7 /10 1 Votes7
Developer(s) Infinitap Games Designer(s) Matt Gilgenbach Initial release date 26 September 2014 | 7/10 Steam Publisher(s) Infinitap Games Composer(s) Skyler McGlothlin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms Similar Survival horror games, Other games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hella scary neverending nightmares
Neverending Nightmares is a video game developed by Infinitap Games. It is a horror game drawing inspiration from the lead designer Matt Gilgenbach's personal struggles with obsessive–compulsive disorder and depression; in an interview, he stated that he was "trying to create that feeling [of bleakness and hopelessness] in Neverending Nightmares".
Contents
- Hella scary neverending nightmares
- Neverending nightmares part 1 please stop believing
- Gameplay
- Setting and characters
- Story
- Development
- Pre release
- Post release
- References
Neverending nightmares part 1 please stop believing
Gameplay
The player takes the role of Thomas, a man who "wakes up" from one nightmare and into another. As the player navigates Thomas throughout the game, the nightmares become progressively worse and worse, including the horrifying monsters that lurk within them. Each time Thomas dies in a nightmare, comes across some serious cause of depression, or commits self-harm, he will "wake up" again in either the same nightmare as before, or into a different one. This acts as the game's checkpoint and save system. The game contains a total of three different endings, all influenced by the player's actions and resulting nightmares.
The game features a 2D hand-drawn line art style heavily influenced by the works of Edward Gorey. It uses a minimalist user interface, forgoing onscreen prompts and loading screens during play in order to increase immersion.
Setting and characters
Neverending Nightmares revolves around Thomas Smith, a young man who is suffering from a seemingly-endless string of nightmares (hence the title). Another character, Gabby, is introduced as Thomas' little sister, and frequently appears in his nightmares, occasionally changing roles. At turning points in the game, Thomas finds Gabby dead in various situations; Thomas himself also dies in his nightmares, sometimes by his own hand, though this only leads him to wake up in yet another nightmare.
Throughout the game, which is implied to be set in the late 1800s, Thomas must explore various locations in his nightmares. These include a mansion, a cemetery, an insane asylum, a forest, and a hospital.
Story
The game begins with Thomas "waking up" from a nightmare, in which he had stabbed his younger sister Gabby in the stomach. As he wanders through each nightmare, "waking up" in a bed each time, the player sees Thomas commit gruesome acts of self-harm out of depression, such as pulling a blood vessel or even a bone out of his arm.
Depending on the player's actions, Thomas will finally wake up into one of three different endings.
Development
The game has been in development since 2013. In September 2013, a Kickstarter campaign for the game's development was successfully funded.
The game is available on Steam and Ouya as of September 26, 2014.
Pre-release
Neverending Nightmares received largely positive buzz during the course of its development. Adam Sessler said it was "very, very interesting" after playing an early build at the Penny Arcade Expo. He compared it to Gone Home in how it told a story personally relevant to its creator. IGN included it on a list of its most anticipated horror games for 2014, emphasizing its "wonderfully-distinct, pen-and-ink style." It was nominated by The Escapist as one of the best games of E3 2014.
Post-release
The game received a score of 69/100 at Metacritic indicating "mixed or average reviews". Giant Bomb nominated it for Best-Looking Game and Best Horror Game of 2014.