The Nightmare Cooperative
The Nightmare Cooperative is a compact game, a roguelike distilled to its base elements. You won't find complex skill trees, or a multitude of loot to collect and equip, or expansive environments for you to explore and perish in. That's not a bad thing; if you're looking for something simple but challenging, simplified yet also strategic and tactical, The Nightmare Cooperative excels.
If you've familiar with Michael Brough's 868-HACK, you'll feel right at home among Nightmare's enemy-filled rooms. Similar to that game, your goal here is to amass a high score, the amount of gold you collect equaling your final score. Opening chests rewards you with gold and spawns enemy so choosing whether to rush for the exit or increase your score is a crucial choice. You don't control a single hero in Nightmare, but rather an entire group at once, each hero moving and using their special abilities simultaneously. Each hero is unique and positioning and formation is important since their abilities are only effective under certain conditions. 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.
Managing four heroes at once, while timing and syncing your movements to evade enemies or get into formation to attack a desired enemy with a specific ability, is a satisfying challenge. It's best to approach each move in The Nightmare Cooperative slowly and carefully, taking the time to plan out your next steps, thinking about where you are and will be in relation to enemies and hazards.
Wings of Saint Nazaire
Context-wise, Wings of Saint Nazaire is bare bones. But what's there has so much potential and impresses with its fluid gameplay and visuals.
The most impressive element of Wings is its presentation. You cockpit flickers to life, meters and screens changing in real time. Your ship blasts out into an expanse of stars and planets and suns, massive vessels and enemy fighters. Laser fire streak across the blackness, missiles hone in on targets leaving smoke trails in their wake, explosions erupt in vivid colors and flying debris. It's pure visual spectacle, bolstered by the smooth controls as you weave between projectiles and lock in on enemies.
I can't wait to see more of Wings of Saint Nazaire. It's definitely a game to watch
Claire
From the opening minutes, Claire crafts an eerie unsettling tone. The game is one best experienced without much knowledge of what happens, so I'll keep the story details vague. Just know you are Claire, a trouble haunted girl, with a sick mother and a loyal canine companion, as you explore and survive a dark twisted environment filled with nightmarish creatures.
This isn't Resident Evil; fleeing and hiding is always your best option, and your meager arsenal of lighter and flashlight can only keep the things that lurk in the darkness at bay. As you explore the labyrinth-like halls of the hospital, the game provides an overwhelming sense of tension, the darkness barely illuminated by your light, distorted whispers and the sounds of movement all around you. Claire focuses on establishing lingering dread, a feeling on vulnerability, rather than jump scares; fans of Silent Hill will feel at home at among the dilapidated halls and twitching organic...things that haunt your visions. The story is revealed piecemeal, slowly coming together as you learn more about your past; Claire is designed for multiple playthroughs, offering a New Game Plus mode and multiple endings to discover.
Claire absolutely succeeds in providing an atmospheric unsettling experience, a compelling story, and fantastic sound design and soundtrack, that all work in tandem to make this a must-play for survival horror fans.
Pivvot
I've only played the IOS version of Pivvot and it's one of my favorite twitch games on the platform. What makes Pivvot so enjoyable is that the gameplay and challenge is more than just the simple dodge left-dodge right of games like Super Hexagon and Avoid. Each obstacles varies in the method you need to avoid it; learning how to evade each hazard and then doing so at lighting speed keeps the action fresh and challenging. The multitude of modes provide a hefty amount of content for this kind of game and the great soundtrack and minimalist visuals only add to the experience.
ShadowCrypt
If I had to compare Shadowcrypt to something, I'd say it combines the sword/spear/shield precision combat of Volgarr with the unrelenting enemies and slower methodical pacing of Dark Souls. Yes, Shadowcrypt is that kind of game.
The game is hard. You only have a limited amount of heath points and only three lives. Shadowcrypt certainly doesn't compare or come close to Volgarr or Dark Souls in terms of visuals; the lighting is nice and atmospheric, but the catacombs and enemies can feel repetitive after a while. But the core of Shadowcrypt is its combat. You have everything from lurching undead to archers to shield wielding foes and magicial enemies. You can jump, strike high, strike low, shield bash, or switch to your limited spears for a long range attack. A simple moveset, from which a hard-as-nails games is crafted. This is no hack and slash. If you don't pay attention, you will die. If you rush, you will die. If you're not observing your enemy's movements, not focusing on whether to duck or step back or block or bash, you will die quickly. You'll find better weapons and shields along the way, as well as elemental magic that imbues your spears and sword with special abilities. But even with the best equipment, precision, timing, and focus are always your greatest allies
Shadowcrypt is unabashedly old school. There is no map. There is no handholding. The manual explains how weapons, magic, and loot, but you won't find these tips or even a tutorial in game. The combat is satisfyingly tough; it's the kind of game that expects you to learn on the go, in the midst of life-or-death struggle. If you're looking a challenge, a real challenge, Shadowcrypt delivers. Just don't expect an easy mode.
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1. The Nightmare Cooperative
2. Wings of Saint Nazaire
3. Claire
4. Pivvot
5. ShadowCrypt
Hopefully, I get to play some more OP games before Gamescom next week.
