Fear is a feeling that will be familiar to everyone, regardless their background. We all have those things that scare us and makes us afraid, and many of these can be attributed to things outside of ourselves and our control, like the dark, death, or spiders. But there is a fear that can be born from within, stemming from mental health issues such as depression. It’s this inner fear that Neverending Nightmares sets out to explore in a way that can really get under your skin.

Neverending Nightmares is based on creator Matt Gilgenbach’s own experiences with depression and OCD. The story puts players in the role of Thomas who is trapped in his own nightmares. It is only by journeying through these that the truth of the situation is uncovered, allowing for Thomas to try and escape his inner demons. Along the way, various dangers will manifest themselves, with all of them being a danger to Thomas.

Thomas is no heroic character, just an average man who suffers from asthma. He can’t fight his demons, but can flee them for a limited time before needing a break to catch his breath. This design is deliberate to make players feel vulnerable while trying to push through. The world isn’t littered with enemies on every screen and their sparing use intensifies the foreboding atmosphere present throughout. The designs of the creatures are all human-like but twisted in various ways, from having no eyes, to being literal dolls that can kill instantly. In fact, all monsters can kill instantly if you don’t escape their clutches.

Death will just see Thomas wake up again in a bed to try and continue his journey through the nightmares. Movement is slow in Neverending Nightmare to stop players sprinting all over the place and take in the details instead. The world has a hand drawn feeling to it and is primarily shaded with white, grey, and black, with dashes of colour to show interactive objects and the red of bloodstains. Each area is shaded in different ways to obscure the environment, with this becoming more prominent the deeper into Thomas’ psyche you delve.

The majority of the game takes place in a house full of rooms to explore, though they do repeat as Thomas reawakens. However, just like the increased shading there are noticeable changes from the subjects of the pictures of the wall becoming more disturbing, to the house falling into a state of disrepair. While you can explore along different routes, it is hard to become lost and the game does generally push you forward. There are a couple of branching story paths though, which can be accessed after completing your first. You don’t need to start from the beginning to access the other endings, instead choosing the moment at which the path splits when you go to start another playthrough.

The uncertainty of what was around the corner coupled with the eerie music manages to set you edge, lending this a deeply atmosphere that’s among the best in psychological horrors. On the PS4 the experience extends to the controller where it starts to rumble if a large monster is approaching, growing in intensity as it comes closer. The speaker is also used effectively with whispered messages emanating from it at unexpected times.

There are those moments though where the illusion is shattered, particularly around one type of creature that requires you to sneak past them. At first it is tense and fits well with the game, but the mechanic becomes overused with additional obstacles thrown in the way while trying to sneak past. If it had been used sparingly like the other horrors that await you, then the impact would have remained much more powerful, but this particular enemy became more of an annoyance.

Neverending Nightmares is not a long game either, with the initial playthrough taking approximately 90 minutes. The other two story paths do add around another hour to the game, but once those are done there is no reason to return. The length works for the type of game Neverending Nightmares is, with the focus on exploration not leaving space for much else. Any longer than the playthrough time would see interest in the game start to lapse, while getting through in one sitting keeps the tension alive.

Neverending Nightmares doesn’t go for the big set pieces, but relies on you to fill the gaps with your own imagination before unleashing some horror on you. Its slow pace combined with ominous sounds and music help to build tension in environments that gradually fall apart, as Neverending Nightmares masterfully gives off a sense of dread in its short playtime.

Score: 9/10