Saturday, April 15, 2017

Among the Sleep: Leaving me Sleepless

It's a little odd to write about a game I'm not finished with yet but I am about 3/4 of the way through this game and I have some thoughts. First, thanks Krillbite  Studio for reminding all of why bieing a little kid was so completely terrifying. The monsters under the bed are real and they can even scare adults.

The immersion in this game is amazing. You actually see the world from the perspective of a terrified toddler. This in and of itself is terrifying enough when you are an adult but realizing how even the most mundane fears are terrifying when you are little is even worse. Especially as you go through the game and discover the secrets hidden in the game about who/what the Banshee/Monster under the bed really is.


While it is a wonderful game I have learned several things about me and survival horror games. 1. I need to not play them in the middle of the night. This game is good at giving you jump scares especially as you get towards the end of the game and the Banshee becomes an actual physical threat to the toddler. 2. I need to not play survival horror games alone-- it's bad not good.


Overall this game gets a 5 out of 5 from me. It is long enough to become immersed in the story without multiple side paths into sidequesting which is a real problem for me in other games like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, the Witcher, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age where there are multiple paths and multiple sidequests leading to hundreds of hours of play.  The story is intriguing and without spoilers the game follows a very different path from the typical zombies/missing wife/dystopia common to AAA survival horror games. I'd say it was an enjoyable experience but it scared the heck out of me.