The fifth generation of home consoles was a wild time; the mighty Sony entering the ring with their new console, the fires of the first console war was dying down after the early 90s, and the jump was made from 2D to 3D for most of gaming’s stalwart franchises.
It’s arguable that, even if Playstation didn’t have the best games of the fifth generation (it definitely had a few of them at least), it did have an incredible amount of titles on the system. In amongst the Tomb Raiders and Resident Evils though, was a rough cut gem – Nightmare Creatures.
The game is set in a fantastical, dark and gothic London, with two protagonists to adventure as – Ignatius and Nadia. Their goal is to defeat an undeniably evil guy with a penchant for black magic that wants to unleash a wave of hideous demons upon the city. As such, he wants to essentially recreate a Friday night out in present day Shoreditch.
However, unlike the present day, you are a decently adept slayer of these things that go bump in the night. So, after a gloriously dramatic opening cutscene that shows all of the Playstation’s graphical capability, and with the best narration of all time, you pick your character and begin your journey in – of all places – Chelsea.
Each character has their own moveset, but largely revolve around two different playstyles: either guarding and avoiding attacks from the demonic brood, or smacking them about with your bladed staff (Ignatius) or sword (Nadia). The moment-to-moment gameplay was enjoyably simple, even when you include the various sub-weapons at your disposal.
The demons you encounter run the gamut from werewolves, to harpies, to Lovecraftian monstrosities, and each one comes with a different method of taking them down whether that be relentless assault or careful
