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Looking at the Nightbreed Video Games

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So there are some old school video games based on Clive Barker’s Nightbreed. Maybe you knew that. Maybe you didn’t. Either way, take a look back with us.

The YouTube channel for Barker’s production company Seraphim has some gameplay videos of Nightbreed: The Action Game and Nightbreed: The Interactive Movie Game. The two videos combine for less than 2,100 views at the time of this writing, so they probably need to be seen by a bigger audience.

Nightbreed: The Action Game

Image courtesy of Gamesdbase.com

 

Here’s The Action Game:

[youtube id=”sQKznJT-njs” align=”center” mode=”normal”]

The intro (a lengthy text, which I’ve taken the liberty of transcribing from the video) tells a familiar story and sets up your quest:

Throughout history, man has always attacked and destroyed things he does not understand, consumed by fear and envy of abilities he can never have. From a race older than man came the Nightbreed, immortals, shapechangers, powers beyond belief. After centuries of persecution, the race was almost wiped out, and so Baphomet, their god, summoned the survivors to Midian.

Midian is an underground labyrinth underneath the Necropolis (city of the dead). Through the centuries, Midian faded into legend, a secret kept by the mad and the condemned as a place where all sins could be forgiven. Foretold in the history of Midian will come a man bringing death and destruction to the Nightbreed, but will ultimately save them. You are Boone, destined to become Cabal, saviour of the Nightbreed.

By coming to Midian you have unleashed man in the form of  the “Sons of the Free,” an armed neo-Nazi organisation, led by Eigerman, the chief of police. Their aim is the total destruction of the Nightbreed. You have come to Midian to seek forgiveness for a series of murders that you believe you have committed. In fact, Doctor Decker is the multiple murderer and in the form of his alter-ego “The Mask,” has come to Midian to kill your girlfriend Lori, the only witness to his vicious crimes.

The Nightbreed have a darker side in the form of The Berserkers, wild creatures who will destroy anything, even other Nightbreed. For this reason, they are locked in the bowels of Midian.

You, Boone, stand at the gates of the Necropolis. Your task is to find a way into Midian and save the Nightbreed. Avoiding the “Sons of the Free” and any traps they may have set! Under the onslaught of the “Sons of the Free,” the very structure of Midian is collapsing, so time is of the essence. Due to this collapse some Berserkers have been released. Passkey symbols are depicted on the walls, so be sure to remember them. Now, Boone, play out your destiny!

Here’s the box art, courtesy of GamesDBase.com:

Nightbreed: The Action Game
A review at MyAbandonware.com says this:

Although the game is a standard shoot-everything-in-sight fare, it borrows some adventure-game elements and integrate them into the game quite well. As Boone, you have a handful of tasks to complete. First, you’ve got to collect the three keys to Midian, one located on each level, which will involve defeating or avoiding lots of Sons Of The Free and an equal number of hostile Nightbreed. You’ve also got to free the Beserkers, a bunch of homicidal and totally uncontrollable ‘breed normally kept locked up in the dungeons of Midian, then get baptised by Baphomet (the living god of the Nightbreed), free the ‘breed from getting trapped underground and kill The Mask to rescue your girlfriend Lori. Phew. The game will give you a task (for instance, finding Baphomet and getting baptised), then, when you achieve it, giving you a dinky little animated reward sequence which tells you what you have to do next. This is a nice touch, and a far cry from many other mission-oriented action games where you’re not sure what to do. It’s quite difficult for anyone to depict the rollercoaster, plot-twisting effect of a film like this in a computer game, but OCEAN managed to do that quite well.

Here’s a look at The Interactive Movie Game:

[youtube id=”hkMrJ8vIp2s” align=”center” mode=”normal”]

This one begins with Boone in Decker’s office, and Decker telling Boone that he has diagnosed him with schizophrenia, and that he believes Boone is responsible for the murders. From there, the interactive part comes into play, and you can drive your car (in overhead map view) to the police station and be taken to the asylum. There, you dream about Midian and wake up to meet a crazy guy (Narcisse) who also knows about it. Then, you set out on the road again. I’ll just let you watch the video to see where it goes from there.

Here’s a look at the box art for that one, courtesy of The Horror Section:

Nightbreed: The Interactive Movie Game
I love that David Cronenberg is featured so prominently here.

Out of the two games, the Action Game looks somewhat entertaining, while the Interactive Movie Game looks, frankly, pretty bad. But still, it’s cool to check out in five-minute YouTube video form.

Squakenet said this about the Interactive Movie game:

The controls are awful, the graphics are an absolute shame and the overall experience can only be saved by one’s propensity for the horror of bad design! Oh, man, I’ve seen some awful animations in my life, but I could have drawn smoother animations, and I’m no games development company as Ocean is.

Both games were released by Ocean shortly after the movie. Apparently there was going to be a third one, but that never came to fruition as the first two sold so poorly. This might have been different had they been available on the NES. Maybe. The Action game was released for the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and DOS. The Interactive Movie Game was released only for the Amiga, ST, and DOS.

MyAbandonware appears to have both games available for download if you want to check it out, though I’ve not attempted to do so, so you’ll be doing it at your own risk. Google either title, and you’ll find the links.

As you’re probably aware, Nightbreed: The Director’s Cut was released on DVD and Blu-ray a few months ago. It’s also streaming on Netflix. If you haven’t checked that out yet, I’d highly recommend doing so.

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‘Immaculate’ Stars Reveal Which Horror Villains They Would “F, Marry, Kill”

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Sydney Sweeney is just coming off the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, but she’s ditching the love story for a horror story in her latest film Immaculate.

Sweeney is taking Hollywood by storm, portraying everything from a love-lusting teenager in Euphoria to an accidental superhero in Madame Web. Although the latter got a lot of hate among theater-goers, Immaculate is getting the polar opposite.

The film was screened at SXSW this past week and was well-received. It also gained a reputation for being extremely gory. Derek Smith of Slant says the, “final act contains some of the most twisted, gory violence this particular subgenre of horror has seen in years…”

Thankfully curious horror movie fans won’t have to wait long to see for themselves what Smith is talking about as Immaculate will hit theaters across the United States on March, 22.

Bloody Disgusting says that the movie’s distributor NEON, in a bit of marketing smarts, had stars Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco play a game of “F, Marry, Kill” in which all their choices had to be horror movie villains.

It’s an interesting question, and you might be surprised at their answers. So colorful are their responses that YouTube slapped an age-restricted rating on the video.

Immaculate is a religious horror movie that NEON says stars Sweeney, “as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.”

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‘Terminator: Survivors’: Open World Survival Game Releases Trailer And Is Launching This Fall

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This is a game that many gamers will be excited for. It was announced at the Nacon Connect 2024 Event that Terminator: Survivors will be launching early access for PC via Steam on October 24th of this year. It will launch fully on a later date for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. Check out the trailer and more about the game below.

Official Trailer for Terminator: Survivors

IGN states, “In this original story taking place after the first two Terminator films, you take control of a group of survivors of Judgment Day, in solo or co-op mode, faced with a multitude of lethal hazards in this post-apocalyptic world. But you’re not alone. Skynet’s machines will hound you relentlessly and rival human factions will fight for the same resources you desperately need.”

First Look Image at Terminator: Survivors (2024)

In related news to the Terminator world, Linda Hamilton stated I’m done. I’m done. I have nothing more to say. The story’s been told, and it’s been done to death. Why anybody would relaunch it is a mystery to me. She claims she doesn’t want to play Sarah Connor anymore. You can check out more of what she said here.

First Look Image at Terminator: Survivors (2024)
First Look Image at Terminator: Survivors (2024)

An open-world game about surviving against Skynet’s machines sounds like an interesting and fun game. Are you excited about this announcement and trailer release from Nacon? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out this behind-the-scenes clip from the game below.

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New ‘Paranormal Activity’ Entry Isn’t a Movie, but “It’s Going to Be Intense” [Teaser Video]

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If you were expecting another Paranormal Activity sequel to be a feature film you’d be surprised. Maybe there will be one, but for now, Variety reports that DreadXP co-director and creative director Brian Clarke (DarkStone Digital) are creating a video game based on the series.

“We are thrilled to work with Paramount Game Studios and to have the opportunity to bring the world of ‘Paranormal Activity’ to gamers everywhere,” Epic Pictures CEO and DreadXP producer Patrick Ewald told Variety. “The films are steeped in rich lore and creative scares, and under the stewardship of creative director Brian Clarke, DreadXP’s ‘Paranormal Activity’ video game will honor those core tenets and offer horror fans one of our most terrifying games yet.” 

Paranormal Activity video game

Clarke, who worked on the horror video game The Mortuary Assistant said the Paranormal Activity franchise shows just how much reach a genre-specific title can accomplish, “If you thought ‘The Mortuary Assistant’ was scary, we’re taking what we learned during the development of that title and cranking it up with a more reactive and horrifying haunting system. It’s going to be intense!”

The new game is scheduled to be released in 2026.

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