Sleep Awake Review – A One Hit Wonder

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While Sleep Awake tries to show the effects of sleep loss on the mind, it’s not very scary. Instead, it focuses on creating a trippy, tense atmosphere, but doesn’t build enough pressure to make a real impact.

Eyes Out aims to be broadly appealing, and it succeeds in being an enjoyable, though not overly difficult, game. The story keeps you engaged from beginning to end, and you’ll likely find the things you uncover along the way to be rewarding.

As you journey to deliver a vital medicine to someone you care about, you’ll encounter different groups, each with their own unique ways of staying alert, and you’ll have to navigate through their territories.

The game puts you in the role of Katja, a young woman who lived through a devastating disaster. Now, the few people left are doing anything they can to stay awake. Falling asleep means being pulled into The Hush, a dangerous and unknown place that constantly looms over everyone.

The game starts with you brewing a special drink to fight off sleep. You then journey across the ruined city of the Crush, one of the last places where humans still live. As you travel, you’ll encounter different groups who have their own ways of staying awake, and you’ll need to navigate their territories while delivering a vital infusion to someone you care about.

From that point on, the story really gets going, bringing back characters you’ve known before alongside new ones. We learn more about them through interesting details revealed in scenes and by exploring the game world. I was definitely eager to uncover the mystery of the disaster and understand how Katja’s world became so ruined.

The game’s environments, like The Crush, are beautifully designed and incredibly detailed. The lighting is fantastic, bringing each location to life and creating a truly immersive experience. While some of the disturbing imagery feels unnecessary, it generally fits the overall psychedelic horror theme.

As you explore, you’ll encounter different groups, each with their own way of staying alert, and you’ll have to deal with them in their territories.

The game’s levels are well-designed and can be genuinely challenging to navigate. The routes to key areas often connect and loop, so you’ll need to keep your bearings to avoid getting lost. The environment in The Crush is particularly dynamic, constantly changing due to earthquakes and other events, demanding you stay alert.

Beyond the story, Sleep Awake runs remarkably smoothly, with no distracting visual issues like pop-in or stuttering. I had one crash on my standard PS5, but it only happened that single time. Overall, the game is visually impressive and technically well-done.

Unfortunately, the game’s actual gameplay doesn’t live up to the quality of its story. You mostly play as Katja, exploring the world, solving puzzles, and occasionally experiencing unsettling visions. Despite her difficult journey through a dangerous place called the Crush, and the bittersweet memories of those she’s lost, the game doesn’t create much genuine fear or tension.

I went into this game expecting really scary, unique enemies – you know, things born from a character losing her mind from lack of sleep – but honestly, nothing really stood out as terrifying. The parts where you had to sneak around just felt slower than when you were exploring, and the enemies were…not very bright. They didn’t seem to notice me even when I was right in front of them!

The Hush feels like a constant danger, always lurking in Katja’s thoughts and trying to trap her in its strange and unsettling depths.

The biggest flaw in an otherwise immersive game is the lack of genuine threat during Katja’s journey. While Sleep Awake effectively uses psychedelic visuals to portray Katja’s sleep-deprived hallucinations, it struggles to create truly frightening monsters, making the experience feel somewhat uninspired when it comes to scares.

Even though there aren’t any powerful monsters, the game still feels dangerous. A constant, lurking threat called the Hush tries to invade Katja’s thoughts and trap her. Exploring the Crush also shows that its inhabitants have lost all sense of humanity and reason. The desperate need to stay awake to survive has driven some of them to dangerous levels of delusion, making the streets a risky place.

The situation creates a heavy sense of despair that lingers as you struggle through the chaos, mirroring your own urgent need to reach your family member with the life-saving treatment they require. You see this same desperation in the faces of others, all realizing the world they once knew is ending.

The silence and emptiness surrounding you start to feel overwhelming, making you wonder what’s the point of even trying to survive. When the world is so cruel, is simply staying alive enough? Wouldn’t it be easier to just give in and rest, maybe with loved ones nearby?

“The audio design and soundtrack deserve a special mention, as does the voice acting”

As you play, the game frequently raises interesting questions – and normally, that would be a good thing, showing thoughtful storytelling. This is true of Sleep Awake, but the experience is limited because the game mostly revolves around thinking about the two central factions, the Crush and the Hush, with little else to actually do.

The game’s puzzles are fairly simple, and you can overcome any obstacles by just trying different approaches. When you fail, it’s not frustrating – you get to enjoy a neat loading screen and quickly return to where you were through a creatively designed dream world that’s actually fun to revisit. Surprisingly, there aren’t any options to adjust the difficulty, even if you’re looking for a tougher experience.

While the game might not be scary enough for those looking for a big challenge, Sleep Awake is still a good game overall. It doesn’t focus heavily on horror, and that was intentional. The story is engaging, and even though the gameplay could have been more exciting, it’s enjoyable enough to keep you playing.

Honestly, the sound design and music in this game are fantastic. And the voice acting? Top-notch. I really connected with Katja – she feels like a real person, a bit cynical and she doesn’t shy away from swearing, which makes sense considering everything she’s dealing with. She’s young and has a huge weight on her shoulders with no clear finish line, you know? But it’s not just her; all the characters are really well-developed and interesting. I found myself genuinely wanting to know more about their backstories and what makes them tick.

Sleep Awake is a good game, especially for your first playthrough. While it doesn’t offer much reason to play it again, and it’s not particularly scary, it does deliver a unique and touching story that will likely stay with you. If you’re looking for something different and emotionally resonant, this game is worth checking out.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

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2025-12-05 18:43