An indie game based on Winsor McCay's groundbreaking comic strip.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
March/April update - new demos! Playtesting and polish!
11 days ago
– Wed, Apr 01, 2026 at 02:54:32 PM
Hello dreamers!
Once again, we've had a busy month of development on the game. Without further ado, we're going to jump into it!
Steam playtesting is LIVE
The biggest thing happening right now is that the game is live on Steam right now for playtesting. What this means is that anyone can get onto the game's page on Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2229030/Little_Nemo_and_the_Nightmare_Fiends/) and request access to the test for free. This does not supercede buying it, so anyone who requests access and has not already backed it will have to buy it later. What it does do is help us continue to build our audience while also getting feedback for our upcoming Early Access build, which is going to be Act I of the game.
Currently, the playtest build lets players access up through Jack Frost's Ice Palace, which is fully constructed, but does not have story and quest elements implemented yet. These are coming soon and quickly (much of that content is being tested on the developer side right now), so there won't be much longer to wait to see how the story carries on once Nemo leaves the forest.
If you've not requested to get on the playtest yet, you can do so now. In fact, we are adding a new build with some quality-of-life additions (and squashed bugs) in the next day or so. Feel free to also tell your friends and even stream the playtest demo - we're starting to build up to our social media pushes for Early Access and every bit counts!
New features
One of the best things about this playtest period has been that we have gotten lots of feedback from folks in our Discord and have been able to come up with some quality of life improvements to the game.
One of the biggest is a new upgrade that comes towards the beginning of the game, the Dream Bounce. We created this both in response to feedback on the jump physics, but also the realization after MAGFest that some players did not understand that holding down the jump button made the characters jump higher. Now, Nemo and the gang have a super bounce that is activated by hitting the jump button as soon as they hit the ground from a previous jump (the way Mario can with his triple jump.) In testing, we've found ourselves and have been told by testers that this makes the jump feel more deliberate and getting around the environment more interesting. It can also be paired with powers like Nemo's Glide and the Sprint Shoes (that are not available in public builds yet, but are pretty cool), to increase the characters' mobility.
The Dream Bounce also consumes the characters' Magic power, which brings about the next update: adjustments to how the Magic system works. Ben has added some cool quality of life features to it, including having the UI shake whenever you try to do something that requires magic, but have no magic left.
Upcoming Features
As mentioned in the last update, the majority of our team spent a week in San Francisco at the 2026 Game Developers Conference. Based on feedback from playtesters at the show, Max and Chris began discussing some ideas for players for new mechanics unique to our four playable characters.
Chris' concept sketch of Flip pulling on certain walls
One of these mechanics involves Flip giving certain walls that have an inconspicuous hook a mighty tug with the help of his trusty extending boxing glove arm. Shortly after arriving home, Max quickly went to work to try and make this feature a reality, which lead to a rabbit hole of other new mechanics we'll be using in new levels that we're building!
One last thing Max has been prototyping we'd like to show is also part of our progress with Jack Frost's palace. Due to Flip's shenanigans breaking the palace's snow machines, certain rooms of the palace will be difficult to near-impossible to navigate due to blizzard-conditions. Max has been toiling away at how we're going to depict this in game, and we've been really enjoying the results! The visuals and animation are still in prototype form, but this will give you an idea of how this feature works:
Conclusion
Before going, we also want to send a hearty congrats to the lovely folks at Die Soft Games for the release of their game, Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland! It's looking pretty cool and has a neat interpretation of the world of Little Nemo, so make sure you go check it out on Steam as well. We know we are!
That's it for now - until next time!
Chris and Team Nemo
March Update - New Playtest Build on Steam!
about 1 month ago
– Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 08:55:15 AM
Hi Dreamers! Adrian here.
This will be shorter than our usual monthly update as the rest of the team is out at the Game Developers Conference at the moment, however I wanted to let you all know that the playtest build we have on Steam has seen a major update!
First, a big thanks to everyone who has played so far! We've heard so many great things from you and have been able to knock out some bugs we didn't know about and make the overall game experience smoother thanks to your feedback! With this next update, we're hoping to onboard more people into the game and get as much data as possible. It's been a huge help, so if you haven't yet, bet sure to request access on our Steam page so you can check out the newest update to the game (and maybe give us a wishlist if you haven't yet! It really helps!), and if you have already, you can jump into the game again and see what's new.
As for this update, alongside bug fixes and some minor balance tweaks, we've made some pretty major adjustments to how jumping works in the game. Apart from making it feel a bit smoother and responsive, Nemo is now able to get a new ability early in his adventure: the Dream Jump.
The Dream Jump lets Nemo and friends jump even higher after a normal jump!
With the Dream Jump, Nemo and his friends can get a big boost on subsequent jumps directly after the standard jump. It costs magic to use, however, so keep an eye on your magic gauge in the top left corner, or you'll only be able to do the standard jump! We've been really happy with how this new ability makes the game feel more dynamic, as the decision of how you will approach new challenges and utilize our characters other abilities such as Nemo's glide more deliberate and interesting. Check it out, and be sure to let us know what you think on our Discord server, which you can access via our website.
That's it for this update! Again, we hope you enjoy the latest build to the game. If you run into any issues with the game on Steam, please be sure to fill out our bug submission form. It is still a work in progress, and we appreciate your help and feedback as we continue to push forward.
Until next time, Dreamers!
Adrian
Steam Playtest Update
2 months ago
– Mon, Feb 02, 2026 at 05:50:51 AM
Hi all!
I just updated the Steam Playtest to continue where the last playtest ended. The game now is able to be continued into the Ice Palace, the home of Jack Frost.
This is our largest level so far, but is still under construction - so some cinema scenes may not work exactly as intended and a few areas may be available that aren't supposed to be yet.
There are lots of unique enemies and challenges in this level, and you'll finally able to recruit Flip!
Steam Playtest
3 months ago
– Wed, Jan 21, 2026 at 08:10:28 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
January update - birbs, MAGFest, and Steam Playtesting Access!
3 months ago
– Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 10:11:29 AM
Happy New Year Dreamers!
We hope you and your families had a good and relaxing holiday break. We did, but also were able to get a lot done on the game and with other stuff, so this update will have a lot of exciting news!
First, birbs
We have mentioned this system before, but in the game, Nemo and his friends will be able to collect "Figments", which are created whenever Nemo does something nice for the citizens of Slumberland. These Figments will be used by the player to tear down barriers made of nightmare energy that block certain parts of the game. In gameplay terms, these will work like the Star Doors in Super Mario 64, where Mario has to collect enough Stars to unlock the doors.
A nightmare barrier in the level editor. These will show you the number of figments required to destroy them when you approach.
We had long wondered what the Figments are - are they energy? are they stars? How would they show up on-screen and in the interface.
Once again, we went to the comics!
In this latter-day Dream of the Rarebit Fiend comic (technically one of the ones he did at the Hearst Papers under a different title, but now considered part of the Rarebit series), McCay shows us cartoonists at their desks, with one having trouble finding an idea. A cute bird-like creature appears, carrying the label "IDEA". The struggling cartoonist picks it up and holds it, until the other cartoonist (caricatures of McCay and one of his co-workers), asks him about the weather, at which point the Idea runs off.
We loved the idea of Figments as little bird-like creatures, and started sketching what McCay's Idea bird could look like with more modern sensibilities.
The first version of the Figment, based on the Dream of the Rarebit Fiend comic Idea Bird - too "Peanuts"
We came up with the little character above, which while cute, did not fit the look we were going for in the game - it felt a little too "Peanuts" for what we were trying to achieve. Then we thought about potential birds to model the character on and remembered the Hokkaido Snow Fairy (Shima-enaga), and thought that it would be the perfect model.
The Figment sketch, based on the Hokkaido Snow Fairy
From there, we worked out coloring and details of how it would be used in the game, then arrived at what is now the in-game sprite.
Working out potential tail designs, we decided to go for a simplified tail (top) to maintain a fun ball shape
Little Nemo at MAGFest
Our next bit of news was that we were at MAGFest 2026 with our usual booth. It was great to show the game and connect with some of you during the event, also getting lots of bugs fixed and design questions worked out. We even debuted a rough cut of our new game intro animation!
The booth during setup
We had pretty steady crowds throughout the week!
At one point, the arcade cabinet broke, but Flip was on the case!
It was back up just in time for Mega Man to visit!
Ben played his sax at the booth, including music from the game, and other game soundtrack classics.
Updated website and Steam Playtest access incoming!
Last, but most certainly not least, is that we're going to make our latest build of the game available via Steam's playtesting feature!
We're still working out some of the bugs we found at MAGfest, preparing the game on Steam's backend client and going over the details, but we'll check back with another update in the next few days with information on when and how YOU may experience Little Nemo & the Nightmare Fiends on Steam in due time!
The front page of our current website, with new links to Steam, Discord, our mailing list, and Backerkit up top.
The website now provides easy access to our Backerkit that allows folks to pre-order the game (and participate in the playtest if they haven't backed already!), join our discord or sign up for our mailing list for future updates, and of course find Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends on Steam. Speaking of, if you haven't wishlisted our game yet, this is your monthly reminder to please consider adding us to said wishlist! It will really help us out when the game releases! You can wishlist on our store page here!
That's all for this month's update! Again, we'll have more information on the Steam playtest rollout very soon. We look forward to you all checking out the game and giving us your feedback so we can make the best possible game we can!
