive where the player must find the correct sequence of doors to continue.”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
32%
16%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its psychological depth and suspense, enhanced by effective voice acting, music, and graphics, creating a compelling horror experience reminiscent of classic indie titles. However, some players feel that technical issues and a disjointed narrative detract from the overall immersion, with humor unintentionally undermining the intended tension. Despite these criticisms, the atmospheric design remains a standout feature, showcasing the creativity often found in indie games.
- “Typical nightmare combines everything we love about indie games: creative design, an unusual story based on real cases, and a great atmosphere of a true horror game from the past.”
- “The game is very clunky and buggy as it is, but the game looks good and the atmosphere is great, so I hope you can get these issues corrected soon.”
- “I don't get what is going on 90% of the time; the main protagonist talks like he is majorly stoned, which makes his answers hilarious and takes away all the atmosphere this game is trying to create (but cannot achieve because everything feels so unfinished).”
- “The game has a peculiar, viscous atmosphere.”
- “So the core of the game is its pressing atmosphere created using voice acting, music, graphics, and so on.”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely criticized for its severe stability issues, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and freezing gameplay leading to a frustrating experience. While some players appreciate the graphics and atmosphere, the overwhelming consensus is that the game is a "buggy mess" that detracts significantly from the overall enjoyment. Many hope for future updates to address these stability concerns.
- “This might be the most buggy game I have ever played.”
- “The only nightmare is the slow and buggy gameplay.”
- “Games just freeze, still with awful bumping in the background.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The graphics of the game received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the environmental visuals and color style, noting a reasonable use of Unreal Engine 4. However, many criticized the overall execution, citing glitches and questionable physics that detracted from the experience. While the graphics were described as "fine" or "nice," they were often overshadowed by other gameplay issues.
- “Nice graphics as well.”
- “Pros: exciting story, nice graphic and color style, sound design (excluding some moments) on the top level.”
- “Graphics looked fine, but the cringy dialog and glitches had me rage quitting within the first 30 minutes.”
- “The only, single pro I can give this game is that the environmental visuals are a reasonable use of Unreal Engine 4.”
- “So the core of the game is its pressing atmosphere created using voice acting, music, graphics, and so on.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is noted for creating a compelling atmosphere, but it can sometimes overshadow dialogue, leading to moments of confusion. Additionally, there are instances where players are left with prolonged static images accompanied by music, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the music contributes significantly to the game's ambiance, its execution may need refinement.
- “From time to time, sounds and music will overshadow whatever dialogue is going on in a scene.”
- “When I got to what I think is the end, I was stuck as I walked out of my bedroom and was forced to watch a static image of my own back for 2 minutes while music played in the background.”
- “So the core of the game is its pressing atmosphere created using voice acting, music, graphics, and so on.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
50%
33%
The optimization of the game is widely criticized as poor, with users expressing hope that future updates will address bugs and enhance performance. Despite these issues, some players remain optimistic about the game's potential.
- “In general, I leave positive feedback for this game in the hope that the second half of the plot is interesting too, and developers will fix bugs and improve optimization.”
- “The optimization is poor.”
- “In general, I leave a positive feedback for this game in the hope that the second half of the plot is interesting too, and developers will fix bugs and improve optimization.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as "hilariously broken," with voice acting, animations, and bugs contributing to a comedic experience that often undermines the intended atmosphere. The protagonist's stoned-like dialogue adds to the absurdity, making it difficult for players to follow the plot, while the unique Russian humor offers a distinct flavor. Overall, the game's unfinished feel enhances its comedic elements, creating a mix of unintentional and intentional humor.
- “It's hilariously broken, basically stepping into comedy territory with its voice acting, animations, and bugs.”
- “I don't get what is going on 90% of the time; the main protagonist talks like he's majorly stoned, which makes his answers hilarious and takes away all the atmosphere this game is trying to create (but cannot achieve because everything feels so unfinished).”
- “Specific Russian humor makes it really unique.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with some expressing frustration over the repetitive task of searching for interactive objects, leading to early abandonment of the game.
- “Searching for the next object to interact with was a chore that I found to be so tedious that after 15 minutes of gameplay, I quit.”