Neverending Nightmares Review
Neverending Nightmares came out of nowhere for me. I had never heard of the indie title until just hours before playing it, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised(Thanks Bombcast!). This game took me to such dark, unsettling places that I had to keep playing.
This is really my first ever(legit) game review so let's just dive right in.
Story-
You assume the role of Thomas, a man who seems to be experiencing one long nightmare involving a girl named Gabby, who's identity becomes more clear to you as you progress through the game. The goal is to simply get to the end, if there is any, of this terrifying nightmare. That's really all there is to say story-wise, the game is mostly about atmosphere and it pulls it off very well. Which leads me to my next topic...
Presentation-
The first thing that stands out to you as you start the game is it's art style. Creator Matt Gilgenbach has referenced Edward Gorey as the artist the game pays tribute to, and, while I was reminded a bit of Gorey's black and white, sketchy Victorian-style drawings, I couldn't help but find it more similar to a New Yorker cartoon, probably because of the faces? Despite this, the game looks gorgeous, I mean look at some screenshots! This game is fucking beautiful! The animation, on the other hand, is a little strange. Despite looking very gorgeous most of the time, most of the actual things moving on the screen give off a very Flash-like animation. It didn't bother me near the end of the game, but I definitely let out a 'yuk' the moment I saw Thomas make his David Firth-like walk across his bedroom. A minor flaw in an otherwise gorgeous looking game.
The sound design is top notch as well! I strongly suggest playing with headphones(the game does too). Your average stock computer speakers can't highlight the dense layers of sound this game provides. The music is tense and always escalating to the point where you feel anxious playing certain parts because of it. Combined with the creaks, cracks and moans of unknown horrors, Neverending Nightmares has some of the best sound design I've experienced in years! If you are not a fan of loud sounds or jump scares, then I suggest finding something else to play, because NN is full of these. Oddly enough, I never found them cheap, although they did keep me from exploring bits of the game since I came to expect them a little too much and didn't want to deal with them. Normally this would be a flaw, but this actually makes NN very effective, it actually made me check myself before opening doors. That's good sound design to me.
Gameplay-
NN is essentially a haunted house game, that's the best way to describe it. The controls are stripped down to the basics: movement, a sprint button, and an examine button. The game is mostly about exploration with a few very simple, albeit tedious, thrown in to keep things fresh. Still, NN plays best when it's not hindered by it's enemy encounters. The build up felt much more effective than actually seeing what was lurking within the darkness.
The game is also quite short, I was able to beat it in one sitting in about an hour and some change. I understand there are 3 different endings you can acquire, but I doubt the game would be as good as it's first run, most of the game is about the unexpected. Once you take that away I feel like half the fun of the game is lost. The short length also makes the game's price of $14.99 a little too much for me. Definitely wait for a sale!
All in the all, I had an amazing experience playing Neverending Nightmares. It was one of the more unique gaming experiences for me in 2014 and it makes me excited for what else Infinitap Games and Matt Milgenbach will make in the future. The game is amazing on the eyes and overloaded with tense atmosphere but at the same time is very short and has quite low replay ability. 3/5 stars for me. Definitely wait till the price drops to 9.99 or lower to feel like you got your money's worth.
