#challenge driven

[linuxgamenews]

Through the Nightmares: Test Your Reflexes

Through the Nightmares challenge-driven platformer game has sights on Steam Deck and Linux via Windows PC. Thanks to the creative minds at Sandman Team, this title is packed with imagination and style. Working to make its way onto Steam soon. If you’re into hardcore platformers that test your reflexes and patience (in the best way possible), then Through the Nightmares should definitely be on your radar. The Sandman Team, working with Pingle Studio, just announced that this challenge-driven platformer is officially landing on Steam in June 2025. And yeah, there's a fresh new trailer too — and it’s looking fire. So what’s the deal with Through the Nightmares? You play as the Sandman — not the sleepy kind from nursery rhymes, but a guardian spirit who’s all about helping kids sleep peacefully. But things take a dark turn when a twisted god named Morpheus traps a bunch of innocent kids inside an endless nightmare. It’s up to you to dive into this freaky dream world and save them.

And of course we will be on Steam Deck on release, but it is not necessary to have a Linux build there.

The Sandman Team isn’t planning to support Linux at launch (they’ve even passed on macOS for now). Right now, all their focus is on making the Windows version as polished as possible on Steam Deck. But hey — never say never. The future’s wide open. But Through the Nightmares does have Proton support for this Unity 3D title. The vibe? Imagine a surreal, constantly shifting nightmare filled with monsters, deadly traps, and wild dream logic. You’ll explore haunted forests, creepy bedrooms, ancient ruins — all handcrafted with a really cool low-poly art style and an eerie soundtrack that totally sets the mood.

Through the Nightmares - Announcement Trailer

Gameplay-wise, it’s all about precision platforming. The controls are tight, the challenges are brutal, and yes — you’re going to die. A lot. But instant respawns and a unique checkpoint system (where you decide where to place them using special items) make it super addictive. And here’s the twist that makes gameplay stand out — Sandman can change size on the fly. Shrink to sneak through tight spaces or grow huge to mess with physics. It’s not just a gimmick — it seriously affects how you move, jump, and survive. There are over 45 levels spread across three massive chapters in Through the Nightmares, each themed around a different childhood fear — think monsters under the bed or creepy forests that never end. And if you’re into lore, you’ll like the story hidden behind collectible memories scattered throughout the game. Piece them together to find out what really happened to Morpheus and the kids stuck in his nightmare. Can’t wait till June? You’re in luck — there’s a beefed-up demo live on Steam right now. And if you’re more of a console player, hang tight — that demo’s coming your way soon too. So sharpen those platforming skills, because Through the Nightmares challenge-driven platformer game is coming…to Steam Deck and Linux via Windows PC. The dream world isn’t going to let you leave without a fight. So wishlist it on Steam.

[thelonelyshore-if]

the thing they don't tell you about writing an IF is that suddenly every single story idea you have you end up being like..........damn this would make a cool IF.................

[empty-dream]

"In other words, logical thinking requires a set of assumptions. It's a fundamental limit of human reason. Whenever we think, assumptions of some kind occur, and those eventually become authority. Perhaps none of us can escape that framework. The passion that runs beneath those conditions travels a trajectory that can be reckless. It can produce beautiful accomplishments or grotesque tragedies."

[starglaee]

Sam LaRusso, how fabulous your arc would have been had you been written by a woman

[gingermintpepper]

Day 2: Hyacinthus

Interpretation notes and trivia below the cut!

Designing Hyacinthus as well as deciding on a personality for him was one of the first big problem I had to solve when the topic of a retelling came up. In most texts, he exists to be loved and then to die and even then, the focus of his death is not his own but rather on Apollo, the one who loses him. General modernised interpretations of him likewise tend to make him agreeable and inoffensive, the sort of character who is likeable and upright but never challenging or ornery. I didn't like any of those options, so I instead decided to build my Hyacinthus from the ground up - for better or for worse. His red hair is his most striking feature, it is his mother's divine hair colour and he is the only one of her children to have inherited it. Similarly, Hyacinthus is the only one of his mother's children to inherit her magic. While some of his siblings were born with a few passive gifts from their mother (Argalus' 'perfect' memory and Polyboea's affinity for mental calculations and projections, for example) Hyacinthus was born with a talent for sealing and warding magic and thusly, much of his life has been shaped by the pursuit of knowledge and his wish to use his talents to better his kingdom. Much of his good-nature and zeal for life and learning is destroyed by the circumstances of his death and entombment. When he is revived, he is angry, lost, devoid of most of his memories and desperate to fill the missing gaps of his soul. He's selfish and snappish, hurt and desperate to hurt others but, most importantly, he is searching. When he is revived, all the world has heard his story but he is not apart of it. They do not remember Hyacinthus, the mage-prince of Amyclae or Hyacinthus, the teacher of men. They do not speak of Hyacinthus, who charmed the gods for their knowledge or Hyacinthus whose beauty was bested only by his wit - they speak of Apollo and his lost love, Apollo and his grief, Hyacinthus, the lover of the Radiant. One can only hope that he will find whatever it is he is looking for on this journey.

Some fun trivia:

Youngest son in a family of seven, his magic was the catalyst for Clio revealing her true identity as a Muse to her children.

Actually prefers to be called 'Hyacinth' but has made peace with people ignoring his wishes and just calling him Hyacinthus out of habit or formality.

Has an intense resting bitch face and struggles with visibly expressing happiness or sadness. This is also a trait he shares with his mother, though his older sister Hegesandre also shares this feature. Cynortas was technically a part of the resting bitch face club but he practiced smiling and looking cheery so much as a child that now has the opposite problem where he can smile through anything, even pain or anger.

Left home when he was 10 to study at the Parnassus Institute for Gifted Children. The Institute specialises in training the children of the Muses, but occasionally it will take in normal people who show great promise. Hector, who becomes quite close to Hyacinth during their tenure together, was one of those people.

Was recognised by Apollo himself at his graduation and was gifted a laurel wreath. Apollo declared him the Shepherd Laureate which made Hyacinth the third Laureate alive at that time - a status shared only by Orpheus, the Poet Laureate and Asclepius, the Doctor Laureate.

Despite his title, is atrocious with animals and genuinely despises both sheep and goats. Has a mild phobia of goats in particular due to a traumatic incident when he was first climbing the mountain where a particular wild goat absolutely terrorised him. Along with following him for days, it would eat anything he left unattended and even bit and headbutted him numerous times when he would try to wrestle his food back from it. He was so bothered by the title in fact, that he asked Apollo if the designation was a joke at his expense. Apollo never denied that it was a joke but he never confirmed it either.

Exceptional hunter but prefers trapping to hunting by dog or arrow. Has never been one for weapons and much rather prefers to fight bare handed if the occasion arises.

Despite his laurel wreath being such a precious object, Hyacinth has never properly worn it. He wore them around his left bicep after obtaining them and when Polyboea contracted phthisis and needed comforting, he gave them to her as an object that would give her strength. Polyboea was buried with his laurels so he never got the chance to wear the wreath on his head.

His favourite colour is a dark oak brown and his favourite hobby is reading. His favourite food is fish roasted by a river and shared with people he loves. He died at 28 on the first day of Karneios.

[toaarcan]

Anyone noticed that Surge is like... aesthetically derived from Scourge, but her damage and reasons for hating Sonic are way more similar to Fiona?

Kidnapped by a mad scientist (Starline/Robotnik), experimented on in a traumatic fashion (turned into a lightning-powered anti-Sonic/used for the Auto-Automaton prototype), blames Sonic for her situation happening at all (because he didn't kill the villains before they could hurt her/because he didn't come back to save her), and is angry at Sonic for not taking a stronger position against the villains (explicitly/implicitly).

And given how well-received Surge has been, there's a level of "Wow they could've done something like this a while ago if anyone at Archie had seen Fiona as a character rather than a love interest" but honestly I'm mostly just glad they finally did something with the concept of "Person who feels that Sonic is to blame for everything that went wrong in her life and wants to kick his teeth in about it."

[thepersonalwords]

People will try to frustrate you in life. But you have to decide to stay determined.

Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

[brokenrecord7227]

There’s him too. I spent maybe 10 minutes on this so it looks like ass but I think it fits him so I wanted to at least do something

[cuterefaction]

I'm not normally all that in to boxing, but after all the bloody drama they've had to endure this olympics I'm hoping Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting have a good finals run.

[darabeatha]

MY KING

(source)

[dataframe]

also i think mqf just doesn't believe they're emotionally competent enough to deal with a head disciple

[simsdaughters]

Checking in with you guys: Are you satisfied with the way the bachelor challenge is being portrayed? Would you rather it be more story-driven? Less dialogue? MORE dialogue? Let me know your thoughts!

[waroferas]

(standing in the middle of an empty room) i feel like people do not give green enough attention

[possum-tooth]

in the middle of sexting "hey where are u located btw"

[foreverfearlessred]

Ferrari posting the teaser video on their socials saying something cool is dropping tomorrow like, besties, did you really think the comments would be filled with anything but “new car?” “functioning car?” and “Charles Leclerc’s renewed hopes and dreams?”

[thisismycorneroftheinternet]

Not to keep on ragging on the point that middle class Americans do not know what cheap and easy food is, and take it for granted the amount of variety of ingredients they have available for accessible prices as a first world country who everyone imports to, I opened up every recipe on that post of quick and easy recipes and like, none of them I could reproduce if I wanted to. The ingredients are either expensive, like olive oil, cheese, pesto, chick peas, lentils, etc, or are simply not available in my region because no one wants to import that for like, half a dozen people who use it.

Like, none of the recipes I see being passed around Tumblr are reproducible for anyone besides middle class Americans. And that's not an issue only here, as I've had straight up discussions for years on other sites populated by Americans about how those things are not cheap nor accessible for me, mainly because they get all huffy and puffy when they give me cheap diets advice and I shoot all the suggestions down for the obvious reasons. Nor are they only restricted to specifically attempting to eat cheap but healthy food, as I've had Oh So Many Discussions with Americans that do not understand that the rest of the world does not work like their corner of their country does, and me shutting their stuff down should be taken as a sign of their navel-gazing mentality to assume as much, and not a flaw of my character.

IDK, I'm just sick and tired of American culture and standards and ideas and even existence being the norm online. You're one of hundreds of countries.