Hand-drawn detective horror Nightmere I funded in three hours on Kickstarter
Toronto-based Indie dev Cupkisu Studios has launched Nightmere I on Kickstarter… and the campaign hit its CA$15,000 funding goal in just three hours! The hand-drawn detective-mystery game with psychological horror is set in a snowbound town in 1991, following burnt-out private investigator Amelia as she searches for Sarah, a missing medical student.
Nightmere I blends RPG-style exploration with a noir detective structure and psychological horror. Players investigate the town, question residents and piece together conclusions at their own pace. Confrontations play out through a combat system that arms Amelia with logic and evidence as readily as with weapons… using clues, contradictions and reasoning to break through lies rather than relying purely on firepower.
Every character and location is rendered in 2D hand-drawn art, created without generative AI… including sprites, backgrounds, cutscenes and UI. What begins as a missing-person case becomes something darker, with the town slowly peeling away the mask Amelia is wearing.
The Kickstarter campaign runs through October 27, 2026, with stretch goals targeting added localizations, platform ports, animated cutscenes and an expanded story and gameplay. The team also hopes to prepare console ports for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch as additional stretch goals.
Support tiers start at CA$25 for a copy of the game, with higher levels offering extras like keychains, stickers and the soundtrack. Backers can also contribute to development by designing additional characters in the game. A playable demo is available now on Steam and already has thousands of wishlists.
Key features
- Investigate: Track a disappearance in a town where everyone has something to hide.
- Interrogate: Question a cast with their own stakes and decide who to trust, with choices that cannot be undone.
- Fight: Use clues, logic and contradictions to break through a suspect’s lies.
- Explore: Move through abandoned houses and murky woods, with side quests (including dance battles) for levity.
- Admire: Experience 2D hand-drawn art made entirely without generative AI.
Cupkisu Studios frames Nightmere I as a story about identity and the human condition. “We want to tackle themes of the human condition, especially around identity and what it means to desire to be something or someone as a person,” the studio notes. “A large part of the game is about uncovering truths, and sometimes there are truths, inside the game and out, that we’re all a bit scared to confront.”
The team sees the detective and noir genre as a strong vehicle for these ideas… combining psychological horror, homages to traditional detective and crime thrillers, and questions of change and human identity at the core. “We’re hoping to be the first to really nail it home in that area across not just games but stories in general,” Cupkisu adds.
Try Nightmere I on Steam now before deciding to back the Kickstarter.