The N64 Horror Game You Probably Never Played
When it comes to Gothic horror films, you have a whole crypt's worth of choices. From legends such as Dracula and Frankenstein to cult classics like The Devil's Backbone, Gothic horror has turned into a saturated genre. But what if you want a Gothic horror game?
When it comes to Gothic horror video games, titles such as Bloodborne or Castlevania stick out, but likely little else. However, studios have developed Gothic horror titles for quite a while and launched them on a variety of consoles, including the Nintendo 64. Long before Nintendo published the underappreciated gem Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem on the GameCube, it teamed up with Activision to bring a different horror game to the N64 — one you have probably never heard of.
So, which game turned Nintendo's usually family friendly N64 into a blood-soaked murder machine? Take a look.
Nightmare Creatures
The events of Nightmare Creatures unfold on the eve of London's Great Fire of 1834. Despite its historical setting, the games takes a decidedly non-historical approach, as players can control one of two characters to bash and slash all manner of aberrations.
With environments constructed from jittering polygons, Nightmare Creatures uses its technical shortcomings to its advantage. Much as Silent Hill used the PlayStation's short draw distance to create obscuring, iconic fog, Nightmare Creatures shrouds enemies in the Nintendo 64's equally short draw distance, disguised as the dead of night. You never know what lurks at the end of an alleyway, around a corner, or behind a closed door.
Though some consider Nightmare Creatures a survival horror title, it falls solidly into the horror-themed brawler/beat 'em up category. Each playable character has unique combo attacks, but the adrenaline meter distinguishes Nightmare Creatures from most survival horror titles. If the meter is empty, the protagonist starts to lose health, and the only way to keep the meter topped off is to kill your adversaries.