Among the Sleep
Do NOT waste your time on the game Among the Sleep. I thought a psychological horror game from the perspective of a toddler was a unique and brilliant idea. If I had one of the platforms they were designing the game for back when it was on Kickstarter I probably would have funded it. Boy am I glad I didn't. The first half of the game wasn't too bad, the level design was imaginative, the house and the playground were twisted versions of their real life counterpart that I enjoyed crawling through. The house had me nervous to peek around every corner because I hadn't a clue what the game had in store, and the playground had a sense of exploration and suspense as well as I searched for pieces to the only puzzle. But the last half is where the game fell short. The level design was confusing and bland. For a game that is supposed to inspire edge of your seat suspense the atmosphere was too dark, the teddy flashlight didn't eliminate anything and I didn't grasp what significance the levels had to do with the child's mind. One was a forest/art gallery, and the last was what I can only think of as a closet maze. But again they were way to dark and didn't inspire me to explore, I just wanted to be out and done. But the thing that really pisses me off about this game, and it has been a long time since a game has pissed me off, is the "twist" ending. *spoilers for anyone interested in this game* The monster you've occasionally been having to hide from the whole time has been your mother, or her alcoholism, or something of that state. You wouldn't know that from the rest of the game. In fact most of the game is trying to find memories of you and your mother so that you can unlock this door and get out of the nightmare world and back to your mother. Happy times! This kid has only good memories with his mom. But once you make it back to the waking world you find your mother in the kitchen drunk and holding on to your teddy. When you try and grab the bear she pushes you away and yells at you. Then you make your way to the front door where I can only hope your dad is there to take you away and not some random stranger who gave you a teddy bear. What a horrible fucking ending. Why's the child gotta be in an abusive/neglectful relationship? It could have easily been a game about a child exploring the big world it's growing accustomed too. It could have been more colorful and still suspenseful. I do think the developers have talent. Some of the mechanics were clever and utilized well, but the end product fell short and left me feeling depressed that I completed the game rather than relieved.
