A new game on Steam costs €3.99 and gets 98% positive reviews – how does that work?

On May 3rd, the horror game “Nightmare of Decay” was released on Steam, a first-person shooter with a retro look. It only costs €3.99, but 98% of the 569 reviews are positive. Testers see the game as a homage to Resident Evil 1, which was released 26 years ago.

What kind of game is this?

• Nightmare of Decay is a classic first-person shooter that appears to be heavily inspired by Resident Evil. Capcom’s horror classic was released for PlayStation in 1996 and a year later for Saturn and PC.
• In Nightmare of Decay you wake up in a mansion full of zombies, psychotic cultists and other things that are better avoided. The player solves puzzles, collects tons of keys and is always frightened by the damn zombies that ambush and attack him.
• With an arsenal of weapons, but limited resources, you fight for survival: the constant scarcity is what makes the game so appealing, because most of the time you try to avoid fighting to save ammunition.

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These are 3 facts about the game:

• Nightmare of Decay was released on May 3, 2022.
• It costs €3.99.
• It has no German language support.

“Like a kid from Resident Evil and Silent Hill with first-person perspective”

What is the game? The parallels to the horror classic Resident Evil 1 are clearly visible. But the “raw graphics” by today’s standards is apparently not an obstacle here, but somehow makes the game “rougher” and “creepier”.

In addition, the first-person perspective gives a new flair, Nightmare of Decay does not use the fixed camera positions of the model.

“Excellent value for money”

Why are the reviews raving about the game?

We summarize 3 of the 598 positive reviews for you (via steam):

• One user writes: “The screenshots make the game look like it’s a cheap asset flip. But I promise you, it’s a pretty awesome horror game that’s excellent value for money.”
• Another review reads: “One of the best survival horror games on Steam with a fantastic atmosphere and a wide range of enemies that all feel fair (except for the ones with guns).
• A third positive review says: “This is a game that I would put in the hidden diamond category. The game is exactly as advertised, it’s a first-person child of the classics Silent Hill and Resident Evil.”

The few negative reviews list bugs, “screen tear” and a boring story. Whereby even with the negative reviews some say: The game is already good.

Crisis in AAA gaming leaves space for indie titles on Steam

This is behind the great Steam reviews: Apparently, the game gives fans of a horror shooter exactly the thrill they expect. The low price and crumbly screenshots seem to lower expectations so low that Nightmare of Decay comes as a pleasant surprise to many who try it.

Apparently, it is mainly people who buy it who know what they are getting into and then surprise them positively.

At the moment there is a visible crisis in AAA gaming due to Covid and all sorts of other difficulties, which has led to many postponements. Big planned “blockbuster releases” like Battlefield 2042 have flopped. Therefore, small indie titles now have a chance to be discovered and recognized.

Apparently, it’s in the mood to somehow process Resident Evil into new Steam games:

€1.27 Steam game gets 93% positive reviews from traumatized MMORPG and MMO players