Game Review: Nightmare Creatures (PS1)

A survival-horror game that uses gothic elements from the 19th century? Nightmare Creatures should be an absolute winner but falls short on a few important issues.

Set in the year 1834, London is suffering from monster sightings, people mutating into creatures & the dead walking. It seems these issues might be connected to an ancient cult known as the Brotherhood of Hecate. The Brotherhood attempted to create an Elixir that would give them superhuman powers, instead it created monsters. The Brotherhood decided to then use the monsters to take over the world but was destroyed when a follower set their building on fire (also starting the great fire of London).

It seems as if the cult has returned led by a man called Adam Crowley & only Ignatius Blackward (a Van Helsing style character) or Nadia Franciscus (her father is murdered) can stop him.

The first thing that really stands out in Nightmare Creatures is the graphics…by today’s standard they are ugly as sin but still relay an accurate looking gothic London with cobbled streets & dark, looming buildings. It has an eerie ambience…

The characters stand out nicely in their surroundings & even have some graphical flair like moving hair in the wind.

There is a nice amount of variety between Ignatius & Nadia with him capable of giving & receiving much more damage but moving quite slow. Nadia on the other hand can’t take as many hits but is much quicker.

There are 16 levels to complete & each level has a specific task that must be completed. Levels are mostly straight-forward with some minor puzzle solving & plenty of monster-battling. The stars of the show are the monsters with a nice amount of variety throughout. They are no walk in the park either as you’re often attacked by groups & forced to strategize. The monster AI is pretty good as well & they will often retreat when hurt.

There are a number of ways in which you can dispatch enemies & bosses with increasingly more powerful weapons found throughout levels & punch & kick combos. Get skilled with your chosen character because Nightmare Creatures is a tough game to play…at times it feels increasingly cheap & unfair.

The biggest problem lies in the adrenaline system that sees a bar constantly decreasing & when empty starts to eat away at your life. The only way to increase it is to seek out battles with enemies. This forces you to constantly be on the move & doesn’t even allow you time to see more of the gothic streets of London. It is incredibly disappointing & difficult!

The other major issues lie with poor camera control that often sees your third person view hitting a wall or flipping around to the front. It is infuriating in the midst of a battle.

The controls are somewhat suspect as well with precise jumping a bit of a shot in the dark. Considering the game wants you to move fast the controls work on the basis that you should take our time.

A solid idea with an interesting story, that looks good & has some nice moments but is hampered by an unnecessary gameplay mechanic, poor camera & poor controls.