Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Nightmare Circus
FairPlay Studios · Published by Red Dunes Games · Official site ↗
Last updated 29 Sept 2026
Nightmare Circus is an action-adventure game where the player takes on the role of a Puppeteer trapped in the Nightmare Realm. Set out on a journey to find his friends and escape the nightmare!
Action, Adventure, Indie · 2026 · More free games
Embark on a thrilling adventure as a Puppeteer in Nightmare Circus, navigating treacherous paths to rescue friends and break free from the Nightmare Realm.
About this game
In this thrilling, nightmare-infused adventure, you as a puppet will harness the power of string & control bar to create an engaging combat system. With an arsenal of tools and abilities designed to decimate your enemies, manipulate their action, and solve complex puzzles.
Combo system
Take your puppeteer style combat to the next level with a fluid combo system that lets you mix and match your attacks with style. Choose from three unique control bars, each offering a different combat style to combine light but swift attack, long reaching medium attack, and bashing strike from heavy attacks into devastating combo sequences for the enemies.
Collision Combat
Smash, crash, and slam your way through enemies and obstacles with satisfying, high-impact collisions. Customize your playstyle to take down the twisted nightmare to rescue your friend.
Wrap and Tie
Dominate the enemies with your “puppet string”, wrap around them to pull them all into devastating crashes. Stunning them, and breaking objects as you solve puzzles and clear the path forward.
Leap
Conquer the nightmare realm's irregular terrain with your trusty string and control bar. Leap over vast gaps, hop between moving platforms, and evade deadly attacks as you leap toward the end of your journey.
Slingshot
Charge up your string and launch yourself like a projectile. Carve yourself a new path by crushing a giant boulder in your way, or turn the tide of any fight with precision and speed, send them flying with crushing impacts, interrupt the boss attacks, and gain overwhelming advantage.
Hook
Turn the environment into your ally by hooking. Pull foes into the abyss, or interrupt them to create opportunities for the perfect strike, control the battlefield with your creativity. Use the new hook and pull the ring to open a path forward in your journey.
Link
Link your enemies together and take them out in one fell swoop. Deal devastating chain damage by connecting multiple foes and connect an electrical circuit to solve complex puzzles. Use this newfound power to carve through monstrous hordes and puzzle to claim your victory over every obstacle that stands in your way.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- Processor: AMD FX-4350 or Intel Core i5-3470 or equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 1050 / AMD Radeon R9 380 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Gamepad or Controller Recommended
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- Processor: AMD FX-9590 or Intel Core i7-6700K or equivalent
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Gamepad or Controller Recommended
Supported Languages
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Devlog #3 | Developing The Setting of The Nightmare
Hey everyone! We are back with another devlog for Nightmare Circus In today's video, the team is discussing the design behind the world-building of our upcoming circus-themed game.Take a look at what the devs have been cooking this whole time and let us know your thoughts about Nightmare Circus!Read full article on Community Announcements (yokai)AnnouncementsOfficial
Devlog #2 | Explaining The Combat System
Hey everyone!After the success of our first devlog, the team is back with another video! This time, the developers will go through the combat system and Peppin's arsenal to fend off the dangers of the Nightmare Realm...Devlog #2 | Explaining The Combat System is out now!Read full article on Community Announcements (yokai)Patch NotesOfficial
Demo Update V1.1.5 Out Now!
Greetings, everyone!As many of you may already know, the Nightmare Circus demo has been available for some time now. If you’d like to experience the game firsthand and get a glimpse of what we have in store ahead of our Q3 launch, you can download the demo and put your skills to the test right away.But that’s not all.We’re excited to announce that we’ve recently released a major update for the demo! This update includes support for multiple languages, along with numerous quality-of-life improvements designed to make your experience smoother and more enjoyable.So if you haven’t tried the demo yet, now is the perfect time to jump in. And if you’ve played it before, we encourage you to give it another shot and see what’s changed.We’ve listed all of the improvements and updates included in this version below. Take a look and see what’s new, we hope these changes will convince you to give Nightmare Circus a try!As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback after playing the demo. Your support and suggestions help us make the game even better.That’s all for today. See you in the circus! Demo Changelog (V1.1.5)New UpdateAdded Japanese, French, Spanish (Latin America), German, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese localization.Added dynamic main menu backgrounds that change based on the player’s current world. Added a dash control option.Added logic to display the icon for the nearest checkpoint. Added a fast travel animation.Added a “Load Last Checkpoint” button.Added cutscene skipping for world introductions, boss outros, and most conversations.Gameplay & FeelAdded enemy local avoidance to improve movement and pathfinding.Added a stun counter for enemies.Improved event healing by applying healing instantly upon entering an event. Removed delay before allowing actions.Bug FixesFixed issue where enemies teleported during recovery state.Fixed issue where enemies teleported to the ground after falling.Fixed issue where some enemies could not die af...Read full article on Community Announcements (yokai)AnnouncementsOfficial
Nightmare Circus Devlog #1 | Building a Dark Fantasy Circus World
Hey everyone! Today, we are sharing an overview of Nightmare Circus and the development team! Check it out to know more about the behind-the-scenes and inspirations that shaped the creation of Peppin and his story!Check out the video below:Read full article on Community Announcements (yokai)Patch NotesOfficial
Steam Next Fest February 2026 & Major Demo Update
Heya everyone!We are super excited to announce that Nightmare Circus will officially be part of the Steam Next Fest in February 2026. This marks an important milestone for us, and to prepare for it,because we’ve released a major update to the demo to bring it closer to the experience we’re building for the full game! Since releasing the first Nightmare Circus demo and showcasing it at events around the world, we’ve received invaluable feedback from players. Many of you shared your thoughts on progression, difficulty, pacing, and overall feel. We are shaping Nightmare Circus to be the experience that our community wants to see, which is why your feedback and opinions are now being applied to our second playable test that you can freely try out! Below we have rounded down what will be changing moving forward. Your Progress Will Carry ForwardOne of the most important additions in this update is Save Data Migration. When Nightmare Circus is released, your progress achieved in the demo will carry over on the full game version. The upgrades you earn, the progress you make, and the mastery you develop will not be lost. Your journey through the Nightmare Realm will continue where it left off!Rebalancing the ExperienceThis demo update also introduces important balance adjustments based on both internal testing and player feedback. We’ve realigned progression, reward placement, and encounter structure to better match the pacing of the full game. These changes ensure that upgrades feel meaningful, progression feels intentional, and the combat experience fully reflects the mastery-driven design of Nightmare Circus. This is not about making the game harder for the sake of difficulty. It’s about ensuring that every victory feels earned, as we also explained previously in Devlog #5 with our boss's design philosophy.To implement these systems properly, existing save files will have to be reset with this update. We understand this may be inconvenient, but this reset ensures that all...Read full article on Community Announcements (yokai)
