“Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them.”
Funded on Kickstarter, Among The Sleep by Krillbite Studios has been available for a considerable time on PC and PlayStation 4 and now us Xbox One owners finally get a look in.
Horror games are all the rage at the moment so it takes something with a unique twist to grab my attention these days and Among The Sleeps novel idea of placing you in the slippers and pyjamas of a child was enough to get me interested. When the game starts you're celebrating you second birthday with your doting Mother. This leads to a short tutorial where you open a present and you're presented with a teddy bear that soon becomes integral to the story. But it's when you're put into your cot to sleep for the night that the game really begins.
You wake later in the night only to see your teddy bear being pulled out of your cot by an invisible force. You soon realise that your Mother has disappeared. From here on in your dragged into a nightmarish world where a Babadook like figure stalks your every move. From here on in it's just you and your somewhat creepy teddy bear. As not move through the game your set a series of puzzles to solve so you can move forward but like The Park before it there is no real challenge to be found. Move object A to area B and so forth or finding stars, pages or owls is the order of the day but thankfully it doesn't detract too much from the story. Sure, it would get tedious if this was a huge game but it's not. But then again you are playing the game from the perspective of a two year old child and how difficult should a puzzle be if it's got to be solved by a two year old.
As a two year old danger lurks around every corner especially when you're left to roam around at will. But Among The Sleep doesn't hold any consequences for you. Not once did I feel in any danger. There are environmental hazards that can cause you to restart from the last checkpoint but other than that I never felt in mortal danger. I do love the look of the game though. The scattered look of each nightmare tinged world is dark and unsettling. Your only defense against this darkness is your trusty teddy bear which will light up in a heavenly glow. It's not going to win any prizes but seeing the adult world through the eyes of a child brought home to me how scary it must be to be in familiar surroundings but to feel totally alone. The audio on the other hand is something quite special. The subtle noises your character makes when walking, crawling or climbing add a great sense of realism. Lullabies have always creeped me out in horror films and it's exactly the same feeling I got when catching snippets of lullabies spoken by your in game Mother when moving from room to room.
Among the Sleep didn't really feel like a horror game to me. There are scary moments in there but it's nightmarish world isn't where the true horror lies because as always it's the real world that's much more frightening. To really enjoy the game you have to turn off your adult self and remember that this is told from the viewpoint of a child and the game is built a specific way because of that. Among The Sleep is a short game and it will only take you a few hours to complete. There are eight new pyjama sets that you can dress up in which are exclusive to the Xbox One version but I doubt that those will make anyone rush out to buy it. If you've played and enjoyed The Park or Gone Home you will feel right at home with Among The Sleep. Its always hard to recommend a game when it it only a few hours long and that is reflected in the score but with a narrative that is both gripping and shocking Among The Sleep is worthy of your time. If you feel the price is to high just wait until its inevitable inclusion in a Deals With Gold Sale. Trust me you won't be dissapointed.
Publisher: Krillbite
Developer: Krillbite
Modes: Single Player
Among The Sleep is available on the 3rd of June
Review code supplied by Krillbite