Off the AppStore: An Idle Nightmare is an atmospheric incremental experience for your browser

Welcome to Off The AppStore, a weekly feature with a twist. Namely, that while these - as with all the games we cover here - are games that you can play on your phone, they're ones that operate outside of the realms of the big two ways to play: The Google Play Store and the Apple AppStore.

That means that there might be a bit of work required in downloading alternative AppStores or APKs, or that the games can simply be played in your phone browser. We'll make sure to detail that for each game though. Anyway, read on to find a new game or experience to play Off The AppStore.

You're an FBI officer investigating a string of, clearly cult-adjacent, disappearances. You're drawn to this kind of case, and - for whatever reason - you consistently work alone. This feels different though, it is different. An Idle Nightmare dumps you right at the moment you arrive at the scene of the crime and set you loose in its world... its world manifesting as a carefully constructed, atmospheric incremental experience.

Now, obviously, here on mobile we have some of the best incremental idle games already. One of our previous editors, Ric, was last spotted walking past a No Trespassing sign while playing Egg Inc, while games like Clicker Heroes and A Dark Room are widely known for their own reasons. That said, there's a lot to like here, including a hidden second ending which requires a little bit of thinking, but massively expands on the first, more-obvious playthrough.

Atmosphere is key here. I adore the retro art style, even if it is a little inconsistent between scenes, and the second ending demands that clever 'machine eats machine' moment which is often messed up in incremental games - but it's delivered in a clean and balanced manner here.

Much like last week's mention, Luca's Pope's Moida Mansion, An Idle Nightmare is played through your phone browser. I'd definitely recommend being careful, or even specific, with the browser that you use. Chrome, for one, is temperamental with selecting interactive fields, but the area that it'll likely 'catch for copy' is actually key to the secondary ending, so don't be too frustrated. There is no death or failure here, only varying degrees of success.

You can play An Idle Nightmare for free on its Itch.Io page.