Rise of Nightmares Review

Whereas the business model for many publishers stresses a steady stream of sequels, SEGA has nobly attempted to cultivate a handful of original IPs alongside iterations in their Sonic and Virtua Tennis franchises. From a partnership with Platinum Games which delivered MadWorld, Bayonetta, Vanquish, and Infinite Space to commendable one-offs such as Viking: Battle for Asgard and Resonance of Fate, the publisher has repeatedly taken chances in a landscape dominated by prudence. With the release of Rise of Nightmares, Sega is gambling that Kinect owners are yearning for a blood-soaked, M-rated, story-driven title. While the game proves to be a refreshing reprieve from the glut of mirthful fitness and mini-game collections, a handful of hitches may limit Rise’s ascension up the sales charts.

Players assume the role of a Josh- a husband, forthcoming father, and functioning alcoholic. While traveling across Europe via train, the protagonist drops a flask, prompting his wife Kate to dispense an icy scolding before storming off. At this point, control is transferred to the player, as Josh’s car-to-car search for his spouse serves as a furtive tutorial.

Endowing the main character with a drinking problem is more than a mere plot contrivance. Although Rise of Nightmare’s competently reads individual body movements, the fluidity of motion isn’t what the title is typically looking for. Instigating the main character to walk is accomplished by moving a single foot forward, instead of instinctively marching in place. As such, players must continually concentrate to traverse environments, making the title feel like it’s emulating an evening of gradual inebriation. With the game employing a first-person perspective to convey the action, camera control is transferred to the player’s shoulders. Pivoting your body to the left or right turns Josh in the respective direction, recalling the control scheme utilized by early Resident Evil titles. Smartly, the game frequently gives players the ability to opt out of environmental navigation. A flex of the right arm at an upward, ninety-degree angle automatically ushers players to the next point of interest.

Although walking never became wholly intuitive during the title’s seven-hour campaign, other interactions fared far better. Interacting with environmental objects was consistently natural, as familiar gestures were used to push open gates or climb ladders. Periodically, the game expects players to act intuitively- coaxing a panicked sprint from danger, treading water to stay afloat, or a brush-off of blood thirsty leeches.  Combat is typically proficient as well. Lifting your arms like a boxer strikes a defensive pose, giving the player the ability to deflect assaults from lesser foes. While jabs, hooks, and kicks can repel encroaching foes, most players will want to utilize the large selection of weapons which pervade the game’s expanses. Here, swinging an axe, disemboweling a goon with a pair of hedge trimmers, or grinding through torsos with a giant drill bit is nearly as graceful as it is gruesome. To prohibit combat from getting stale, blunt and bladed weapons have different advantages against the title’s assortment of beasts. Lightly-armored opponents compel gamers to aim for their exposed areas. Regretfully, fighting can falter: the game’s lock-on system doesn’t allow a quick switch of targets, while ranged attacks (introduced later in the game) aren’t as spontaneous as melee combat’s simple strikes.

Expectedly, the title’s boss encounters can be a bit more challenging than the fracases with normal antagonists. Often, players are expected to perform a lethal game of ‘Simon Says’, adopting a specific body stance to avoid taking damage. The one shortcoming of Nightmare’s heavies is that some opponents have a limited repertoire of attacks. Once gamers recognize their patterns, a few foes can be malformed into a lifeless pulp without too much effort- subverting the game’s tension.

Given SEGA’s track record, it’s not surprising that Rise of Nightmares is the first title which truly attempts to deliver on Kinect’s lofty marketing promises. While the game is a commendable and often gratifying effort, it isn’t faultless. Using gestures to move, interact, and ultimately eviscerate enemies is certainly novel, but the title never quite matches the level of immersion found with controller-based titles. Ultimately, Nightmares proves to be a satisfying reprieve from the flow of mini-game collections, as long as players can tolerate a bit wonkiness between their decapitations.


About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

24 comments

  1. I noticed this has been getting a bit of praise. Honestly, I epected it to be awful.

  2. I don’t have a Kinect and I wouldn’t get one for this game, but if I do ever get one, I’d like to play this.

  3. When you hit enemies do it damage part of their bodies. Like can you cut off their head, arms, legs, etc?

    If so this might be amazing.

  4. Maybe Deagle doesn’t hate the Kinect after all.

  5. Do you have to play empty handed, or can you play with a stick in your hand or something.

  6. Game looks pretty dark. I hope there’s a brightness adjustment because my Kinect needs a cosmic shit-ton of light.

  7. Maybe Deagle doesn’t hate the Kinect after all.

  8. Can you imagine Skyrim with Kinect controls? I’d never leave the house for months.

  9. Viking: Battle for Asgard was commendable? How much is Sega paying you? That games was a wreck.

  10. Good review, but if they are charging $60 for this, Sega is crazy that Sonic on a Green Hill Zone high.

  11. I can’t remember that last really good Sega game. It’s been way too long.

  12. I bought the game last week, and you’re right walking is weird. For me, the Kinect doesn’t recognize my foot back, so in order to do a 180, I have to wait for the game to spin around.

    That said it’s not a 4.0 bad piece of shit like IGN said. Solid 7.5 in my book, only for being a bit too short.

  13. If SEGA made this as a Move title with sub-controller support, this could be so awesome.

  14. Im so getting this and teabagging the first headless zombie I see, cuz

    I AM THE CONTROLLER.

  15. Seems like Dead Island got all the attention over Rise of Nightmares.

  16. Ok, beside the campaign is there anything else to the game? Any replay value?

  17. Another good review Deagle.

  18. Another good review Deagle.

  19. It’s selling for $50 like all other Kinect titles.

  20. I almost bought this yesterday. I was sure it wouldn’t be any good.

  21. I’m glad you didn’t hack this game to pieces like a few other sites. Especially, since I know you and Samurage aren’t fans of the Kinect.

  22. dude, you sound like a Sega fanboy. Viking: Battle for Asgard was a huge turd.

  23. I’m glad you guys aren’t hating on the game. Review seemed pretty straight up. After about 3 hours walking wasn’t hard anymore for me.