Thirty Minute Nightmare

The game offered only 66% of what it should. I beat it in eighteen minutes, but the game is specifically called "thirty minute" nightmare. My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined. [b] Horror/Surrealist centered Curator: [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/43071910/] KuriKuration[/url] [/b]

Just as its name suggests, Thirty Minute Nightmare is a half-hour horror game created by a single developer. Both the story and gameplay are equally simple; the sparsely narrated tale is about a nightmare that the developer had, and the gamplay has you running around, shooting enemies, and collecting keys. In text it sounds rather drab and boring, but in execution this title shines as a hidden gem that's well worth the cheap price. There are four main areas that you will explore, the first two being littered with ammunition and health pickups, along with a pistol. You'll need to find a couple of keys to keep progressing while fending off a couple of different enemy models that will eat five bullets each before biting the dust. The last area is where the title loses steam, as it strips you of your only defence and outfits you instead with a flashlight and forces you to run around a rather large forest looking for the way out. This is the only portion of the game that doesn't lead you where you need to go, and the exit is not that easy to find. Despite the waning immersion and slightly mounting frustration during this part, the developer managed to maintain a tense, suspenseful ambiance thanks to the thrilling music that he chose for the entire project. While Thirty Minute Nightmare doesn't do much in terms of gameplay, it manages to fully immerse players in its world with a dreadful soundtrack and a (optional, but highly recommended) faux-retro graphic filter. Under normal circumstances I tend to berate the use of a simple pixelization filter, but in this case it's optional, it's done well, and there are a few more filters such as grain and VHS static that stack on top of it to make the experience feel more authentic. One thing that does need to be addressed is the fact that the growling of the enemies is almost always reversed; if there's something in front of you, you'll hear it echoing behind you instead, and vice versa; though keep in mind I am using a 7.1 headset, and this may not be an issue for stereo-only users. Overall, Thirty Minute Nightmare is a cheap, creepy little hidden gem that'll give you a full half-hour of entertainment as long as you're not going in expecting too much from it. [h1]Rating: [b]3.0/5.0[/b] - Average, can take it or leave it.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore

I think this is a fairly good indie horror game. I'm not sure if it's the devs first game or not, but I do believe they have a very good eye for design and what can present itself as a scary or creepy environment. They hit the nail on the head with the environment and the soundtrack. No complaints there. There is plenty of opportunity for improvement here though. There are not really any jump scares, enemies are very easy to kill, no element of surprise. You hear them before you see them so you just wait until they present themselves. There is a lot of walking with very little to do. The opportunity to have a few puzzles in order to get the keys you need was missed in my opinion. I won't spoil it, but the last scene was done well. Had there been several more moments earlier in the game like that where you are forced to "get away or else", then this game would have been great. Still though I do recommend this game for the price. I think they did a good job. My gameplay can also be found here https://youtu.be/sffM9c4SBP0

This game has its moments. Some of the points are well done and fun/scary. It could use some more polishing up however, such as how there are no shot indicators, or how the enemies are very easy to evade/kill. If you want to see gameplay I'll leave a link to the video I made on the game below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtwN0P9cRw

Only 23 minutes long. Gameplay was kind of repetitive even with the short playtime. My frame rates were over 1k and thus overheating my GPU (no option for vsync or otherwise limit frame rates). And then you wake up and realize you wasted your time and money (would have been a better, scarier ending).

Not a horrible little game. Need a little polishing and would be really good game. My biggest issue was I got stuck in the forest after I found a key and could not move any further.

Yes, I whole heartedly recommend this game. The (modern) Graphics: terrible The Story: terrible The Voice Acting: terrible The customization: non existant (but at least It wasn't "terrible" The Bouncing: annoying...terribly Guidence/instruction/tutorials: terrible The Ending:....yup, you guessed it....terrible "So," you ask, "how can you justify recommending this if it's so terrible?!?!" Simple: the game is cheap (terribly) and actually was a lot of fun to play when I wanted to waste 30 minutes. If you "run" the whole way, you can complete it in much less time Also, I loved the music. I wish the soundtrack was available as DLC (hint, hint, Dev) The monsters, though kind of a joke, actually were kinda scary at the same time. They're slow, and take 4 bullets to kill...if you can kill them...but I think I got my $0.90 (bought it on sale) worth, and I'll probably play it again and try a speed-run. Anyway, I give Thirty Minute Nightmare 15 shreaks out of 30, or 2.5 out of 5 night(mares)

Well the game lives up to its namesake. Took me at least 30 mins to beat it. For about 2 bucks ya get some entertainment out of it. Check out the playthrough I've since posted. I mention a few things I've noticed while playin'. https://youtu.be/DY0Q4lBAcIo

So, you won't be surprised to know that this game is, well... literally a thirty minutes nightmare! The description on the store page is totally honest about the contents of this game, which is a very short, but rather tense horror experience. This is the second game from the indie dev "Digital Bathtub", the author of another horror game, named "Mr Walker's Basement", which is a small masterpiece in my opinion. I will be honest: MWB is waaaay better than this game. It is more original, more challenging, more entertaining, and much better designed. HOWEVER, it is important to highlight that MWB belongs to a totally different genre compared to TMN. While MWB is a (very intelligently designed!) FNAF-like survival horror, TMN can be described as a walking sim with light shooting elements. Technically it is clearly amatorial, but the optimization is very good (it ran relatively smooth on my pc, which usually has huge problems with unity games), and the atmosphere is pretty well built, it truly conveys the sensation to be living a real nightmare. Gameplay is basic: you pick up keys, interact with doors, and shoot down enemies. The shooting system does its job, but the feeling and the feedback from the gun are a bit unsatisfactory, as well as the animations of the enemies. Jumpscares are well placed (one in particular!), but what I appreciated the most is that they are... gentle, let's say. There are no giant monster faces screaming right at your face, just well placed encounters. The music fits the game well, and the ambience shows some nice 90's vibes which I really couldn't describe with words. Maybe older players know what I am talking about! There is also the possibility, which I haven't tried yet for performance reasons, to play with old-fashioned VHS-like graphics, which I am sure add a very nice touch. I'll try them asap, of course! The initial presentation is good, but the voice acting is weak, it sounds like a drunk man is speaking. I know we are talking about a nightmare, but it really sounds too comical. Another thing that could be improved are certain encounters, like [spoiler] when we are attacked by that strange jawed monster: I expected a bossfight, I even started to shoot him, but then he got me and everything finished with a scripted level change. I think a proper fight with that scary freak would be much more fun, and above all much more satisfactory for the player. [/spoiler] That said, I certainly recommend this game if you are looking for a bite-sized horror experience to pass some time during a lonely evening, but of course take it for what it is... a thirty minute nightmare! The price is appropriate for this game, so I think you will be happy of your purchase. And of course I STRONGLY recommend you try the other game from this dev, "Mr Walker's Basement", in particular if you are looking for something fresh, fun, good-looking, challenging (but not frustrating), and, above all, full of interesting ideas. Cheers guys! Update: as promised, I tried the old-fashioned graphics, and let me say that, as I expected, the atmosphere of the game DRAMATICALLY improves! This graphic option is fantastic, its pixelated look and its VHS filter perfectly fit both the ambience and the mood of the game. A nostalgic dive directly in the glorious past of videogames! I strongly suggest you play this game in the "1997 mode" right from the beginning. After this, I recommend this game even more.

It's not even 30 minutes long, rather 15 minutes. The first part of the game where you have a gun is ok, but later it get's much worse.