Nightmare of Decay | VGC Score 89

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

Component	Positive	Quality (0-100)	Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)	–	74	19
All-time Steam reviews	96%	91	1000
Metacritic user ratings	–	–	0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)	98%	93	11
Calibration prior (typical game)	–	72	50

Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 89.4, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 4,418 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 29 reviews sampled · 32 total reviews in window · weighted 15.7 up / 0.4 down · computed 5h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (4)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

85
GameGrin
trust 65Feb 28, 2023
“Nightmare of Decay knows exactly what it wants to be, ticking off the list of necessary survival horror requirements with ease; it’s simply a fabulous slice of retro-themed action-horror.”
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50
DarkZero
trust 63Jul 11, 2022
“It’s a real shame that the two halves of gameplay, the action and the puzzling/exploration, differ so greatly in quality or this would be an easy recommendation to any 90s nostalgia-hunters. Instead there’s a clear divide and the fun often comes crashing to a halt, constraining the player to slowly back up and work a row of dawdling dummies with a pipe for five minutes to conserve resources. To make it worse there are actually two extra modes, a classic wave-based survival challenge with a shop between each round and a procedurally generated labyrinth, that both rely on this exact approach to play: aggro the mass of dopes and painstakingly beat them to death with a melee weapon in order to save any important armaments for the real problems. I still say it’s worth giving a shot if you’re into this style of retro horror, more so because of how exceptionally cheap it is, as long as you’re aware of the few clumsy design choices that all too often get in the way of the experience.”
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80
Everyeye.it
trust 53May 13, 2022
“The gameplay satisfies and the simplicity of the experience is a strong point. If we add to this the replayability offered by the extra modes, it is undeniable that this is a little gem not to be missed, thanks to the extremely low price.”
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80
GameCritics
trust 50May 23, 2022
“To be honest, I bought this game on a whim thinking its homage to classic survival-horror and deliberate Playstation 2-era graphics would coalesce into a somewhat janky indie experience with a lot of heart but little technical prowess. I’m happy to be proven wrong as Nightmare of Decay scratched that itch from horror games of my youth in a way that is just modern enough to feel good but not so updated that it loses its nostalgic flavor. It lacks the length of classic horror games as it only clocks in at about 3 hours, but it still feels complete. People looking for a quick and clever trip down survival-horror memory lane likely won’t be disappointed.”
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Patch history

Update v1.16 - Small update for reported issue
Oct 29, 2022
Update v1.15 - Small bug fix for blank screen when launching the game.
Jul 16, 2022
Update v1.14
May 28, 2022
Update v1.13
May 23, 2022
Update v1.12
May 22, 2022
Update v1.11
May 20, 2022
Update v1.10 - Quick update
May 18, 2022
Update v1.09
May 18, 2022
Update v1.08
May 17, 2022significant · resets scoring window
Update v1.07 - Small Update
May 14, 2022
Update v1.06 - New languages
May 13, 2022
Update v1.05 - Small update
May 12, 2022significant · resets scoring window
Update v1.04 - Small update
May 11, 2022significant · resets scoring window
Update v1.03 - New languages
May 9, 2022
Update v1.02 - Small Update
May 7, 2022significant · resets scoring window
Update v1.01 - Balancing
May 6, 2022significant · resets scoring window
Demo update v0.83
Mar 25, 2022
Demo update v0.82
Mar 24, 2022significant · resets scoring window
Demo update v0.81
Mar 23, 2022