Jump through the nightmares. Review of the Ukrainian game Through the Nightmares

It took a small Ukrainian team called Sandman Team nine long years to create Through the Nightmares. The fact that the game even made it to the release stage is a small miracle in itself. And on top of that, Through the Nightmares turned out to be a good hardcore platformer that will test your skills as a gamer. Except that the game ends too quickly.

The main character of the game is the Sandman, who must defeat the evil Morpheus and save children from nightmares. Don't think much about the plot: it is conditional in the game, and although you can see that effort was put into it, it does not cause resonance during the passage.

Each child's backstory is revealed through similar photos after completing certain levels.

The gameplay is what draws all the attention. Through the Nightmares is a super-heavy platformer in the spirit of Super Meat Boy and Celeste. You can even see something from the niche subgenre kaizo, in which everything is aimed at the player learning and passing levels perfectly. However, Through the Nightmares still communicates with players much more honestly, so you won't see any completely blatant traps in it.

The fundamental quality of any platformer depends on how enjoyable the character's movements feel and how many different challenges the game has to offer. And the team behind Through the Nightmares seems to have grasped these fundamentals perfectly. Running, jumping, and overcoming obstacles as the Sandman is incredibly satisfying on a tactile level, the response to every action is instantaneous, the inertia with acceleration and other physical moments on the spot.

Even some cutscenes found a place in the game engine

The main gameplay feature of Through the Nightmares is the ability of the protagonist to shrink and increase in size. Depending on the form, the weight and speed of the Sandman also change. It would seem that there are only two forms, but the developers found enough ways to demonstrate all the features of the mechanics. Sometimes you will change size right in the air to make a successful jump.

Something will not work out often. Get ready to die dozens of times on individual levels. Maybe even hundreds, if you have not dealt with hardcore platformers before. The presence of collectibles additionally complicates the passage. Personal belongings of children saved by the Sandman are hidden in the most inaccessible corners of the levels. Even the respawn point in Through the Nightmares is also a collectible item that is available at all stages. If you wish, you can complicate the passage and complete the levels without checkpoints at all, which creates additional depth. In another random one, you choose where to place the respawn point, which is also an interesting solution that reminds you of the Ori dilogy.

Collectibles can also be viewed separately in the menu.

There are not many levels in the game: only 3 chapters with more than 40 stages. This is despite the fact that if you do everything right, each stage can be completed in literally a minute. The hardcore nature of the game is to your advantage, because you are unlikely to succeed the first time. But these small levels have enough diverse enemies, game mechanics and unique situations. The game throws up something new every few stages, you will not get bored.

And yet, you can see how simple it is by today's standards for platformer game design. There are no speedrunner modes or global leaderboards in the game, which would have been perfect for it, like in Neon White, for example. Because despite its simplicity, Through the Nightmares offers room for creative gameplay thanks to its well-crafted core mechanics.

Even with simple graphics, the game sometimes has beautiful scenes

Perhaps these systems will be added to the game with updates. However, even now it is able to give pleasant impressions for a limited period of time. Through the Nightmares looks nice, sounds good, regularly shuffles situations and throws a decent challenge. In addition, it is one of the rare Ukrainian 2D platformers, so fans of the genre definitely should not pass by.