By Dallas McGraw on June 18, 2014 at 9:59pm
Survival horror is a subgenre of horror that sets itself apart from other by introducing traditionally more difficult elements like lack of proper means of fighting back, running away, a more intense atmosphere, and more psychological means of scaring the player. "Among the Sleep" takes these ideas in mind and utilizes it to full effect with a twist; you get to play as a toddler exploring a strange world in search of his mother. While the premise itself is set up to be exciting, it unfortunately falls flat and tired despite the promise of a breath of fresh air.
Gameplay
If you hoped that the premise would be followed through with in the gameplay, you're exactly right. Moving around as a two year old in a horror game is surprisingly fun and it does have an affect on controls. If the child runs in game, it is only for a brief moment until they fall down to crawl, and usually crawling is the faster means of moving around. Height also poses a problem, which is solvable by pulling out drawers, climbing over onto chairs to open doors, and in other creative ways while exploring your environment. The bulk of the game is usually spent exploring or solving puzzles for item collecting that's essential to the plot. And as you would expect playing as a toddler, you can't fight back against the dark creatures roaming about. It's not a problem that you can't fight back, but the the main issue with the sequences against monsters or other types is that it makes the game much more difficult than the other aspects of the gameplay. They're fun moments that break up the puzzles and exploring, but it is surprising how the layout of these moments tend to cause more frustration and terror.
"Among the Sleep" in its entirety is a fairly straightforward game that doesn't have much outside of telling its story. However, the highlight of the game is the story and the little details that add up to the reality of the situation. Little drawings on the walls here and there are able to give a small peek into what could be going on in the toddler's psyche, but it's just a minor detail that stands out in the overall narrative. These little details makes the experience of the story richer and fuller than if you were to crawl through it without even a glance at what it had to offer. Despite all the praise, I felt as if the ending fell a bit short and almost even contrived. Without going into spoilers, it makes the rest of the game a much different experience than what you thought it was leading to. While this is never a bad thing, it doesn't create the desired emotional reaction and is strangely numbing in contrast to the rest.
Environment
In a horror game, atmosphere means everything, and "Among the Sleep" excels at this. The places you go are delightfully creepy and imaginative. This part of the game will remain to be the most memorable part for me. The world itself is a beautiful mixture of the typical environments a toddler would be used to (playgrounds, home, etc.), and the darkness lurking behind in a boogeyman-like fashion. The atmosphere picks and pulls at several different types of common fears and mashes them into the environments as seen in the game. The very first time you set out into the unknown is exhilarating, and while it doesn't quite have an equal throughout the rest, it's an exciting start that sets the tone. Even the design of the monsters are fantastically simple and don't distract from the overall tone of the game.
Sound
The majority of the voice acting in this game comes through two of the main characters, and they do a pretty good job, but nothing to be excited about. That being said, the music and sound effects are top notch. Some of the scariest noises are ones that could be made by utilizing human voices, and "Among the Sleep" knows how to freak people out with that. The creatures in the game make some of the strangest, creepiest, and even uncanny noises that make me shudder when I hear it. The music is impressive in how often it aids in the atmosphere and doesn't take you away from what's happening. It assists the ambiance and hits all the right points. This is a game I would actually recommend playing with headphones on in order to get the full experience of the sound design.
Final Thoughts
I wanted to love "Among the Sleep," but I came away feeling a little disappointed. I have played through it only once, but it is a game I would like to go through with the in-game commentary track if just to hear what they had to say about it. On a disappointing note, the game is fairly short, and I completed it in about two hours. The experience is really entertaining, even with its frustrating moments, but it's hard to recommend this to everyone at full price. However, I will recommend it based on the execution of premise, the sound alone, and how the environments captured the intended tone very well. I did come across a few bugs that made me exit out and reload my save, but it only happened twice, so it wasn't a major problem. But it definitely broke the immersion at a few points in playing. This really defines itself as a survival horror game and it sells it well.
