nightmare reaper

content/games/switch/nightmare-reaper.md

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+---
+date: "2023-09-21"
+title: "Nightmare Reaper: Pixel Gore Galore"
+tags:
+    - 'retro shooters'
+    - 'FPS'
+score: 3
+howlongtobeat_id: 69056
+howlongtobeat_hrs: 21.0
+game_name: 'Nightmare Reaper'
+game_genre: 'FPS'
+game_release_year: '2019'
+game_developer: 'Blazing Bit Games'
+---
+
+Have you ever had a true nightmare, complete with flying guts, blood spattering, and things exploding? No? Perhaps then it's time to try out _Nightmare Reaper_, a retro-inspired pixelated roguelite shooter (a _what?_) that, once you get your hands on the better weapons, invokes exactly that. Until you run out of ammo, fail to dodge projectiles or that mad zombie dash, or get pushed into lava. Luckily, dying in a bad dream means you just get to wake up, rise, go straight back to bed, and repeat.
+
+I've been eyeing on _Nightmare Reaper_ for a while since its PC Steam release in 2019, until a few months ago, when the Switch port made it possible for me to finally try out those 60+ chunky weapons on even the chunkier enemy roster. If your (sadly, Windows-only) PC is able to run the game, don't buy the console port. I know I say this all the time, but I don't have a modern PC so my options are limited. The port itself is unfortunately a shoddy job published by Feardemic. I encountered too many game-breaking bugs: sudden button remaps during a play session (while you can't customize these yourself!), the dash button just doesn't work, textures that disappear, and the mini map that's suddenly drawn in the middle of the screen on top of the crosshair. I tried reaching out to report these, but of course there's nothing but radio silence. Some Reddit posters claim episode 3 is unplayable due to these bugs. 
+
+![](guts.jpg "This is what The Patient loves doing: putting a chainsaw to action.")
+
+After fiddling with aim assist options (no gyro aiming here), I manage to scrape by, even though I'm stuck playing the least interesting version of the game. Does this mean it's bad? Not really. In essence, _Nightmare Reaper_'s game loop draws you in and has you keep on playing, even though---apart from the subpar port---its rough edges cannot be denied. That means it's doing something right! 
+
+_Nightmare Reaper_'s game loop goes like this: you shoot your way through procedurally generated levels---three levels per thematic block, e.g. putrid sewers, haunted mansions, spooky forests, abandoned mines---using randomly encountered weapons, of which you can save exactly one for your next run. During the massacre, you collect loot: lots of loot. Huge piles of loot. These in turn can be converted to power up The Patient: increase starting HP, decrease fall damage, increase speed, ammo pickup values, coin value, ... or even unlock new abilities: double jump, dash, ground pound, ... 
+
+Levels are stuffed with breakable walls that reveal more loot and sometimes even funny references to the game's lineage. The Minecraft-like blocky levels feel a bit like cramped old _Blake Stone_ levels with verticality added in for good measure. Even the "bigger" wood areas are essentially a collection of tightly packed blocks decorated with wood-like textures. This, combined with the sometimes painful misses such as strange dead ens of the level generator, make me wish I was playing a retro shooter with carefully hand-crafted levels such as [Ion Fury](/games/switch/ion-fury) instead.
+
+![](dopefish.jpg "Hey, The Dopefish Lives! Oooh, is that loot?")
+
+Towards the later half of the first episode, the sudden emphasis on verticality and moving platforms with dangerous goo or lava mixed in for good measure made me sometimes kill myself just to regenerate the level, hoping for something that makes more sense---which sometimes worked, provided you can muster to wait during the long loading times. 
+
+What is it that makes _Nightmare Reaper_ a roguelite: is it the random levels? Strangely enough, I don't really know. You can't replay levels. There's no way to "redo" a classic "run": the only way is forward. The treasures and unlockables are pretty forgiving, except for one key part we have to talk about: starting each new random level with one gun. Guns are categorized in level 1, 2, 3, and for almost the entire first episode (there's an unlockable perk that lets you keep level 2 guns but it's off-limits for a long time), you can only keep a level 1 gun.
+
+That means your choice is an important one: if you save, say, sticky bombs, a heavy ammo consuming explosive weapon, and can't find a light ammo consuming pistol or similar in the next run, you're going to have a tough time: explosive weapons are dangerous to use in tight corners and ammo is more scarce. I finished the first episode with pretty much one gun: the pump-action shotgun with some uncommon modifiers. The shotgun is surprisingly effective, even at a safer distance, and if the RNG gods are against you, you better pack a good backup.
+
+![](gameboy.jpg "You unlock perks by completing GB(A)-like minigames.")
+
+I sometimes found really cool weapons to toy with: mini nuke launchers, scrap launchers, auto rifles with an attached grenade launcher, swords and shields, ... But I almost never properly got to play with them: finding such a weapon just before encountering the exit can safely be called anticlimactic, especially if the game punishes you by not letting you keep these.
+
+Let's go back to _Nightmare Reaper_'s skill tree. Or skill trees, rather. These are uniquely presented as different GBA cartridges: the golden skill tree is a Mario 3-esque world map, the topaz one is a Pokémon-like mini map, and the jade one a schmup-clone. If your purse is big enough, you unlock perks by playing a level, winning Poké-battles, and exploring space. 
+
+While I love the presentation and idea, in practice, there is simply no overview: the golden world map has of course 8 worlds, and by world 4 I had no idea which skill I had yet to unlock or missed out on in the previous worlds. Additionally, I just don't like Pokémon: I bought a shooter and want to shoot stuff, not rustle through tall grass waiting for random encounters. Luckily, you can simply disable each of these games, which I did except for the golden one, but it still has you navigating the maps in order to search for unlockable perks. 
+
+Strange, then, that I still like the game, and can't stop playing. The reason is simple. The shooting is unbelievably satisfying. The guns, _when_ you encounter then on just the right moment, are ridiculous. The way The Patient laughs when she picks up a new weapon or when an enemy group explodes into gory pixel particles that fill your entire screen is contagious. Here's a short clip of a modest bit of craziness:
+
+{{< video "chaos.mp4" >}}
+
+Yup, the soundtrack is _amazing_---and [available at Bandcamp](https://andrewhulshult.bandcamp.com/album/nightmare-reaper-original-game-soundtrack). Even as someone who dislikes metal, Andrew Hulshult managed to sway me to the dark side. A play session usually consists of plenty of headbanging combined with maniacal laughing when things explode. 
+
+Until the randomness of either the levels or the weapon drops betray me yet again. But until then, I'll keep on pumping that shotgun: I wouldn't dare to keep any other weapon. The game is pretty long, too, perhaps a bit too long for its own good. After finishing episode 1, there's still 2 and 3 to sweat through, but for now, my monthly intake of pixelated blood has been exceeded. 
+
+I'm sure I'll get back to it soon, though. _Insert diabolic laughter here_.
+
+![](boss.jpg "The end boss of episode 1 killed me, again.")