Nightmare Tag

Nightmare Tag is a multiplayer horror action game from Grounded, set in the empty, uncanny liminal spaces of a bad dream. One side plays the monsters, the other plays humans trying to survive them. It launched on the Meta Horizon Store on October 19, 2023.

How it plays

As a monster, you choose from three creatures, each with four perks you can upgrade and its own physics-based way of moving. The Entity is all speed and agility, the Mimic follows voices and can disguise itself as a human, and the Crow can shrink or grow from tiny to huge to stalk and ambush its prey.

As a human, you pick one of four characters, also with four upgradable perks each: Antonio (teamwork), Charles (teleport), Madison (medic) and Sadie (athlete). Your toolkit includes:

• A slingshot that stuns monsters with heated pellets, with attachments such as Warp Shot, Portal Pellet, Laser Beam and Boom Blast.
• A scanner that shows teammates, threats, attachments and objectives through walls.
• Sprinting that mixes joystick movement with swinging your controllers.
• Invisibility when you stand perfectly still.
• Climbing and vaulting on almost any surface.

Multiplayer

Nightmare Tag (PvP) puts 2 to 10 players against each other across three modes: Elimination, Quick Tag and VHS Run. The co-op side is Nightmare Run (PvE), where 1 to 8 players climb an expanding dream world, complete objectives and scan creatures to learn how they behave.

Comfort

Meta rates it as intense, which fits the fast arm-swing sprinting and climbing. Players prone to motion sickness in VR should take it slowly. It supports standing and room-scale play with controllers.

Platforms and what to know before buying

• Price: free to start, according to the store description, with a $10 General Admission upgrade.
• Headsets: Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2.
• Internet: required.
• Ads: no in-app ads.
• Early access: no.
• In-app purchases: the free version lets you play as Antonio or the Entity, earn XP, upgrade perks and join any lobby. General Admission ($10) lets you unlock the other characters with XP, host PvE lobbies and adds 3,000 tokens.
• Languages: English only.
• Age rating: 16+.
• Also listed on: SideQuest.