Dead End Road is a Roguelike driving Survival Horror game by DDD Wares released in July 8th, 2016. You walk into the house of an old hag on a dead end road to be granted any wish you desire from her eldritch master. The player has to drive from town to town in their shoddy car to collect three items: a candle, a bell, and a book. They must find items of good quality, because the consequences are dire.
The game is inspired by the Creepypasta "11 Miles."
Dead End Road contains examples of the following tropes:
- The Alleged Car: Your car is less than ideal, being prone to malfunction and the steering can be a bit difficult, even before it takes any damage.
- And I Must Scream: The player's fate if they fail the ritual. Their soul is absorbed, and they spend eternity wailing alongside the other countless victims.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: As befitting a horror game, not all the endings have you getting what you want without a price or a twist.
- Danger Takes a Backseat:
- Sometimes a man will pop up in the rearview mirror, commanding you to turn the lights off. Otherwise, he will crash the car, killing you both.
- One of the insanity effects will have the demon staring at you from the backseat.
- Deal with the Devil: The hag has made a deal with an Eldritch Abomination to be the bearer of the curse. You make a deal with her master in order to be granted one wish. These wishes usually don't end in your favor.
- Eldritch Abomination: The demon has the dark powers to grant a wish, and the failure of meeting its demands is the cost of your soul. We don't see much of the monster, but it has a Skull for a Head and piercing red eyes.
- Every Car Is a Pinto: If the car takes too much damage, it will wreck and be engulfed in flames in the game over screen.
- Evil Old Folks: The old woman you talk with is in service with an Eldritch Abomination and is not particularly caring if you succeed or not. Failing to meet the ritual's demands will result in her siccing her master on you.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Some of the sanity effects are fake error messages.
- Multiple Endings: In addition to a bad ending should the player fail to meet the ritual's demands, the game offers the player a choice of premade endings to choose from, ranging from power, wealth, to a slice of pizza.
- Nonstandard Game Over: Instead of dying in a fiery wreck, the player can also run out of gas, leaving them stranded.
- Road Trip Plot: Save for the pit stops and the beginning and end scenes, much of the time spent in the game will be the player on the road.
- Sanity Meter: The game has one. The more sanity is drained from the player, the more Interface Screw they suffer from, putting them at significantly greater risk of taking too much damage.
- Title Drop: The area the witch lives in is called the Dead End Road, being your final location.
- Wicked Witch: The hag, of course. Though, it's lessened somewhat considering she ultimately aids you by letting you know what you need for the ritual to not have your soul devoured.
