![]() Still, the depictions may be a little too intense for some, even if Gilgenbach keeps them incredibly brief. Of course, it helps to know that Neverending Nightmares' creator Matt Gilgenbach created the game to deal with and express his own mental health issues, so his attempts to wrangle with this subject matter come from a very real place. To Neverending Nightmares' credit, these moment feel sincere and earned, rather than cynically calculated for maximum shock value, which helps make them even more effective. Both suicide and self-harm exist as major themes throughout, meaning depictions of these acts pop up semi-frequently. Recommending Neverending Nightmares comes with a bit of a caveat, though, as it touches on some subjects that may be disturbing to players who've dealt with them personally. Neverending Nightmares goes out of its way to earn these shocking moments, and I really appreciate that. I usually find jump-scares a pretty cheap device in horror games, but here, they're much more subtle, and actually come as a bit of a relief after a long buildup of dread. ![]() But the more powerful moments in Neverending Nightmares come when the tedium of heading through hallway after repetitive hallway is punctuated by an unexpected surprise. Of course, we have the general nightmare "logic" of your surroundings, where environments change and align in ways that don't quite make sense. And though it doesn't have the same narrative drive as Konami's classic, it employs many of the same tricks. It's a very smart move that prevents frustration from interfering with the sense of dread Neverending Nightmares strives for.Īt its best, Neverending Nightmares feels a lot like the horror masterpiece Silent Hill 2. Thankfully, Neverending Nightmares is pretty forgiving about these enemy encounters, and provides a checkpoint before each one so you can immediately try out a new strategy after you die. ![]() But since your characters doesn't have many moves at his disposal, it only takes a few attempt to figure out the best way to avoid being murdered: you'll either have to hide, avoid their line of sight, or simply run the hell away. After the opening introduces the basics, each nightmare to follow typically features a unique antagonist that can kill you, swiftly and brutally, within a few seconds. Of course, as with any good (bad) nightmare, you're not alone. Granted, it's a very simple game: one meant to evoke emotion rather than challenge your skills. Once you navigate through the labyrinthian architecture to find a way out, you're dropped into a new nightmare-usually with a new setting. ![]() Infinitap's creation plays out like a standard side-scrolling game-depicted in a haunting style reminiscent of the artist Edward Gorey-with an extremely simple interface: you can walk, run, open doors, and interact with the very small amount of objects depicted in full color. ![]() Ultimately, the goal of Neverending Nightmares lies in escaping from the series of interconnected nightmares your protagonist finds himself trapped in. And while it doesn't have the ability to tap into the extreme specifics of what causes each and every one of its players to spring out of bed in a cold sweat, Neverending Nightmares does a great job of evoking those broad, commonly featured themes that often pop up in our own nightmares: being pursued, trapped, and/or lost, suffering believable bodily harm, and falling. On that note, Infinitap Games' Neverending Nightmares-which originally released on the PC back in 2014-does exactly what its title implies: essentially, it's a nightmare simulator. No matter what petty differences separate us as human beings, ultimately, we're united by the common fears stirring around in our lizard brains: Those common, universal anxieties we can't escape from, despite the march of progress. ![]()
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