Neverending Nightmares was developed by Infinitap Games. It is a horror game with inspirations from the lead designer Matt Gilgenbach’s. Matt Gilgenbach has personal struggles with depression and an obsessive-compulsive disorder which have been the underlining for Neverending Nightmares. He stated that he was going to use all the thoughts and feelings associated to his struggles and put it into a game. In doing so Matt launched a Kickstarter for the game. His pledge goal was set at $99,000 and received $106,722 with 3,608 backers. With tremendous support Neverending Nightmares was made playable on PC on September this year.
Neverending Nightmares is a psychological horror game with a focus on a puzzle like exploration. Its main character is Thomas who takes on the characteristics of a weak and confused guy endlessly tortured by is his nightmares. Within the first few minutes you get a sense of his delicate state as he scares easily and is quickly winded when running. The story of the game lives on the nightmares that just never seem to end (hence the title). Thomas wakes from one nightmare only to find himself in yet another one. As you continue into the story the nightmares become more horrifying and more interactive. In order to get from one nightmare to another Thomas can come across a horrifying scene, commit self-harm or get killed by a monster. These nightmares act as the game’s checkpoint and save system.
Neverending Nightmares is a black and white game with a 2D hand drawn line art style. Key items in the game are highlighted in color so they aren’t hard to miss. So viewable paintings will be in a gold frame and door knobs will have a golden knob. This game maintains an eerie, gloomy vibe all throughout the scenes. Shadows are perfectly integrated background sound effects and music just add to the distress of the game. And do expect a lot of jump scares as you won’t be able to predict them all. A single run through of the game can be done in roughly an hour and thirty minutes depending on the player and the extent of which you explore. With three different ending, Wayward Dreamer Path, Final Descent, and Destroyed Dreams Path, there is added replay value to the game.
Some have been disappointed with the gameplay part of Neverending Nightmares as certain aspects of the game can come off as sluggish and boring. As it the case that players do need to strategize while playing this giving it that “gaming feel” however it is minimal. Simple actions like dodging mental patients and hiding from giant monsters is not all that challenging to comprehend. There are alternative endings to this game which does give it its replay value but it may become dull as you can expect a lot of repetition.
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