HomeNewsNightmare Operator
Quarter-circle reloads sound great on paper
Image credit:DDDistortion
Image credit:DDDistortion
Every man has his breaking point, and mine is the DP motion, aka the D-pad input used to perform Ken’s Shoryuken uppercut in Street Fighter, and moves like it in otherfightinggames. I’ve never been able to perform it consistently. It’s one of many moderately fiddly special attacks - written down for posterity in a tear-stained journal I keep sorrowfully beneath my pillow - which have walled me out of enjoying fighting games, much as I love thinking about them.
That wall grows ever higher as I age and my digits turn to dust and my dreams of launching Ryu like a sack of potatoes fade into the twilight. Still, at least I can still play and have fun with shooters, right? All you have to do in shooters is press a button once to make stuff go boom. Wait,Nightmare Operator, what are you doing? Nightmare Operator, no!
NIGHTMARE OPERATOR - Tokyo Game Show 2024 TrailerWatch on YouTube
NIGHTMARE OPERATOR - Tokyo Game Show 2024 Trailer
Please, DDDistortion. I can get my head around a Power Reload, but do not ask me to nail the fingering for a Zangief Screw Piledriver in order to plug in some ice bullets. From the looks of the just-released Tokyo Game Show trailer, above, Misha also gets a parry and melee counters. You’ll need to keep a “level head”. It’s all sotechnical, ugh. And yes, they’ve got my old nemesis the DP motion in there.
Image credit:DDDistortion
Its an impressive line-up, honestly. And I’m sure the fighting game gimmick adds flair. I look forward to hearing about how fun these creatures are to battle from Brendy, our resident Tekkenite.
The game’s PSX-styled setting is wonderfully crisp and dingy and full of cyber-90s detailing - glitching holograms, piles of boxy TVs broadcasting weird sigils, the sunken radiance of vending machines. There’s a slice-of-life hangout element to wash down the exor-shooting. “Between missions, Misha and her team have nomikai at a local izakaya in the Quarantine City,” explains the Steam blurb. “These sections will allow players to explore archives from the broken world of Nightmare Operator, interact with the inhabitants of the Quarantine City, and drool over low-poly izakaya fare.”
It sounds reminiscent of cooling off in the back alleys ofYakuzaZero. Again, thoroughly on board with this as a concept if not at the level of my thumbs. Still, perhaps if I play it and master it I’ll be able to enjoy Street Fighter?
