There's something very strange going on. It's as if you are living through your worst nightmare and unable to wake up. Won't anyone let you in on the terrible secret that haunts your walking moments.
Why has Jimmy Blandford taken to drinking - has he experienced the powerful forces of darkness? Why has your father, the dutiful local Vicar, neglected his parish without any apparent reason? Why did your mother invite you to stay for the weekend, then disappear without a word?
What unspeakable horrors await you behind the closed doors of the old burnt out manor house? Are you ready to meet a vampire and do battle with a crazed hound sent straight from hell? Are you ready to be terrified beyond your wildest dreams?
Don't even try to wake up. It's your very own Personal Nightmare...
Minimum system requirements: Windows XP or Windows Vista, 1 GHz Processor (1.4 GHz recommended), 512MB RAM (1 GB recommended), 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended), Mouse, Keyboard.
I love horror games. I buy them on sight, even if the game in question has the reputation of being a real stinker. Well this one doesn't have that reputation, so I'm even more inclined to purchase it. This is truly a treat, and I applaud the GOG team for doing such a fine job acquiring Horrosofts titles, all of which are grade A. Personal Nightmare is no exception.... full review
It begins simply enough...
I arrive in the local inn, with a few people in plain view. I've played enough games from this era to know how the controls work. Either mouse commands, or Keyboard. I prefer keyboard, but to each his own. I type in LOOK. Immediately it calls off what's around me. The Barkeep tells me where my room is, and his lovely wife stands next to him serving drinks. A man sits at the bar, obviously drunk. I check this place out a bit, interesting, interesting. But nothing too interesting. As I exit, I start to take a general survey of the town layout. Church, house, house, gas station, etc. Nothing unusual. I find a building very near the pub that is unlocked. As I explore each of its rooms, I hear a noise outside. I run out to find the man drinking at the bar lying on the sidewalk, as another man runs from him shouting.
Personal Nightmare is a game that will absolutely envelope you once you start playing. It's got all of the essentials that horror games need. Great Atmosphere, terrific story, just enough mysteriousness to keep you questioning, and high difficulty. If you've played Waxworks, you know the drill in these games. Difficult, constant deaths, constant saving. The difficulty of Personal Nightmare is not quite to the point of frustrating, but just keep in mind to save every minute or so. Also, keep in mind the interface of the game. Try typing in all sorts of things, not just the verbs provided on the side. Sometimes typing in a word you thought would do nothing (pray, for instance), suddenly unlocks a huge part of the game.
Now for the bad things. I honestly have only one real complaint. No music. There is sound, which by the way is extremely loud and will scare the crap out of you unless you turn your speakers WAY down. Oh, actually I have another complaint. This game, like all of horror soft and adventure soft games, does not allow you to skip the opening credits. Not really a big deal but still annoying.
FINAL VERDICT:
Buy this game, just do it. Who cares that it's only 7mb. That doesn't mean anything! This is a fantastic horror game!
If you are trying to pick between Waxworks and Personal Nightmare, I honestly would go for Personal Nightmare. If you have the cash, get both. They are each well worth the cash.
Oldest classic in GOG catalogue: highly recommended!
(by
igor8472)
Personal Nightmare is converted to PC great horror-adventure classic from Amiga. In current opinion games is best of Horrorsoft's made games. After games was made developer turned to RPG genre and mad another 'must have' great classics; Elvira series and Waxworks.... full review
As every good horror games starts nice & peacefully. You are son of villages pastor and receive curious letter from him and decide to return to home, Tynham Cross. After arrive at a hotel things goes terribly wrong. Your Father dissapeared and village citizens seems strange and hostile...
Game has 20 years on neck and there is no way to don't notice it but more important is good plot, writing, puzzles. Game possesses nice interface with mouse used to choose command from list displayed on screen. If you want they can be also typed in from keyboard along with few extra not shown on list. Mouse can be used to identify objects and persons by pointing them on main action window, you can also take items to your inventory by drag and drop. Few Characters that you ancounter in village lives their own lives, mowing within the village at will.
Game was developed by Mike Woodruffe's design team using special engine allowing them to present game with extraordinary detailed (for 89' year of course) and sampled sound, especially good animated and drawn were NPC's. All of this helped in creating good atmosphere.
Game is for sure worth buying, chilling story (but in good taste)
and you have plenty persons to save & puzzles to solve. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of Waxworks and Elvira, this adventure game may interest you. It feels more 'primitive' because of the technical limitations PCs had twenty years ago, but you'll feel Horrorsoft trademark all over it.... full review
As you can see in the screenshots, the PC version (the game was also released for the Amiga) runs in 16-colour EGA mode, and there's no sound to speak of. But even if it's an old game (1989), it has good design and your instructions can be entered not only by typing them but also by pointing and clicking (there's a list of verbs on the right side).
Basically, your mission consists of stopping all the 'evil people' in your home village. You start off chasing people, but soon you'll be fighting sobrenatural opponents. There are quite a few scares to be had with this game!
As in other Horrorsoft adventures, you'll die often, and in very different ways, so always remember to save!
Astrozombie)
igor8472)
Danda)