- Games
- Nuclear Nightmare
Nuclear Nightmare
An eight-player co-op horror game where an extraction team gathers research while infection threatens to turn friends into monsters.
Online co-op for up to 8 players.
- 8 online
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op8 players
- Local co-opNot confirmed
- Not confirmedFriends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- Not confirmedA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- Not confirmedFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckPlayableValve's own rating
About the game
You search an Arctic landscape for classified materials before a nuclear strike wipes out the area. You move between facilities, collect supplies and work toward calling an evacuation helicopter. Snowmobiles, helicopters and huskies help you cross the map, but the cold and creatures make travel dangerous. Guns and flamethrowers give you a way to fight back.
Up to eight players work together online. You share limited supplies, test for infection and decide who carries weapons, fuel or vaccines. An infected teammate can become another threat, which makes a quiet friend hard to trust. Proximity voice chat keeps nearby conversations close, while separate radios help distant groups communicate. Repeated missions earn points for perk unlocks, suits and emotes, giving your next attempt something to build on.
How it feels
Kind of game
A group of friends, loose goals and a lot of messing around. Failing is part of the fun, and the best moments are the ones nobody planned.
- At its heart
- Now and then
- Time to hang out
- Physical comedy
- Planning ahead
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
Rated on our own feel scale. 5 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked Nuclear Nightmare
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
KLETKA
Why it scores 87%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Chaotic friend hangout
- Core to both
- Fear
- About
- Monsters and Scavenging
- Notable in both
- Laughter and chaos, Working in sync, Exploring, Tension and danger, Getting better, Fighting
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- 6 online
- Crossplay
Both are chaotic hangouts for a group of friends. Both are often scary. Both are about monsters that hunt you and scavenging for loot.
No big difference from Nuclear Nightmare.
R.E.P.O.
Why it scores 86%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Chaotic friend hangout
- Core to both
- Fear, Laughter and chaos
- About
- Science fiction, Monsters and Scavenging
- Notable in both
- Working in sync, Exploring, Tension and danger
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How R.E.P.O. differs
- More slapstick than Nuclear Nightmare
- Early access
- 6 online
Both are chaotic hangouts for a group of friends. Both get loud and silly when plans go wrong. Both are about science fiction and monsters that hunt you.
But more slapstick than Nuclear Nightmare.
Lethal Company
Why it scores 85%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Chaotic friend hangout
- Core to both
- Fear, Laughter and chaos
- About
- Monsters and Scavenging
- Notable in both
- Working in sync, Exploring, Tension and danger
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How Lethal Company differs
- Fits a smaller group than Nuclear Nightmare
- Early access
- 4 online
Both are chaotic hangouts for a group of friends. Both are often scary. Both get loud and silly when plans go wrong.
But fits a smaller group than Nuclear Nightmare.
All co-op facts
Last checked 24 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Local co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Not confirmed
- Split or shared screen
- Not confirmed
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
- 10
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Crossplay
- Not confirmed
- Crossplay between
- Not confirmed
- Friends can join mid-game
- Not confirmed
- Only one of you needs to buy it
- Not confirmed
Sources
10 pages
bgproductions.comOfficial site, read 23 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, Most players online, Genres, Release status, Fear, Tension and danger, Exploring.
- Online co-op: The maker presents the game as multiplayer co-op.
- Most players online: The game panel explicitly states eight-player co-op.
- Genres: The maker calls it multiplayer horror.
- Release status: The game panel says early access.
- Fear: The maker emphasizes horror and threats concealed by limited visibility.
- Tension and danger: The maker describes resource pressure and threats during shared survival.
- Exploring: The maker describes open environments, facilities and routes to explore.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, About, Sessions, Working in sync, Planning ahead, Fighting, Unlocks and progress.
- Online co-op: The maker describes a shared extraction team and the page lists Online Co-op.
- About: The mission combines a spreading virus, hostile creatures, scavenging and survival in a cold Arctic setting.
- Sessions: The maker describes repeated missions with randomized enemies, items and events.
- Working in sync: The team recovers materials, arranges extraction and checks players for infection.
- Planning ahead: Five inventory slots and single-use vaccines make supply choices matter.
- Fighting: The maker names shotguns, flamethrowers and flare guns as defenses.
- Unlocks and progress: The maker describes earning points for perks, suits and dance moves.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Platforms, Release status, Release date.
- Steam app ID: The returned product is Nuclear Nightmare, app 2909110.
- Platforms: Steam supplies a Windows build. Mac and Linux builds are not listed as supported.
- Release status: The available product retains the Early Access genre.
- Release date: Steam gives October 20, 2024 as the early access start.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 23 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Playable on Steam Deck.
steamcommunity.comOfficial news, read 23 October 2026
Backs Most players online.
- Most players online: The developer states on October 25, 2024 that v1.0.7 raises the lobby cap to eight. This supersedes the same developer's earlier five-player answer. The current maker site independently agrees.
steamcommunity.comOfficial news, read 23 October 2026
Backs Voice chat by distance.
- Voice chat by distance: The developer confirms built-in proximity chat in the November 8, 2024 reply and describes proximity-dependent voice indicators.
steamcommunity.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Kind of game, Laughter and chaos, Physical comedy, Time to hang out, Getting better.
- Kind of game: The inspected helpful sample describes failed flights, friend mishaps, roleplay and sudden monster attacks during group missions.
- Laughter and chaos: Several helpful reviews center on plans collapsing into comic deaths, accidents and mistaken actions.
- Physical comedy: A small amount of physical comedy comes from vehicle crashes. Technical bugs alone are not counted.
- Time to hang out: The sample includes joking and voice impressions during objectives, but danger keeps this below a relaxed hangout.
- Getting better: The sample describes learning flight controls, objectives and infection threats through failed attempts.
steamcommunity.comStore page, read 23 October 2026
Backs Fear, Laughter and chaos, Kind of game.
- Fear: The October 21 to 23 sample describes frightening mimics and infection surprises.
- Laughter and chaos: Recent reviewers describe mistaking friends for mimics and killing teammates by accident.
- Kind of game: The recent sample repeatedly describes enjoying the game with friends despite lethal mishaps.
dotesports.comPress, read 23 October 2026
Backs Unlocks and progress, Planning ahead, Working in sync, Tension and danger.
- Unlocks and progress: Dot Esports guide, December 9, 2024, describes earning XP in a match and spending it on perk trees and emotes for later matches. Exact old perk counts are not reused.
- Planning ahead: Dot Esports explains choosing perk paths and carrying fuel to support transport.
- Working in sync: Dot Esports describes teammates carrying fuel and managing heat and supplies together.
- Tension and danger: Dot Esports describes cold, darkness and monsters disrupting generators.
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Free base co-op.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.