Among the Sleep

 

Among the Sleep

Type	First person survival horror
Single or multiplayer	Singleplayer
Developer	Krillbite Studio
Publisher	Krillbite Studio
Fun	3/5
Difficulty	3/5

 

Among the Sleep is a game which, apart from a strange name, also has a strange protagonist. In a world where you are often placed in the role of a marine, a knight, or a gunslinger, it is a rare occurrence to be a toddler in a game. Whether this sounds like a lame idea or an interesting one will shape the way you feel about the game. 

 

If you take a look from a purely technical perspective, you will see a first person survival game made in the Unity engine. As it’s a horror game, most areas are made to look as daunting and intimidating as possible, which means a lot of dark corners and moving shadows.

 

The feeling of being a toddler who crawls on the ground, only being able to run for a limited period of time, and not being able to reach door knobs, serves to intensify the fear a child would experience in such situations. Sound effects are really well implemented, with the creaking of doors and sudden jump scares appearing throughout.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, you obviously have no weapons, as you are a kid, crawling, running, and climbing through dream-like scenarios. The only thing you have is a teddy bear, which emits light if hugged. Apart from being cute, this mechanic also helps you traverse some of the darker areas in the game. Although the age of the protagonist is obvious from the very first scene, sometimes it can be bothersome to crawl, as it is quite slow. 

 

However, as this is actually a horror game, you will be hunted by monsters, a tall woman figure, and a ghostly form in a trench coat. Just like in other games of the same genre, you cannot defend yourself. The only option is to run away and hide and wait for the danger to pass. A tumble off a cliff is also a way to game over.

 

The story starts with your second birthday, celebrated with your mom at the house. It is soon cut short, however, as someone knocks on the door. Without giving too much of the story away, I will just say that it continues that same night, when everything seems scarier and more ominous. The ending, which comes after a few hours of playing, is powerful and sad, and represents a nice bit of storytelling.

 

In the end, it is enough to say that this is definitely a different type of horror. Scary games have always had a way of making you feel uneasy. On top of the well done atmosphere, you add the role of a child exploring the house at night, when items that in daylight seem normal become instruments of dread. If you can forgive the shortness (the game only has four or so linear levels, accessed from a hub area), and you don’t mind the crawling, you will find an unusual survival game, with interesting puzzles and obstacles, leading to a well crafted epilogue. So play Among the Sleep, and see what it would be like to explore a house at night with nothing but a teddy bear’s love to help you along the way.