Nightmare Frames
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Alan Goldberg’s luck is about to change. He’s a frustrated slasher films scriptwriter in the Hollywood of 1985, and Helen Westmore, an eccentric millionaire, will grant him any wish if he can find out about the whereabouts of the last, unpublished work of genius horror director Edward Keller, considered to be the scariest film of all time.
Alan will find his way amongst B-films production companies, VFX workshops, religious cults, and a small haunted town called Serena, the dark reputation of which began when Keller was last seen there.
- Point & click adventure game solely based on inventory puzzles.
- An investigative thriller that gets darker as you progress into the story. From ambient horror to more intense one.
- More than 60 playable locations, and half a hundred characters to interact with.
- Original soundtrack by synthwave musician Heclysma.
- In Joe’s Diner you’ll be able to listen to SYNTHWAVE FM, where DJ Karen Johnson broadcasts licensed tracks by Heclysma, Decade Defector, Vincenzo Salvia and Self Delusion.
- By the author of award-winning Urban Witch Story and Billy Masters Was Right.
Steam User 23
Text speed can only be set to normal or slow, with no full stop. I read slightly faster than normal, so a belated click occasionally made me skip the next line. Slow is fine until you get a call in the middle of a dialogue. This technicality and alt+tab hang-ups (use alt+enter) aside, the game is well-made. There's no voice acting but I barely noticed it, being carried away by other facets of this game's production. The atmospheric artistry of its painstaking pixel art matches diligent character and background animation, expressive portraits breathe life into conversations. I took a cab to the city where a bunch of people walked back and forth and cars drove by, creating a believable illusion of a busy street. A drop of ambience with fitting melodies also goes a long way, livening up every location you visit. This game doesn't stop there, however. Imagine my joy when I heard a custom song playing at the diner! And then the host chimed in, another song started, and another one... like it was an actual radio! Chef's kiss.
Alan
"Well, I only believe in Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese."
I loved the cold opening, drawing from the writer's imagination. It's an exception, we don't get Le Magnifique here in Los Angeles, 1985. We play as Alan Goldberg, an acclaimed screenwriter who struggles to write something original. It's his character-driven game. And Alan is bitter. The slasher exploitation genre has begun to dry up. At least that's how it was in Alan's jaded mind. Oh yeah, this game's world isn't exactly the same as ours, but its fake movies and studios all sound plausible. Anyway, where was I? Our guy's only real Hollywood success, an Oscar-winning romance, happened 5 years ago. Since then, he's stuck writing films he doesn't even watch and desires a breakthrough to get away from his B Movie lot. Hollywood is not a happy place for people trapped in its content mills. But there's no one to feel sorry for them, the fold usually throws these poor sods into the same living-a-dream pile with the cabal of nepobabies.
Alan is an erudite and an assh#le. What's also relatable about him is that he gets blackout drunk and pushes people away, offending them by being too blunt. Although, his unrelenting attitude makes him a fearless negotiator when it suits his interests. Such a charmer. He hates cats as well... it didn't exactly win me over initially. Cats and horror are my two favourite things. Then again, I think pandas are annoyingly dumb, so we both have hot takes. Anyway, Alan isn't fond of himself either. And come on! He didn't murder or sexually assault anyone. The only thing he ever groomed was his beard, which makes him a saint by Hollywood standards. Besides, a memorable disillusioned twerp who gets a share of character development is worth an army of agreeable duds and tactful scumbags. The supporting cast doesn't consist of these stereotypes alone, though. The few friends who inexplicably still talk to our hero are a tad more nuanced. With that attitude, could he ever make new ones? You'll see.
Sad as he is, Alan is doing better than most of them, often getting the blame for being unable to help their lousy careers. I like how sharp and laconic the dialogues are. It takes skill to write like that while maintaining the right balance between subdued humour and dignity to draw colourful characters, each one having a neat story I actually cared for. Too bad they were mostly one-offs, it's a shame almost none of them got to play a bigger role in the story. But those served as a great vessel through which the author has shown his incredible knowledge of the horror cinema, casually name-dropping, say, Tom Savini in the middle of a conversation, coupled with a little trivia. Or take Jane Fonda's workout VHS! You know, telling little sexy details for my own heart, out of dozens. And I definitely share his tastes in movies, for the most part. Above all, Nightmare Frames puts disgusting titbits right from Hollywood's underbelly into focus. These aren't just some lazy references, too. Serious themes are reinforced by the deep lore. This is a game about horror as much as it is a horror game.
Puzzles & Horror
It sure isn't about puzzles, those merely pull their weight. The game deals in inventory and dialogue types. The former is self-explanatory, the latter mostly involves talking to people in a certain order, sometimes talking to them again after doing something barely relevant. It's fine, they're interesting folk. All of it is handled in a simplified modern manner: right click for description, left click to interact. The puzzles are simple as well. I'd love to meet more resistance, but adventure games can sometimes do without it if the story they focus on is decent. Making games puzzle-heavy comes with the risk of breaking the flow or introducing moon logic, so I understand the hesitation. This game is like Unavowed in this regard. It did a good job, but my personal modern favourites are Blackwell and Deponia - because they outright nailed it. Still, the creeping conspiracy at the heart of it all is worth cutting the puzzles some slack. Reflecting the game itself, I saved the horror for last. It's a shame I'll have to be so obscure about it.
Before long, we find that a big executive who was about to turn Alan's career around blew his brains out. Atypically, our jaded majesty decides to get involved. The investigation soon attracts the attention of someone who could make Alan's dreams come true for the price of tracking a cursed horror film, considered long lost. A perfectly fitting premise. The tone shifts from miserable to sinister later on. All of the excruciating characterisation pays off after Alan falls knee-deep into the gory pit of occult obscenity. At the risk of sounding like one of these schlock producers, I'd say the setup is too restrained, if also admirably mature at that. I guess the idea was to keep the game classy, alas, I think it lacks a few more unsettling scenes spruced throughout. Say, a stimulating gushing wound or a particularly creepy corridor in the style of Barker and Friedkin to retain suspense. Sorry, man, I meant no disrespect. Regardless, a well-executed build-up leads to harrowing results, some of which... hurt. I sh#t you not. And the pain is exquisite.
My curator Big Bad Mutuh
Steam User 6
Adventure that's not afraid to be mature, serious and grim. And can be all those things very well. Can skilfully mix psychological drama with horror. Can paint a realistic and believable picture of 80' Hollywood as well as dark and thrilling mystery. Can give us protagonist not only with character, but with complicated and evolving one even! I was excited from start to finish. Nightmare Frames belong right next to best of Wadjet Eye stuff.
Steam User 2
Interesting story that was challenging at times and highly enjoyable. Loved the '80s look and music. A few minor jumpscares and gore but no time limits on tasks so really low stress - just fun adventure horror!
Steam User 1
One of the best adventure games of these recent years, loved the writing and setting from the start and got hooked immediately. Characters are great and their conversations feel very natural and human, the 80's setting is terrific and the game exudes so much love for the horror genre you cannot help to want to watch some classic slashers too. And all puzles are good! there's not a single bad puzzle in this game, It's carefully designed to provide your goals, clues and items everytime you need them, descriptions are abundant and the game even provides additional clues if you are on the right track of thought but are still missing something, instead of giving you generic "I can't do that" phrases.
Seriously, what a joy of a game, if you love good horror stories It's very likely you'll like it, and if you love classic point 'n' click games you can't miss it.
Steam User 1
Great.
Gameplay
The gameplay is good. It follows a point-and-click style adventure game with a good amount to interact with as well as lots of items and information to learn. There are standard finding items and sometimes combining them with other items or things in the background. For the most part, everything that is done makes sense and is clear that it can be clicked on, none of the puzzles are too out there and they don’t require a specific order to be done, the game lets the player get pretty much any item from the start without having to trigger a strict sequence, this makes the game more enjoyable and also as a payoff to being observant and careful. While much of the game is fairly linear there is often more than one thing for the player to be doing and as such they may go in whichever order works for them or that they think works best. Each of the puzzles fit with the game well and the story and didn’t feel out of nowhere.
Story
The story is great, it follows a horror screenwriter in Hollywood whose looking to do more than write horror scripts. The game features a ton of references to film and the industry especially horror, which is a nice touch and helps to flesh out the world and make it seem more believable. The game takes a slight bit to get into the premise, which is hunting down a lost horror film dubbed the scariest movie ever but once it gets going it doesn’t slow down. The story follows Alan as he hunts down the film and sees the lives touched by the creation of the film and its mysterious creator Edward Keller, what follows is a descent into madness that works very well. The game touches on themes surrounding Hollywood and fame, as well as fear but is also more focused on what ambition and wealth can do to an individual, it became something of a nightmare. There is a wide cast of characters in the game many with backstories to go with them as well as their own motives, not all characters have this but a good enough amount do to create a whole world. Each character has a distinct personality that fits into the world well. In general, the dialogue is well done which is good as there is a lot of dialogue throughout. The player is also able to get descriptions of items around the world, which can give further details into characters' lives and their goings on. The only complaint about the story is that the ending is a bit abrupt.
Graphics
The graphics are a retro style that fits with the 80s setting of the game. There are a large number of locations in the game and each has a somewhat distinct look, from the streets of LA to run-down farmhouses and the desolate small town, as well as the setting of the conclusion of the game which would be a spoiler. The characters are well designed and give off the difference in their status in life well.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is great, it features an original synth-wave soundtrack with well-done tracks that are enjoyable to listen to and fit well with the emotions conveyed during the scenes they play. It also features licensed synth-wave music which fits well with the 80s feel and the overall game and original soundtrack.
Conclusion
Nightmare Frames is an excellent point-and-click adventure game with a bit of a horror element to it that fits nicely.
Score: 8/10