Dungeon Nightmares

About Dungeon Nightmares

Dungeon Nightmares is a first-person horror game by K Monkey, a solo developer. It first came out for iPhone and iPad in January 2014 and then as a free download for Windows and Mac on Game Jolt, where YouTubers such as Markiplier and PewDiePie played it. The phone versions are no longer in the App Store or Google Play, but the PC and Mac game is still free on Game Jolt and pay what you want on itch.io, and it is sold on Nintendo Switch together with its sequel as Dungeon Nightmares 1+2 Collection.

Every night you go to bed, you find yourself in an endless nightmare you must escape. Each dungeon is generated anew: you know neither where the artifact you need is nor where the exit lies. You move through stone corridors, hold the mouse to pick the locks of doors and chests, and gather what is lying around: candles, gold, notes and the night's artifact. Once you have the artifact, the game tells you to find the exit. Notes left in the dark hint at what the nightmares mean and who the girl in them is.

The fear comes from the dark and what is in it. You cannot fight. A lit candle shows only a little of the corridor ahead, candles are scarce, and you can blow one out to save it. Monsters wait in the dungeon, among them a blood-soaked woman, and the maker says their behaviour changes with how you play and the difficulty rises with every night you survive. The 3D sound, best on headphones, carries footsteps and noises from around corners; JayIsGames praised the sound design and warned that jump scares are common and the volume swings widely.

JayIsGames compared it to Slender and Amnesia. Digitally Downloaded, reviewing the Switch collection, found it very dark and too reliant on jump scares, but noted that the random levels keep you facing the unknown however often you play. It suits players who like short runs of pure dread in the dark, and it leads straight into Dungeon Nightmares II: The Memory.

How to play Dungeon Nightmares

1. Download it free for Windows or Mac from Game Jolt or itch.io, or buy the Dungeon Nightmares 1+2 Collection on the Nintendo eShop for Switch.
2. Use headphones: the game's 3D sound is how you hear what is near you.
3. Move through the dungeon and hold the mouse button on locked doors and chests to pick them.
4. Collect candles, gold and notes, and press C to light a candle when you need to see.
5. Find the night's artifact, then find the exit to wake up and go on to the next night.
6. Sprint with Shift when something comes for you; you cannot fight it.

Tips

• Check the map with M often: it records where you have been, so you do not double back through the dark.
• Blow out your candle with B when you do not need it, since candles are scarce.
• Open every chest you pass; candles are what keep you from walking blind.
• Keep the volume moderate: reviewers warn the sound swings from quiet to very loud in the scares.

Questions