- Devlog #3 | Developing The Setting of The Nightmare - 3 August 2026
Hey everyone! We are back with another devlog for Nightmare Circus In today's video, the team is discussing the design behind the world-building of our upcoming circus-themed game.Take a look at what the devs have been cooking this whole time and let us know your thoughts about Nightmare Circus!
- Devlog #2 | Explaining The Combat System - 2 July 2026
Hey everyone!After the success of our first devlog, the team is back with another video! This time, the developers will go through the combat system and Peppin's arsenal to fend off the dangers of the Nightmare Realm...Devlog #2 | Explaining The Combat System is out now!
- Demo Update V1.1.5 Out Now! - 19 June 2026
Greetings, everyone!As many of you may already know, the Nightmare Circus demo has been available for some time now. If you’d like to experience the game firsthand and get a glimpse of what we have in store ahead of our Q3 launch, you can download the demo and put your skills to the test right away.But that’s not all.We’re excited to announce that we’ve recently released a major update for the demo! This update includes support for multiple languages, along with numerous quality-of-life improvements designed to make your experience smoother and more enjoyable.So if you haven’t tried the demo yet, now is the perfect time to jump in. And if you’ve played it before, we encourage you to give it another shot and see what’s changed.We’ve listed all of the improvements and updates included in this version below. Take a look and see what’s new, we hope these changes will convince you to give Ni…
- Nightmare Circus Devlog #1 | Building a Dark Fantasy Circus World - 10 June 2026
Hey everyone! Today, we are sharing an overview of Nightmare Circus and the development team! Check it out to know more about the behind-the-scenes and inspirations that shaped the creation of Peppin and his story!Check out the video below:
- Steam Next Fest February 2026 & Major Demo Update - 23 February 2026
Heya everyone!We are super excited to announce that Nightmare Circus will officially be part of the Steam Next Fest in February 2026. This marks an important milestone for us, and to prepare for it,because we’ve released a major update to the demo to bring it closer to the experience we’re building for the full game! Since releasing the first Nightmare Circus demo and showcasing it at events around the world, we’ve received invaluable feedback from players. Many of you shared your thoughts on progression, difficulty, pacing, and overall feel. We are shaping Nightmare Circus to be the experience that our community wants to see, which is why your feedback and opinions are now being applied to our second playable test that you can freely try out! Below we have rounded down what will be changing moving forward. Your Progress Will Carry ForwardOne of the most important additions in this upda…
- Devlog #5: Designing Bosses to Teach Through Fear - 16 February 2026
In today’s devlog, we are discussing one of the most important aspects of Nightmare Circus: the bosses’ design philosophy. During their development, we wanted to prioritize two main aspects for the biggest challenges: memorability and teaching the players.In Nightmare Circus, bosses and mini-bosses were never meant to be simple obstacles for players to overcome. They were created to be a means to learn the mechanics progressively. Through their moveset and abilities, they will make sure that you will master step-by-step the optimal actions that will defeat them, and eventually help you in future levels…Just as important, they must be memorable characters. If a boss is meant to test the player’s understanding, its identity must communicate that purpose instantly through shape, silhouette, movement, and atmosphere–even before the fight starts.Designing the “Face” of a LessonEvery time the…
- Devlog #4: The Narrative in Nightmare Circus - 12 January 2026
The story of Nightmare Circus began as a simple idea: a small troupe of traveling circus performers who, unfortunately, strayed into the wrong place and found themselves trapped in a nightmare. From the beginning, we knew that we wanted Nightmare Circus to have a story that would integrate with Peppin’s journey throughout the game, visually and mechanically. From the base idea of just defeating bosses, saving our friends, and escaping the nightmare, we worked on expanding the story, using each troupe member’s fears and personality to build upon each world and its mechanics, hoping to give more prominence and importance to each battle Peppin faces and the bonds between him and his friends.Environmental StorytellingTo create a sense of immersion between gameplay and story, we created Nightmare Circus’s environmental storytelling system: aspects of the story are woven throughout the worlds…
- Devlog #3: The Collision Combat System - 2 December 2025
Hey everyone!In today’s devlog, we want to discuss what we believe to be one of the most unique elements of Nightmare Circus: The Collision Combat System!When we first began building Nightmare Circus, we thought a straightforward, action combat system might be enough. Swing, dodge, strike! These bases were the standard path. But when we put the prototype in players’ hands, their reactions told us otherwise. We noticed the moments that made the players cheer, laugh, and lean forward weren’t from landing clean, precise combos or watching damage numbers fly…It was from the impact. At that moment, everything came crashing together (no pun intended).This realization was the gift of Nightmare Circus’ Collision Combat, a system that transforms the whole area into a playground zone where the player is in control. Because here, you are the puppeteer, pulling every string on your stage.Where the…
- Dev Diary #2: Nightmare Circus at Tokyo Game Show 2025! - 28 October 2025
After returning from Gamescom Germany, our next goal was to showcase the long-awaited Collision Combat system to the world. But as every game developer knows, plans have a way of changing, and this time, fate brought us an even bigger stage: Tokyo Game Show 2025.We began preparing for this event back in March. It took more than six months of coordination, booth design, demo setup, merchandise production, and technical planning to make sure everything was ready for one of the world’s largest gaming shows.This year, we joined forces with Red Dunes Games, our publisher, whose booth had grown tenfold since last year. And our Nightmare Circus space was a true reflection of the game itself! The booth team faithfully recreated a scene straight out of the game: a circus tent that looked playful at first glance, but upon closer look, carried an eerie and unsettling undertone. Suspended from abov…
- Play Nightmare Circus Demo During Scream Fest! - 27 October 2025
Hey everyone!Spooky season is finally here, and we are celebrating it with Steam during the Steam Scream Fest!Starting today until November 3rd, you can enjoy a vast catalogue of scary games, and amongst them, you can also play Nightmare Circus Demo!Experience the first level and try out the string mechanics and what Nightmare Circus has to offer.You can download the demo directly from the Nightmare Circus Steam page!
- Nightmare Circus Demo Is Now Available! - 26 September 2025
Hey everyone! We have great news to share with you! While the team is over at the Tokyo Game Show 2025 (by the way, check out our socials to know what we're doing there!!), We just released the Nightmare Circus Demo This is your first-ever occasion to try our upcoming game and experience the unique String mechanic and its potential while going through the introduction level of Nightmare Circus! Download the demo from here:
- Dev Diary #1: Nightmare Circus at Gamescom 2025! - 1 September 2025
Hey everyone!Today, we at Fairplay Studio are excited to inaugurate the Dev Updates for Nightmare Circus!In these articles, we will talk about the latest development news regarding our upcoming game and what we have been up to. This month, we had the honor of flying to Germany to attend one of the biggest gaming-related events, the prestigious Gamescom, and we want to share our experience with you!Attending Gamescom 2025 in Cologne was an unforgettable experience for everyone. As both developers and gamers, stepping into the world’s largest gaming fair felt like diving into a sea of creativity, energy, and passion. This year was extra special for us because we weren’t just visiting as fans, but were a small piece of this amazing ecosystem with our own project! For any studio, standing among the giants of the industry is an achievement in itself, but for us, it was also a payoff of a jou…
