For a game that aims to present what sleep deprivation can do to a person’s mind, Sleep Awake is quite light on its horror elements, choosing to present a more psychedelic experience that does bring tension, but doesn’t raise the stakes enough to make it land.
In its attempt to make the game as appealing as possible to a wider audience, Eyes Out has created an experience that certainly does entertain without being too challenging and, as a result, satisfying. The story on offer is interesting enough to see you through the entire thing from start to finish, and the discoveries you make along the way could be worthwhile.
“Different factions with varying methods of staying awake come into interaction with each other as you try to navigate their strongholds on your way to deliver the infusion you carry to a loved one.”
Stepping into the shoes of Katja, a young woman and survivor of a cataclysmic event that has left the remnants of humanity taking desperate measures to fend off sleep by any means necessary. Those who do succumb to this once-natural impulse disappear into The Hush, a mysterious realm that hangs above everybody’s head as a threat.
You begin by crafting an infusion meant to help with staying awake, and then making your way across the desolate Crush, a city that serves as the stage for the game, acting as a last bastion of hope for what remains of humanity. Different factions with varying methods of staying awake come into interaction with each other as you try to navigate their strongholds on your way to deliver the infusion you carry to a loved one.
The story takes off from there, introducing characters from your past and present and fleshing them out via tantalizing bits of lore dropped during cutscenes or discovered out in the world. I was certainly invested in finding out more about the cataclysm and how the desolation that’s all around Katja came to be.
The Crush, and a few other places that Katja visits, are all visually enticing. There’s an astounding level of detail along with excellent lighting that makes each environment you navigate come alive on your screen, making it all very immersive. While I believe the developers could have relied less on disturbing imagery for shock value, I do see how the trope does have its place in a psychedelic horror experience.
“Different factions with varying methods of staying awake come into interaction with each other as you try to navigate their strongholds.”
The level design is also quite good, with navigating the game’s environments even being a challenge at times. Pathways around important objectives fold in on each other, and you’re going to want to pay attention if you’re not a fan of going around in circles. The Crush is definitely a place where you need to have your wits about you; its landscape is constantly shifting thanks to earthquakes and other events.
It’s also great that Sleep Awake performs very well, with no pop-in, stutters, or visual glitches that could mar the experience. I did experience an instance of crashing on my base PS5, but it was isolated and didn’t happen again. On the visual and technical front, this game certainly deserves praise.
It’s a pity, then, that the gameplay doesn’t really match up to the standards of the story. Katja spends most of her time in the game finding her way around the world, solving puzzles, and experiencing the occasional hallucination of two. Her harrowing journey through the Crush, punctuated by fond memories of her lost loved ones, doesn’t really present threats that could make my skin crawl.
Perhaps I was expecting monstrosities that stemmed from her own mind trying to function without sleep, but there weren’t any threats that really stood out to me during my time with the game. The stealth sections simply felt like they were slower-paced than exploratory ones, and the enemy AI had some real problems with seeing what was right in front of them.
“The Hush is presented as a constant threat, ever vigilant and waiting at the corners of Katja’s mind to try and pull her into its unfamiliar confines.”
If there was an immersion-breaking issue with the game, the lack of any real danger along Katja’s road is probably it. While Sleep Awake does well to present Katja’s sleep-deprived hallucinations through a psychedelic lens that does provide the scope for some fascinating visuals, it does little to disguise the fact that she’s quite unimaginative when it comes to terrifying monsters.
However, the lack of dangerous enemies doesn’t mean that the game lacks any danger altogether. The Hush is presented as a constant threat, ever vigilant and waiting at the corners of Katja’s mind to try and pull her into its unfamiliar confines. Navigating the Crush also reveals that any remnants of humanity and sanity in its denizens have since evaporated, and that the need to survive by staying awake has led to some dangerously deluded individuals being loose on its streets.
All of that results in a bleakness that you cannot quite shake off as you make your way through the Crush, your own desperation to reach your loved one to administer the infusion they desperately need reflected in the frustrated voices of other innocents looking at the very end of the world they once knew.
Together, the Hush and the desolation around you begin to seep in, making you question the futility of it all. Is survival by any means necessary a realistic goal in the face of a world that is so harsh to life? Wouldn’t it be better to simply fall asleep, perhaps in the presence of family or friends?
“The audio design and soundtrack deserve a special mention, as does the voice acting”
These are questions that constantly creep up on you as you play through the game, and in another situation, they would be very welcome as the result of effective presentation. That’s very much the case in Sleep Awake, but that’s sort of derailed by the fact that there isn’t really much else to do but ponder about the Crush and the Hush.
The puzzles aren’t really challenging, and any threats you face are easily dealt with via trial and error. Failure simply means you get to see a cool loading screen and re-enter the last area you were navigating via a dream-like realm that had me wanting to see it again. There aren’t even difficulty options to give players a choice of greater challenges.
That lack of a real challenge might be a deal-breaker for some of you, but Sleep Awake is still a solid title nonetheless. It might be a tad light on the horror elements, but that’s by design. Its story is quite interesting, and while the gameplay could have used a little more thrills, it’s still serviceable enough to keep you invested.
The audio design and soundtrack deserve a special mention, as does the voice acting. Katja is relatably world-weary and prone to swearing, a possible consequence of being a young woman forced to bear a heavy responsibility and without a clear end to her predicament in sight. Other characters are equally interesting and well-written, making you want to learn more about their origins and motivations.
Overall, Sleep Awake is a solid game that you’re going to enjoy when you play through it for the first time. However, I don’t see any replay value in the experience, and its lack of scares could mean that it’s not going to scratch the horror itch if that’s what you’re looking for. But if you’re in the market for a unique experience and a poignant story that’s likely to haunt you long after you complete it, this one is going to do well in your eyes.
This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.
