Summer Nightmare is a free-to-play adventure title that throws you into a deadly nightmare. Developed by Team Summer Nightmare, this visual novel offers a supernatural horror experience that involves a whole class of high school students embroiled in mysterious deaths. 

The story follows Riel, their classmate suspected of committing the massacre of the entire class, as he tries to prove his innocence by playing a hide-and-seek game with an enigmatic creature called Medusa. Summer Nightmare’s premise resembles that of the survival horror adventure title Corpse Party, where a group of Japanese students find themselves transported to a haunted schoolhouse.

Class dismissed

Despite the name, there’s no sunshine in Summer Nightmare. Accused of murdering all his classmates, protagonist Riel must do what it takes to save his reputation, including taking his chance at a deadly round of hide-and-seek game with the legendary creature Medusa. Trapped in a deadly dreamworld, you must uncover clues, survive Medusa’s attacks, and unravel the mystery behind the deaths of your classmates.

This free and short game, comprising 41,566 words, features four distinct endings that will have you survive the deadly hide-and-seek game or get trapped in the nightmare forever. It offers a visual feast, boasting nine CG characters, over 55 CG illustrations, and over 35 original backgrounds, all beautifully designed. As you will observe, the art style is not traditional anime but one you can consider as anime-influenced.

Meanwhile, the soundtracks and the sound effects, totaling 23, are acceptable, although repetitive. There are, however, more noticeable flaws that ruin the experience. First, the characters, while well-designed, are undeveloped. They don’t have personalities and don’t seem to have any motivation. Also, Medusa fails to meet expectations, aside from the fact that it only appeared once as a shadow. Finally, the advertised and hyped-up gore is a myth.

Good concept, bad execution

The concept of Summer Nightmare is a familiar one. Teenage students trapped in an alternate dimension do their best to survive a creepy monster. You’ve seen it in the popular film series A Nightmare on Elm Street and even in the TV series Stranger Things. However, while the game sticks to the formula, which is a good and intriguing one, it suffers from poor implementation, visuals aside.