Nightmare in the Dark/Gameplay

Nightmare in the Dark is a platform game, where the objective is to clear the enemies within the screen within a timelimit.

Unlike other action games, enemies cannot be directly killed. Instead, you need to use your flame attack to light them on fire, stunning them. When they receive enough fire, they will become a fireball. Move onto the fireball to pick it up, and release the fireball with your attack button.

When the fireball is released, it will travel forward, bouncing off walls and rolling downward. It destroys enemies it touches, with each kill doubling the value of the kill. When it hits a ground wall (or is otherwise bouncing back and fourth), the enemy inside it is killed.

There are a few important items:
 * A Red potion will increase firing power.
 * An orange potion will increase firing range.
 * A blue potion will increase movement speed.
 * A skull is sometimes dropped. It is not fatal to pickup.
 * A chunk of meat gives an extra life.
 * Diamonds provide extra points when picked up, serving only to increase a high score. If you kill all enemies in a single fireball, a large diamond will fall from the top, before fragmenting into many smaller diamonds.