Nightmare Returns ⤵

Nightmare Returns is a polished remake of my very first game, originally created for the Ludum Dare game jam with the theme "Running Out of Space".
Simple, challenging, and fast-paced, collect blobs to reclaim space as the walls close in... until your inevitable demise.

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Game Objective

Survive for as long as possible as the walls close in on you.
Collect green blobs to push the walls back and beware of red blobs, they ain't cool.
Touch a wall at any moment, and it’s game over.

Hit Green Blobs

Avoid Red Blobs

Walls will end your run

Controls

Mouse (Cursor): Move freely to dodge walls and collect blobs.

About this project

Nightmare Returns is a modern remake of Nightmare, a small game I built over 6 years ago during my very first Ludum Dare game jam, themed around “Running Out of Space”.

Back then, I had no real experience in game development. I handled the graphics, music, and code all by myself, learning as I went. This time, I set out to remake the game within the same time constraints, but armed with everything I've learned since, and using modern tools. The original was rough and unpolished, but it marked a milestone: my first game jam, and the first fully completed game I ever made.

This remake is a tribute to that humble beginning. It brings back the original concept with smoother mechanics, cleaner visuals, responsive feedback, and improved transitions, all while staying true to its core idea:
The space shrinks. The pressure builds. You gotta go fast.

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Credits

Design, programming and direction: MarkleMake
Visual generation powered by Sora (AI image tool)
Programming assistance provided by ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Based on my original game Nightmare, created for Ludum Dare "Running Out of Space" (2017)
Some audio assets are sourced or inspired by the soundtrack of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (GBA)