A man wakes up in a room. He has no knowledge of his identity, his past, or why he is there. There is nothing in the room, except for a small idol on a stand, with a sign challenging him to take it, and warning him of danger if he does so. There is one exit, directly behind the idol, but it is barred. After a time, with nothing else to do, he takes the idol from its pedestal. Miraculously, the exit opens! But at the same time, several demons, with the appearance of grotesque gorillas, appear and attack him. Faced with only the options of death or cowardice, he drops the idol and flees. The demons give chase. Faster and faster he runs, on a mysterious, ever-shifting arrangement of platforms, avoiding booby traps and obstacles of all kinds. Escape is no longer an issue. Nobody escapes from this ever-changing, moving, impossible maze. The man never tires, never hungers, never thirsts. Nonlethal wounds are healed instantly, and he finds himself running faster than he would have believed possible. But no matter how fast he runs, the demons are only feet behind him. Eventually, inevitably, he trips. The demons are upon him within seconds, tearing him limb from limb, and he dies a gruesome, agonizing death.
Then, a faceless, formless voice appears, showing him how far he ran in his hopeless attempt to escape, and taunting him over his inevitable death. But there is hope! The voice explains that the coins scattered throughout the maze are of great value to it. In exchange for a small handful of them, it will grant the man supernatural abilities. Temporary invulnerability from all obstacles, save the demons themselves, which are beyond its power. A few brief, precious moments of flight. A boost, to get farther away from the demons for a time. And, of course, ways to gain even more of these coins.
And then the man is born again. He has no name, no memories beyond his previous escapade in the maze and the information provided by the voice. At first, he resists, ignoring the idol and its taunting sign. He searches for another way out. But there is none. The only escape is to take the idol, and he does so. Once more, demons appear and give chase. But this time, he has a goal. Grab as many coins as he can, and give them to the voice in exchange for power to escape. So he runs. He risks his life for a handful of bizarre coins in an abandoned maze, in the hope that the voice is telling the truth. Then, once more, he dies. The voice appears again, taunting him over his death and asking for the coins. In exchange he is granted sporadic, unpredictable bursts of invulnerability. He must continue to run, though, because he is still vulnerable to the demons. Eventually, once more, he dies. The voice mocks his failure and his death, showing him an image of his body. It then challenges him for the coins, and, in exchange for them, grants him the promise of occasional, momentary escapes beyond the power of the demons. They will always catch up, but he will be able to relax for a few moments as he is inexplicably propelled hundreds of meters farther down the maze. The man rejoices, as he is one step closer to his escape.
The man lives once more. He runs, he dies, he gains further power. But no matter what he does, the demons are always there. He can never escape beyond their reach. Eventually, he has gained as much power as the voice can, or will, grant to him. But it is not enough. All of the boons, the gifts and reprieves, they cannot aid him in escaping the demons. The promise of escape was nothing but a lie, giving him the hope of an escape that is forever beyond his reach. And through it all, the voice taunts him after each death, mocks him with images of his body as the demons devour its remains.
He despairs, but despair does nothing for him. Refusing to run only leads to an earlier death. Refusing to take the idol only leaves him trapped in a small room, for as long as he can stand it, until he submits and grabs it once more, beginning the cycle again. Eventually, he breaks. What else can he do, trapped in an eternal cycle of terror, pain, and humiliation? He is in Hell, and there is no escape.
This is the horror that is Temple Run.