Through the Nightmares Gameplay Preview – Challenging Platformer

Through the Nightmares is a pretty challenging side scrolling platformer. You control the Sandman as he navigates his way through children’s nightmares in order to rescue them.

This game introduces two unique mechanics to help you navigate the obstacles of the levels. One new mechanic is being able to change in size. You can utilize this ability to get past many of the obstacles in creative ways.

Another new and unique mechanic is the ability to pick up a portable check point. Once you die, you will restart at the location you placed the check point. It does have a limited number of uses and once depleted, you start over from the start of the level but you can pick up the check point and deploy it at a location of your choosing once again.

You can actually use the check point to get past obstacles as well, as it gives you some vertical clearance for a few seconds as you respawn.

The demo ends on a boss fight where you have to clear the level before the boss catches up to you. I did end up dying quite a bit and it does end up breaking the tension when you have to replay it over and over again.

Through the Nightmares is aptly named as I can imagine the future levels being a nightmare to beat. The game doesn’t hold your hand and was surprisingly challenging from the get go. It feels very similar to old school platformers where it takes repetition and practice to build up the skills to beat it.

The demo is out now for anyone interested and it may be a game worth checking for fans of platformers.