Psychoanysis

[Strawman]

So, this game intrigued me greatly, and there are a lot of different opinions that people have about the endings, the canon, and basically everything about this game. I have my own theories about it, so here goes nothing. As psychology student, writer, and gamer, I found this game enjoyably creepy, but also quite tragic once the symbolism has been decrypted without further ado, Never Ending Nightmares EXPLAINED.
So, first lets look at the facts: we know that the game centers around Thomas, our protagonist, who seems to be caught in an eternal loop of horror from which he cannot escape. We also know that Thomas feels conflicted and confused about three of the female presences in his life, these bein his sister, Gabby, his wife, Gabrielle, and his daughter, who remain unnamed. Now, lets look at the endings. Most people think that the three endings to this game are all seperate story arcs, but I believe that they are actually a series of chronological events, and that all three can be considered a TRUE ending. The first one is that of Thomas as a child, entering his sister's room and kissing her goodnight before the screen fades out. This, I might add, takes place when we know FOR SURE that Thomas is awake, due to the lack of scary noises, monsters, or dilapidated surroundings. The second ending is that of Thomas awakening in a hospital bed with whom we can assume to be his wife sitting beside him. Noe the bandages soaked with blood on his arms, and how distraught Gabrielle is before Thomas wakes.
They last ending is Thomas awakening, after crawling into a dream-vision of a woman's uterus, and getting the message that Gabrielle has left him. We also learn that they had a daughter, and that she has perished. Now, lets use the clues from the game to string it all together.
Thomas as a child was probably a neglected and lonely boy, whose parents did not much care for him. This can be symbolized through the dream-state of the mansion, which is also neglected and dilapidated, parallel to Thomas. Thomas, we know had a sister, who must have been the single point if true happinessin his life.now, we see in the game a young Thomas chasing Gabrielle through the woods, unable to keep up, and finding her dead with a knife in her stomach. Directly afterwards, it shows a gruesome scene of Thomas tearing the bones out of his arm. We also see more self-mutilation in the form of Thomas putting his hand through a meat grinder, and stabbing himsef. I propose that this scene of Gabby's death was not a dream-vision, but a memory, or perhaps premonition. Either way, her death was REAL. After this death, Thomas attempted to move on, meeting a girl named Gabrielle and becoming a father. His scene of waking in bed with Gabrielle and thinking her to be Gabby also fits. Gabrielle claims that Thomas never had a sister, but Homas would have made a point of tryin to suppress memories of Gabby's death, and the fact that he felt he was to blame, so Gabrielle would never have heard of Gabby before. Distraught over the reminder of her death, Thomas experiences a brief period of paranoia and role confusion, thinking to see Gabby everywhere, even in the form of his psychiatrist. After his daughter dies, this grows even worse, and Thomas attempts to kill himself by slitting his wrists, note the second ending and the bloody bandages around his wrist. Gabrielle rushed him to the hospital and was able to save his life. Distressed even further by his suicide attempt, and his growing depression, Gabrielle leaves him, hence the third ending.
Now that we've established what's real, lets look at the dreamworld. Thomas experiences guilt over the many deaths in his life in the form of monsters that attack him. In the mansion, huge deformed infants will kill Thomos. These represent his survivors guilt over his sister's death, and the wish that he had never been born, so as to escape the pain. Seeing the food still on the dining room table, we see that young Thomas feels trapped in time, and reliving the same sequence of events over and over. His guilt over his own role confusion and the stress he puts his wife through manifests in the mental patient enemy. These represent both that guilt, and his constant fear that he is going insane. Also is the hostile apparition of Gabrielle, whom Thomas often perceives as dead or mutilated, symbolizing the fact that his paranoia is slowly killing her. His guilt over his sisters death also manifests in his own self-mutilation. Now, remember the scene where outside of the mental hospital, Thomas teeters on the edge of a dark pit. At the bottom of it lies the truth, but if Thomas chooses to go back inside, the apparition of Gabrielle drugs him and slashes both ankles, stating that "now you'll never escape". What she means is that Thomas will never escape his guilt.
Speaking which, there's one more monster that I forgot, not including the dolls and little girls, which are more manifestations of Gabby. This monster is the bloody Thomas with the axe. This monster is screaming of guilt symbolically. The painted on smile of blood implies a reminder that Thomas feels responsible for Gabbys death, and that he feels guilt for even trying to be happy and find love in Gabrielle. It literally is saying that the smile he wears for his wife is painted in Gabby's blood. So, that's all that I have on this topic, and I hope my opinion is appreciated. Hey, if anyone else has played the game and thinks that this theory is plausible, leave me a comment or maybe contribute your own ideas. Thanks for reading!

[Infinitap Games]

Wow, thank you for the very thought-provoking analysis of Neverending Nightmares! :) While I originally intended the 3 endings to be different realities, there is no reason they can't all fit together. I don't think there is a real "right" answer for the interpretations of the endings. I think that's the benefit of leaving it open ended. It can mean different things to different people. To me the most important part of the game is the nightmares, and guilt is one of the main themes of the game.

I wish the people who claim there is no story would read this post. ;)

[Strawman]

Thanks! It was a ton if fun to write this, and I totally agree with you: the whole fun of the game IS its way of being so open ended and mysterious. Maybe the producers completely saw things differently than me, maybe I'm way off the mark, but its still super fun just to speculate. Thanks for the positive comments! I can't stand it when people just troll.

[shadowofomen]

If we do link the endings together the story I believe in is that Thomas is being tormented by his decision of saving his wife during her troubled labor. My reasoning is based off of the imagery we see at the end of the "Together at Last" chapter and the first dream of Gabby being stabbed.

At the end of said chapter as we see the image of Gabby in a gurney with blood stains on the lower half of her gown. In, I believe, "Final Discent" we see "younger Gabby" eating the older which to further suggests that their unbornchild was causing her health to deteriorate.

This would mean that the end of "Wayward Dreamer" is either a dream symbolically showing a Thomas worried about his pregnant wife, Thomas showing love for his sister even though he knows that her pregnancy could possibly kill her(if we look at this in an incestous angle since Thomas doesn't really look healthy himself), or it was real and it shows that Gabby has had health problems since childhood(according to TVtropes).

The scene of young Thomas stabbing Gabby in the gut(He and the killer wear clothing with anchors on them) is symbolic of him making the choice to kill his unborn child. Dark Gabby and the Babies then symbolise his guilt of making his decision. The Patiants represent his feelings of being helpless when making the decision or of his depression which then leads to his attempted suicides. And this in the end would lead to his wife leaving him.

Does my theory make any sense at all?

[Infinitap Games]

I think that makes a lot of sense and is a very thoughtful interpretation. :)

[Theredshirt]

I thought of the same thing in a diffrent order, I thought he tried to kill himself some time after his wife left him, but that is just me.

[Faudraline]

Wow. This is a great explanation. You really put thought into it. Thank you! 👍🏻

[Strawman]

Hey, thank you for taking time to read it!

[Bishop Won Dai]

And there was me thinking it was more to do with childhood trauma of being forced to have sex with his own sister for some form of demonic ritual, the guilt driving him to kill his sister and unborn mutant baby, then attempt to commit suicide. Swings and roundabouts

[Strawman]

well hey, you never know. My analysis can't be taken as fact, and your theory is just as valid as mine is.

[fadyk85]

Thank you @twiggy shei for this interesting write-up and thank you @infinitap games for a different gaming experience. I finally plaayed this today and it reminded me to check up on my sister - so thank you for that.