N° 13: Nightmare Creatures - Boss 1 + Bonus.

Let's get it out of the way right now: Nightmare Creatures is one of my all-time favorite, and I won't be partial. 

Released in 1997, developed by Kalisto and edited by Activision, it had everything a horror-themed game should have: a great, gloomy and gothic atmosphere, reinforced by the dense fog severely limiting your view distance; making it easier for the monsters to ambush and jumpscare you, detailed modeling (for the time) which made the monsters scary, different, and the scenery fairly realistic (which is good since it's based on real locations) and memorable.

Even better: level design was quite good. As linear and easy to navigate as it is, you never knew where the next attack would come from, or where the items were placed, and you had to focus and stay sharp if you wanted to stay alive or gather much needed supplies to help you in your quest. Still, taking your time and strolling through the game wasn't really an option: you had to move quickly, because your adrenaline meter, the one thing allowing you to withstand the poisonous fog, depleted quite fast, and would only refill after killing a monster. And once it reaches 0... bye-bye. The game always put the player under pressure, and it's gameplay fits the plot of the game: catch Adam Crowley (who always manage to escape you at the last possible minute) before he can perform magic rituals and plunge the world into chaos.

And don't even get me started about combat: while the controls were stiff, combat was a blast. You could dismember, shoot, burn and unleash hell on your enemies. being rewarded with rivers of demonic blood and satisfying hit sounds. Nothing better than hearing your blade swish through the air, then bite into the flesh of a zombie with a moist sound before chopping the poor thing in half.

So far, it's a solid 10 from me. However, even if it is well-made and fun, Nightmare Creatures has one major problem: it's not that original.

Indeed, this game has all the hallmarks of the horror genre, and you go through slightly quaint but fun levels: sewers, cemetery, churches, empty foggy parks, torture chambers, etc. Nothing unusual.

And this applies to the soundtrack as well, or should I say, soundtracks. Because this game has two very distinct soundtracks: one the for the levels and one for the bosses. The levels one was minimalist, relying on echoing bass notes, ominous keyboards, and ambient noises (whispers,bells, creaking doors, backwards metallic sounds and howling monsters). Nothing new for the horror genre, but it works and it's bloody brilliant.

Enters the boss soundtrack. The goal here isn't to scare you anymore, it's to make you ready to kick some ass, and oh boy do they go in big with the boss themes. Forget the ambient soundtrack, it's time for heavy, gritty, grainy guitars that would please a 90's death metal band, epic church organ solos, pummeling drums. Basically, HEAVY METAL FUCK YEAH.  Which is funny considering most bosses can be beaten in a couple hits and aren't  massive threats, but hey whatever, at least we got a kick-ass soundtrack out of it.

Today's track is the first boss' theme, and it checks every box. While the boss fight is tedious at best (wait, destroy something to injure the boss, rinse and repeat), the tracks certainly gets the blood pumping, and improves the fight by  at least 200%.

Play it on your stereo and as loud as possible for the best possible experience.

I hope you'll enjoy, and I'll see you next time

-Aliascent

BONUS: Nightmare's Creatures' intro: