Dark Deception: Unchecked Limitations

Dark Deception: Unchecked Limitations is an remake/expansion pack to the original Dark Deception universe that is essentially an expert mode for all previous levels by adding new enemies and buffing old ones in all previous nightmares. This game is developed by XXxMegalodonPrimexXx under the collaboration of the assistant writer/editor Dr. H.W. Richardson and published by Glowstick Entertainment.

Plot
The storyline closely mirrors the original Dark Deception, albiet with some noticeable changes here and there. You play as Doug Houser, a criminal defense attorney who faces an untimely demise. Instead of moving on to the afterlife, Doug encounters Bierce, a mysterious woman, who presents him with a chance to regain his life in exchange for completing a series of tasks. These tasks involve navigating through eerie portals and collecting Soul Shards, the remnants of human souls. While this may sound straightforward, the challenges are far from simple, as these portals lead to nightmarish realms teeming with nightmarish-looking creatures ready to tear Doug apart. Bierce provides occasional assistance, but for the most part, Doug must rely on his own ingenuity to survive. Additionally, doubts arise about Bierce's true intentions, raising the question of whether she is entirely trustworthy.

Gameplay Elements
Unlike in the original Dark Deception, instead of being instantly killed and losing one of their lives, the game features a traditional heart container-based health system. There are different types of hearts in the game, each with its own unique set of pickups. Each heart symbolizes two hit points. The player will lose their health when they suffer damage, which can be a percentage of their hearts. However, damage less than one is not visible on the health bar. The amount of damage that you take depends on the enemy, traps, environmental dangers, and the enemy attacks, although in Chapters 1-3, most sources deal half a heart of damage unless otherwise mentioned. From Chapter 4 onwards (including the Hidden Nightmares), all half-heart hits deal a full heart of damage.
 * Moon Charms
 * Sun Jades
 * Difficulty Modes
 * Hidden Nightmares
 * Achievements
 * Monster Bestiary

Beginning with Elementary Evil and continuing through subsequent levels, collecting a ring piece triggers a frantic rush back to the level's starting point. A timer, its duration varying by level, initiates a countdown, signifying the player's urgent need to escape swiftly. Additionally, barriers will change states, with certain hallways obstructed by purple barriers in some levels, and new enemies will spawn throughout the level. The activation of the escape sequence allows players to collect hourglass pickups. While in the midst of the escape sequence, the player's point total steadily diminishes at a rate of 5 points per second, encouraging them to reach the exit promptly in pursuit of a higher rank. Time machines, if unlocked, can be entered during the escape sequence to initiate a loop, teleporting the player back to the location of the ring altar without resetting the timer or requiring the replay of a boss fight (note that clock and bell pickups and the enemies faced by John do reset). Initiating the loop is required for the P-Rank.

Should the timer reach zero, Malak swiftly seizes the player's soul, resulting in instant death. Each time the timer reaches a new quadrant of the bar, a bell chimes, indicating the impending collapse drawing nearer. It's also worth noting that the timer does not count down during boss fights, but it continues to do so during cutscenes, causing a minor loss of time.

Trivia

 * The title 'Unchecked Limitations' comes from Trevor Henderson's explanation of Cartoon Cat's powers.
 * The entire UL and JOTGIR verse shares the same Uchu No Yume multiverse with other projects of XXxMegalodonPrimexXx, including Touhou Project: Stars in Many Dimensions, Wadanohara and the Outer Waves, and Genshin Impact: Multiversal Cataclysm
 * Chuckles the Clown, Drixot-2000, Destruction Ducky and Doom Ducky are the only bosses so far that the player can rematch outside their debut levels.
 * Chuckles is the only boss so far whose rematch is entirely optional.
 * Doom Ducky is the only boss from the original Dark Deception so far who has a rematch
 * The creator considers Unchecked Limitations as the Dark Deception equivalent to Terraria's Calamity Mod