Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Nocternum
Normal Horse Games · Published by Normal Horse Games · Official site ↗
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
A hellish top-down shooter about a young hero and their dog fighting to save a world overrun by demons, while building a cozy home base for their allies.
Action, Adventure, Indie · More free games
Explore a hellish world in Nocternum, an indie shooter where your actions shape both combat and shelter. Team up with your dog to save a demon-infested realm while constructing a safe haven for allies.
About this game
In an apocalyptic world overrun by demons, play as a young hero summoned by a mysterious ritual in a desperate attempt to restore balance. Battle terrifying creatures that lurk in the dark with the help of your canine companion. Build a home base in hell for some new and unusual friends you meet along the way. Grow your resistance, and take the fight to those who let the world fall to corruption.
⚔️ Fast-Paced, Varied Combat
Arm up with a varied arsenal of guns, crossbow arrows, melee weapons, and defensive gadgets to complete story-driven and procedural runs full of hellish hordes. Gather loot and level up your character along the way...if you can make it back to home base.
🧵 A Mysterious Narrative to Unravel
The nature of the world is the nature of yourself. Learn the truth behind this world’s downfall, and shed light on the hidden forces that conspired to bring it about.
🌘 A Dark World to Explore
Discover a land torn apart by decades of demonic onslaught and held under the thumb of an oppressive religious regime bent on ensuring order...at all costs.
🔨 A Fractured Resistance to Rebuild
Team up with a loyal dog and allies you meet along your journey to put together the pieces of a splintered resistance movement. Upgrade a home base in the far reaches of hell, providing a place to shop, garden, fish, and more.
📺 Analog-Era Aesthetic
Time seemed to freeze when the demons arrived. Let the minimalist pixel art and lo-fi soundtrack transport you to an era of clicking tape decks, whirring disk drives, and glowing CRT screens.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i3 or equivalent
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Integrated graphics supporting OpenGL 3.3 or newer
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 250 MB available space
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10/11
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or better
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Dedicated GPU with 1 GB VRAM
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 250 MB available space
Supported Languages
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Events Roundup & Looking Ahead
Howdy, friends! It's been quite the busy 2026 for us so far! The first big event we brought Nocternum to was the Boston Festival of Indie Games in December, 2025, and it's felt like we haven't stopped hustling since (horses never stop, they keep gooooing). For those who haven't been following our journey on social or our Discord, here's a little recap of what we've been up to!To start us off in March, we went alllll the way over to the other side of the country. I'm talking about GDC, of course. This was huge for us! It was our first big trip as a team, and both of our first times at the event. Shout out to Boston Game Dev for bringing us and Nocternum along. We made so many amazing connections, went to some great talks, and had the opportunity to showcase Nocternum in the Indie Arcade section of the expo hall on the last day! Afterwards we popped over to the GameDev Showcase for more demoing...that was a long day. I ended the night getting very sick! I do appreciate that my body held out until the end though.Just a week and a half later, it was time for PAX East back in our neck of the woods! We've both been attending as fans since grade school, so this was a really surreal experience. Once again, thanks so much to Boston Game Dev for giving Nocternum a spot at their booth! We got to share the space with some uber talented devs. Getting to know them throughout the 4-days made the experience even better! Check them out: of the Devil, Wilderbard, and Never's End. We also really didn't learn our lesson from GDC, and brought Nocternum over to the Twitch Boston PAX After Party on Saturday night. What a blast! I never thought I would be showing our game at Royale...if you know you know. Thanks for having us and throwing such a killer party, Jade! If you met me on Sunday at the booth though, I'm sorry, I was likely not fully awake.At the end of April, we were invited to demo at the IGDA Clark Game Expo! This was our first time visiting the school (the theme is firsts this...Read full article on Community Announcements (Normal Horse)AnnouncementsOfficial
Demo Available on Itch.io
Hay! Normal Horse Games is excited to announce we've released a demo for Nocternum! It's available now on our Itch page.Nocternum is a hellish, top-down shooter set in an apocalyptic world overrun by demons. In it, you'll play as a young hero summoned by a mysterious ritual in a desperate attempt to restore balance. You'll battle terrifying creatures with the help of your canine companion, rebuild a resistance inside hell itself with some new and unusual friends, and take the fight to those who let the world fall to corruption.Please note Nocternum is still in active development! Most of the story content is placeholder or in progress, and you will most likely run into bugs and other issues. We're looking for testers to help us continue to refine the game by giving us their feedback and bug reports. If you're interested, please join us on Discord!We can't wait to hear what you think of the game 🌘Read full article on Community Announcements (Normal Horse)
