I remember thinking when I saw the Kickstarter for Among the Sleep, that it was pretty odd that we have come all this way to have babies as the protagonist in games. I mean, I got the premise of the game back then and it looked quite scary, but how would they make the game interesting enough for people like me, so that we might indulge it long enough to finish? Fast forward to today, as Among the Sleep launched on Xbox One.
The game, which was initially touted as a VR experience on Oculus (or Vive), received a standard iteration where you don’t have to have a display glued to your face to be scared witless. The Kickstarter was quite successful back then, and as usual it launched on PC first.
The premise of this game is simple (or is it?). You’re a baby who just celebrated his first birthday, and your mom gives you a teddy bear, and this bear is your protection in the horrors that follow. Right off the bat I was quite astonished at the level of polish this game had, from the subtle detail in the baby’s room, to how it looks and feels when you’re scurrying about on all fours. The game plays out in your house, however it quickly takes an interesting turn, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Like an abstract painting, this game took you into the imagination of a child, where you see wonderful sceneries (memories) that you have to navigate through, solving very simple puzzles. The game fulfils its premise and I really want to play this game in VR now. However, the story in this game is extremely complex in its messaging. I played through the main story and at the end I was left puzzled as to what the writer wanted to convey. It takes a very interesting twist at the end.
The game’s design is very well executed, yet understated in its complexity. One could even imagine this is how a child would see the world. I “crawled” around in awe with how well they have managed to design this game, and how that feeds into the “horror” aspect of this game. As a fan of Lovecraftian horror games, I was sceptical about this game, but just like Call of Cthulhu, with understated graphics and the right lighting, anything can scare the life out of you.
I had several moments where my skin was crawling, thanks to the impeccable sound design. Gone is the nauseating background music, replaced only with eerie sounds from outside and in the house. Several times you would hear your own heartbeat during the intense moments, and thanks to that I was expecting the inevitable jump scare, but just like with Lovecraftian horror games, that never comes. The fear is in the places you don’t want to look. And when you do see the “monster”, you literally fear for your life. For instance, in the game Slender: The Arrival, the bad guy follows you around, and moves faster when you pick up specific items. But in Among the Sleep, the monsters are lumbering giants, that move extremely quickly once they spot you, so the main objective is to stay out of sight for most of the game.
I would recommend you play this game with headphones on, since the game’s charm is mostly focussed in the sound design. It gives you the experience that cannot be matched when you’re just blaring it through a sound system.
The game controls were easy to master, however, I did have some trouble with the “lean in” controls as they rarely seem to work outside random middle-of-nowhere points. I sometimes would just check and see if they would work when I was at a corner, and they wouldn’t, but just as I checked in the middle of the room, they suddenly worked. I found it quite odd.
Other than that small little niggle, the game was quite responsive to my input. Beyond that the gameplay was challenging, but only challenging to the point where realism would be questioned. The game never pushes the difficulty to such a level where you would question if a child would be able to complete the challenges ahead, and I found it quite refreshing.
Summary
I’m not a fan of all horror games, I have to admit. When there are too many jump scares or the game’s design is deliberately trying to push “scariness” in your face, I lose interest quickly. When it comes to horror games, the sound design should be minimal, yet precise. The situation should be realistic enough that you would be able to relate to that situation and, when it captures you, then it can play with your emotions.
Among the Sleep executed this flawlessly, and it combines this aspect with a wonderful journey through the dreams and life of a child. I would recommend this game to anyone who’s looking for an experience that will leave you with goosebumps, and a story that will leave you wanting more.
Dreyer was a regular ICXM contributor between 2016–2017, publishing 139 articles across opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @dreyer_smit.