Silence of the Sleep

72%
Game Brain Score Based on 356 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • atmosphere
Silence of the Sleep Game Cover
Silence of the Sleep offers intriguing visuals and an overall delightfully creepy atmosphere, but leaves much to be desired in terms of writing and gameplay.
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"Silence of the Sleep" is a psychological horror adventure game with side-scrolling 2D graphics and a minimalistic interface. The game features a unique music score, challenging puzzles, and a twisting story with no shooting or combat. Players explore an abstract world as Jacob Reeves, who has lost his memory and seeks to discover the reason for his journey.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

72%
Audience ScoreBased on 356 reviews
story119 positive mentions
grinding18 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and stylish art direction that enhances the creepy atmosphere.
  • The story is engaging and thought-provoking, with a strong emotional core that resonates with players.
  • The sound design and music are exceptional, contributing significantly to the overall immersive experience.
  • Clunky character controls and slow animations can lead to frustrating gameplay, especially during monster encounters.
  • The lack of manual and auto-save features can result in significant loss of progress after dying, making the game feel punishing.
  • Some puzzles can be overly vague or difficult to figure out, leading to unnecessary backtracking and confusion.
  • story247 mentions

    The story of the game is widely praised for its intriguing and dark narrative, with many reviewers highlighting its ability to engage players through unexpected twists and a rich atmosphere. While the storytelling is often described as compelling and well-crafted, some players noted pacing issues and gameplay elements that detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the narrative is seen as a strong point, with a mix of horror and psychological themes that resonate with fans of the genre.

    • “The story is captivating, but it won't leave you breathless or gobsmacked at the end, either.”
    • “The story is a subtle exploration of trauma, mental illness, and responsibility and should speak to all those that like their horror artsy.”
    • “The story unravels slowly and deliberately vaguely, never completely telling the player everything and shrouding the whole experience in a veil of uncertainty and clouded clarity.”
    • “Midway through chapter 3, the game just became boring and I lost all interest in the story and wanted the game to be over by that point.”
    • “I understand it is a special style of the game, however I think that the story was weak and not prepared very well.”
    • “The story falls apart in the end.”
  • gameplay131 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its mechanics as frustrating and clunky, particularly in terms of movement and save systems. While some appreciate the innovative puzzle-solving elements and atmospheric design, others find the gameplay slow and tedious, often detracting from the otherwise engaging story. Overall, the game is seen as a blend of creative ideas and significant gameplay flaws, making it a challenging experience for players who prioritize smooth mechanics.

    • “Soundtrack is fantastic, gameplay elements that adapted through the story were surprising and innovative, general gameplay and story were very nice.”
    • “The game has great potential, the puzzles and their mechanics are quite a fun experience.”
    • “The strongest part of the gameplay are the puzzles and there are lots of them.”
    • “Unfortunately, that's where I quit and uninstalled this game because I just don't want to waste time because of such crap game mechanics.”
    • “The save mechanic is infuriatingly punishing and getting insta-killed each time you get caught can make you lose 30 minutes of progress if not more, unless you saved recently.”
    • “The gameplay is slow and somewhat clumsy.”
  • atmosphere130 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its exceptional craftsmanship, combining eerie sound design, haunting visuals, and a dark, psychological narrative that evokes comparisons to classic horror titles like Silent Hill. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to create a tense and immersive experience, with many noting that the atmosphere is its strongest feature, despite some frustrations with gameplay mechanics. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as captivating, unsettling, and integral to its storytelling.

    • “The atmosphere is beautifully crafted to be extremely creepy.”
    • “The game is incredibly atmospheric, engaging, and at times nerve-racking.”
    • “The atmosphere and the soundtrack are excellent.”
    • “The monsters are gone but so is the atmosphere.”
    • “Everything in between the story segments just felt like padding and I think if they took out all the minigames and monsters to instead improve the atmosphere, unsettling set pieces, and made the puzzles more story-oriented and challenging then the game would have been much better.”
    • “Starts off solid with some seriously creepy sounds and atmosphere and transforms into a lifetime movie.”
  • graphics110 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and artistic style, featuring dark, atmospheric visuals that effectively enhance the horror experience. Many reviewers highlight the beautiful hand-drawn aesthetics and the use of silhouette characters, which contribute to a captivating ambiance. However, some players express frustration with technical issues, such as limited resolution options and item recognition challenges, which detract from the overall visual experience.

    • “The atmosphere and the graphics are exceptional.”
    • “The art style is amazing.”
    • “The graphics and sounds + music are beautifully handcrafted: there's tons of variety, there are many interesting effects to creep you out and the music fits the mood perfectly.”
    • “The graphics style is personal and unique, but it makes item recognition horrible.”
    • “There are no graphics settings aside from brightness, and the game is forced in a small resolution (720p? idk), not that it needed to be sharper.”
    • “The graphics are using black a lot, which is fine, but when the too much black just makes save points barely noticeable, even with using a flashlight it gets very annoying.”
  • music106 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers praising its haunting beauty and emotional depth. The soundtrack is described as fitting perfectly with the game's themes, contributing significantly to the overall experience, and is noted for its high quality and variety. While some players mentioned moments of silence or a need for more music, the general consensus is that the audio design, including sound effects and music, plays a crucial role in immersing players in the game's eerie and captivating world.

    • “The music and atmosphere of the game are great.”
    • “The atmosphere and the soundtrack are excellent.”
    • “The music adds to the creep factor and really sets the tone for the game.”
    • “I've lost count of the horror games that suggest you 'switch off the lights and play with headphones' only for you to encounter laughable jumpscares or, worse still, be deafened by horrendous music that probably justifies the use of the label 'horror'.”
    • “While the game excels in its visuals, it does lack in its audio; though there are moments of captivating music, a lot of the game is silent, foregoing even droning ambience.”
    • “Music can be way too loud at times.”
  • grinding18 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly during certain chapters where backtracking and puzzle-solving become frustrating. While some puzzles are enjoyable, many players express that the gameplay often feels like a chore, detracting from the overall experience despite the game's strong story and artistic elements. The balance between engaging gameplay and tedious mechanics varies, with some chapters being notably more grueling than others.

    • “The bulk of the game is running away from monsters towards random directions, looking for cardboard boxes to hide again... every simple thing such as 'go from point A to point B' gets frustrating and tedious.”
    • “Solving puzzles is a one-time affair; it's fun when you figure it out, tedious when you have to do it a second time, and a game-deletion reason when you are forced to do it a third time.”
    • “Alright, one of my main gripes about this game is in chapter 4 with that goddamn sewer level. It just drives me up the wall on how tedious, mundane, and boring it is because while I'm trying to solve the puzzles in the sewer, I can't constantly keep hiding from monsters that move too slowly. It just ruins the tension for me, which equals a lot of rage-inducing moments when I'm backtracking a lot.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The game's stability is mixed, with some players experiencing significant bugs and glitches, particularly with controls and inventory management, while others report a mostly smooth experience with only minor annoyances. Although there are occasional graphical issues and gameplay quirks, they generally do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. Recent patches have addressed some of these concerns, indicating ongoing developer support.

    • “Now when I try to use the inventory by pressing the space bar, the inventory is only visible when I hold my finger on the space bar, and when I do, everything else just freezes.”
    • “The game, however, has a few buggy aspects too.”
    • “The controls need reworking; they feel very buggy and it's not pleasant using them as is.”
  • emotional7 mentions

    The game delivers a profound emotional experience, exploring themes of depression, loss, and coping mechanisms through its narrative and atmospheric design. Players are drawn into a haunting world filled with anguish and introspection, enhanced by a melancholic soundtrack that underscores critical moments. Overall, it effectively evokes deep emotional responses, making it a standout in the genre.

    • “Here, we grapple with depression, loss, and the consequences of how we cope with emotional turmoil.”
    • “Some areas describe destroyed areas of emotional torment, while others are just pure anguish in decaying rooms. But that’s not all Jacob is going to face deep down… his mind will take him to a mysterious hotel where no one leaves, but no one dares either… they all sing and dance all day!”
    • “Music is also composed by Jesse Makkonen, featuring melancholic guitar chords and piano at the same rhythm for critical emotional moments.”
  • humor5 mentions

    The game's humor is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the funny mini-games and amusing end credits, others feel that the attempts at humor, particularly in chapter 3, are out of place and largely ineffective. Additionally, the soundtrack adds a layer of humor, with elements like the "laughing monster" contributing to the overall experience.

    • “Pretty nice game with funny end credits :)”
    • “The game also includes some funny mini games.”
    • “All right, the soundtrack is really good; it can be hauntingly beautiful, calming, or funny.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    The game offers some replayability due to choices that can affect the story progression, but overall, it lacks significant replay value, making it hard to recommend unless purchased in a bundle.

    • “Replay value, yes.”
    • “It's enjoyable, but hard to recommend unless it's gotten in a bundle - it doesn't have much replay value.”
    • “There also seems to be some choices that might or might not change the progression of the story, so there's at least some replayability factor.”
  • character development1 mentions

    "Silence of the Sleep" features strong character development complemented by decent writing, enhancing the game's already impressive atmosphere and visuals, alongside superb sound design.

    • “Silence of the Sleep is a game with incredible atmosphere and visuals, as well as decent writing and character development, on top of having superb sound design.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game's running mechanics are reported to be poorly optimized, with players experiencing inconsistent speeds where characters can suddenly slow down despite attempts to regain normal running speed. This bug significantly impacts the overall gameplay experience.

    • “Running in the game is bugged. You can hit shift or whatever button you have for running, but the running mechanics are inconsistent. You might start running fast, only to suddenly slow down. Even if you stop for a bit and try to run again, you still end up running slowly.”
    • “The optimization is terrible. The game frequently stutters and lags, making it nearly unplayable during intense moments.”
    • “I experience constant frame drops, even on high-end hardware. The game clearly needs better optimization to run smoothly.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

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