Nightmare Reaper Reviews
Nightmare Reaper is a different kind of retro shooter, one you should absolutely play. This is metal incarnate with a blistering soundtrack from the hallowed Andrew Hulshult. It has some mild frustrations, but there’s an exhausting amount of content that’s either excellent or even optional like its mini-games. The retro FPS is enhanced by a looter shooter arsenal, and roguelite randomization is exceedingly well done and incredibly fun. When I say there’s nothing like Nightmare Reaper, there really is nothing like Nightmare Reaper.
Nightmare is a great 2.5d FPS game with heavy inspirations from times long past and modern influences as well. The game takes roughly 8 hours to complete and with randomly as well as manually generated levels, replayability is high. The looter shooter aspects although only minor kept me engaged in the game for hours. I wanted to explore all the weapons and test them out to continue to reap in my nightmares.
Nightmare Reaper has all the makings of a fantastic retro-FPS with rogue-lite elements wonderfully smattered across. However, for all its personality, Nightmare Reaper is also an uneven mess when it strikes the wrong note. A game some will love, warts and all, but many others will walk away wanting for a tighter experience.
When I have to struggle to pry myself away from a game to actually write my review, you know it’s done something very right! Minor gripes such as the lack of a proper title screen and the procedural generation skipping leg day here and there are completely outweighed by how much raw fun can be had from blasting demon hordes away with some of the most creative guns I’ve seen in a long while. With a rocking soundtrack, addicting gameplay loop, and creative progression system, Nightmare Reaper delivers a bloody and bountiful harvest. If you’re a fan of old-school shooters, there’s no reason to miss out on this one.
Nightmare Reaper is an indie gem, the kind of game we don’t see very often, and it would be a shame if more people didn’t get to appreciate it. If you don’t usually play games like this and you’re contemplating giving Nightmare Reaper a try, I highly recommend giving it a shot, you might just find yourself a new favorite.
Nightmare Reaper has the foundations of a pretty fun shooter, namely thanks to its strong combat and visceral nature. Sadly, I do not think its looter and roguelite elements improved its overall gameplay in any way. On the contrary, to be honest: the overall map randomization made some early levels insanely frustrating to deal with, while later stages felt like a cakewalk. It’s not a bad game, far from it, but you cannot beat the creativity and imagination of an actual human level designer.