Play Clive Barker’s Nightbreed: The Action Game Online

I remember picking up Clive Barker's Nightbreed: The Action Game back in 1990, when Ocean Software Ltd. released it for MS-DOS. It was one of those dark fantasy titles that stood out among the platformers and space shooters of the era, drawing directly from Barker's twisted universe. The game didn't try to be cheerful; it embraced its source material's grim tone, and on those old systems, the atmosphere felt heavy, almost tangible.

You control Aaron Boone, a man caught between worlds, who can transform into a powerful monster when overwhelmed. The goal is straightforward: fight through cultists and other horrors across side-scrolling levels, using melee attacks and occasional projectiles. Screen by screen exploration is key, with hidden passages and occasional backtracking. The pacing is deliberate, sometimes sluggish, and the difficulty can spike without warning. Transforming mid-fight offers a burst of strength but never feels like an easy way out. Playing it feels like navigating a claustrophobic nightmare where every corner could hide something worse.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".