Not your worst nightmare but it really should be
WE ALL have irrational fears, strange feelings of dread at the thought of carrying out the most innocuous of tasks. Take my nan’s glass front door for instance. As a child when I’d help her lock the house up before bed, I was genuinely terrified of that door.
It bolted top and bottom, and I was always convinced that when I stood up from drawing across the bottom lock there would be a face pressed up against the glass on the other side of the door, watching me.
That’s why I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Billy, the young hero in this week’s new release, as, while my worst nightmare never came to pass – he’s about to run through a world of them.
Nightmare Boy is a charming little metroidvania, action/adventure from Spanish indie studio The Vanir Project.
Starting life on Steam, it’s already debuted on the XBOX ONE and PS4 and is finally getting its turn on the Switch.
It sees Billy whisked from the safety of his bedroom, and pulled into Donorok, the land of nightmares where he is transformed into a Dark Prince.
And then his problems really begin – albeit very slowly.
I’m all for a bit of exposition to get things going, but the introduction is so drawn out that you can find yourself glazing over.
Once you’ve got past the lengthy intro, you get to the meat of the game – and it’s actually quite fun.
The graphics are adorable, channeling 90s side scrollers, as weird and wonderful villains cross your path.
Don’t be fooled by the game’s quirky good looks, it can be very challenging in places, especially the boss fights which often give you little time to register what’s happening before you’ve been knocked on your backside.
And a quick death introduces you to the old school save system that requires you to get to a specific point to record your progress.
Moving through the levels increases Billy’s health, power and experience which you’ll need as the later boss battles can be brutal.
This is a lovely little game, brimming with exciting ideas and ambition which sadly, most of the time, it fails to execute.
Playing in handheld mode it doesn’t run too smoothly, especially when the screen starts to fill up with baddies.
It’s a real shame as The Vanir Project has created something beautiful here, it just needs a bit more spit and polish to be perfect. BUY IT: £8.99 from nintendo.co.uk