10 Horror Video Games That Broke All The Rules

If you actually think about it, there’s no good reason for the average horror protagonist to be an Olympic-grade runner. Even in scenarios where your character may be badly injured, they seem to be able to morph into Mo Farah when the situation calls for it.

Lots of things make Neverending Nightmares a really interesting, genre-bending game, but a small one that adds to its depth is the player-character’s limited sporting abilities.

You play as Thomas, a man plagued by horrifying nightmares. The game’s designer, Matt Gilgenbach, created it with his personal struggles in mind: using the game’s story and appearance to reflect his experiences of OCD and depression. Another bit of himself that he chose to put into it, however, is his asthma.

When you look at famous horror game protagonists, the thought of labouring them with chronic asthma seems kind of hilarious, in that it would almost definitely cause their deaths. We can come to rely on our player-character’s ability to outrun danger, so introducing a mechanic like this forces us to work smarter.

By taking away the ability to run endlessly, Gilgenbach added an effective layer of realism and tension.