Neverending Nightmare is an indie surrealism/horror game developed by Matt Gilgenbach. This game might be best described as "exploration horror"; you wander around various creepy environments, drinking in the visuals and the music as the tension mounts, punctuated by the occasional (generally well-timed and well-done) jump scare. There are monsters, which have to be avoided, and they are appropriately creepy, but this isn't Amnesia or Clock Tower; the game is easy by design (on the theory, I think, that having to do the same section over and over isn't so so much scary as annoying). The music is excellent, instilling a real sense of unease (this is one of relatively few games where I'd actually listen to the soundtrack, if only one were included), and the art style is interesting, unique (well, it's clearly mimicking Edward Gorey, so in a sense that's the opposite of unique, but at least you don't see many other games using it), and generally effective. The story branches, with different levels and endings. But. But but but. Your character moves frustratingly slowly, and the movement animations are horribly amateurish. There is a run function, which will cause him to do a regrettable and hilarious slow-jog ... thing ... for about ten feet while making exaggerated panting noises. There's no animation for walking straight downward, so if you do that, your character will sort of float in that direction while his legs move as if he's walking forward. And while the art style works in general, I just can't get over the character model for the protagonist; he looks ridiculous. To get the different endings, you have to replay levels. Silent Hill and Amnesia, which have strong game-play elements, can get away with this better than Neverending Nightmare, which relies so heavily on pure atmosphere. The game is short, maybe two hours. This is intentional (a longer game would need a stronger central gameplay mechanic), but some gamers might want more for the price.
