The Nightmare Cooperative Review

The Nightmare Cooperative is a dungeon-raiding puzzler and strategy game that forces players to think on their feet while taking multiple factors into account at once.

Taking place over 12 levels through 4 zones, players must navigate their team over a checkered game board via up and down swipes that control the whole team at once, moving past deadly enemies and fiery pits. Of course, there is the option to fight back by either bumping into enemies repeatedly or by pressing the special ability button. Enabled by the collection of potions, each character class has their own special ability - including healing, brute strength, and long-range weapons - that will help with getting their teammates and themselves to the exit in one piece.

The team members (picked up along the way) and the layout of the game boards are randomized, so no two playthroughs are the same. It means that although there are no retries and players will have to replay from the beginning after they die, it rarely feels like a chore - even if the first few levels have the ability to catch out players who lose concentration for a moment.

This is one of the reasons why the game is so utterly compelling. Everything from the simple but charming graphics to the prospect of secret, more powerful characters (unlocked by carrying out certain tasks or collecting artifacts) makes it worth replaying.

Ultimately, The Nightmare Cooperative is easily accessible and challenging (I still haven't reached the end), with tons of replayability thanks to its small army of enemy classes and its unpredictable nature, keeping players on their toes and often at a loss of what move to make. The only nightmarish part is the fact I won't be able to sleep properly until I finish it.