Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess Reviews
But it's also thrilling. While the game lacks certain finesse (it's infuriating when you mistime a trigger, for example, and must restart the stage and repeat the entire trap-laying process from scratch; a soft save of your layout would have been welcome) and eventually becomes repetitive, its humour, idiosyncrasy and constantly shifting tool-set makes cruelty into a virtue - in the video game's consequence-less reality, at least.
Macabrely original murder 'em-up that defies categorisation, and its numerous rough edges, to make being evil more fun than in almost any other game.
Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess isn't really a full remaster of last year's trap simulation. Instead, the port adds a new questline, a new character, and some new traps to the mix, in addition to kicking the game up to 1080p at 60fps. It's worthwhile just to get the trap sim action on PS4, but the asking price is a bit high for double-dipping if you've already played Blood Ties.
Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess is in a really weird spot, but here's the rub -- as a Deception enthusiast, I was more than happy enough to take Velguirie's story for a spin, and I found myself beating the original game again as well as creating a few levels in the Studio. Just know exactly what you're getting into with Nightmare and make an informed decision.
A good entry point to the franchise if you want one, but The Nightmare Princess has much more appeal for established fans.
Although rough around the edges, Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess gives players a chance to kill people in some of the most brutal ways possible. Fans of wanton violence and Rube Goldberg contraptions will have a bloody good time setting off traps. And with two full games to choose from, this PlayStation 4 port will keep sadistic murderers busy for dozens of hours.
Even with the new additional content in this "Game of the Year" like instalment, it would have been more ideal for the new content to be a DLC package for Deception IV: Blood Ties instead of part of this re-released version. The new content is far from bad – it's actually great and well worth to experience, but you're still getting the same game with the same gameplay mechanics, just with a bit more goodies.
If epic stories are your thing, then you probably won't get much enjoyment out of Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess. But the point of the game is its murderous sandbox, and things have only improved in that regard since the original outing was released. Go mad – that's kind of the point – and slash up some do-good knights and confused Satan worshippers. After all, it's what Daddy would want.
Deception is also more of a niche title, so anyone interested already likely purchased the previous game, and the new content is certainly not worth $50 on its own. Still, for those that missed out, or just want to another reason to retire the PS3, The Nightmare Princess delivers all the trappings (see what I did there?) of a great game.
Look past its dated graphics, and players will find a game steeped in strategy and high on challenge. Despite the repetition, there's no disputing that chaining together a huge combo to torture and kill mere mortals can be an extremely satisfying way of releasing your daily stresses.
However, despite the new content, it would be tough to tell players of Blood Ties that The Nightmare Princess is worth its $50 price tag, seeing as its repetitive, core gameplay is exactly the same, and the environments are still a bit bland. If, on the other hand, you are a newcomer to the series, its unique and strategic style of gameplay makes The Nightmare Princess somewhat of a novelty, and quite possibly worth your time.
As a successor to an admired name from a bygone era, Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess falls short of accrued expectations. As a means of introducing a different style of game to a different time and place, Deception IV is an exemplar of viable defiance against rote standards. Your position determines Deception IV's place—a setting made homelier through The Nightmare Princess' abundance of extra content—but it doesn't impede its lack of conformity. There's nothing like Deception IV, except, of course, decade-old Deception games.
Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess offers up the definitive edition of the newest entry in the series. As a result, it's a highly-polished experience that benefits from some extra care.
Still a great concept, but needs refinement
If you ever wanted to create deliciously devious Rube Goldberg contraptions of death, then Deception IV: Nightmare Princess might just be worth checking out.
In the end, Deception IV has a few kinks in its mechanics, but not enough to explode in your face. The trap-setting mechanic will no doubt go over well with creative types eager to torture AI opponents, and the amount of unlockable content will incentivize completionists to run their tests over and over again until the perfect killing machine is invented.
Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess is great in small doses but unfortunately it does become a little repetitive, even with the new content and the game has this real last-gen console feel to it. Nonetheless if you enjoyed the previous games and want to try something different, there are far worse games than this!
I recognize the way the gameplay could be fun to other people, but I ultimately did not find it good enough to carry the entire experience. There is challenge, but it doesn't feel fun. With a lacking story, at best average graphical presentation, and gameplay that falls short, I can't find much that would appeal to those who aren't already fans of the Deception series.
While I have some issues with the way Deception IV explores its themes, it is nonetheless a very fine and entertaining game, and I can guarantee you that there is nothing else quite like it on the PlayStation 4. For that reason alone it is worth a look; it might be a polarising game at times, but it is memorable and unique project, and as such it represents a creativity that we should all be encouraging in this industry.
Ultimately Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess is a great guilty pleasure game for strategy buffs with a sense of humor. If you like the idea of knocking someone into a cannon and launching them into a cage then this game is probably for you!